There’s a lot that can go into your decision on which service to go with, but based on my years of using and researching VPNs, these are the most important factors to consider when choosing a VPN with antivirus software.
Antivirus software included with the VPN
If you want a VPN with an antivirus included, your primary consideration will be that the VPN you choose offers antivirus protection. Not many VPNs include antivirus software at this time, so your choices are somewhat limited. But VPNs are increasingly adding additional services like password managers and antivirus solutions to their portfolios, so you may have more options in the future. Antivirus companies like Norton and Avast also offer VPN solutions.
Privacy/security
You’ll want your VPN to protect your privacy and your antivirus software to secure your computer. Look for a VPN that offers AES 256-bit encryption on OpenVPN and IKEv2 and ChaCha20 with Wireguard, along with privacy protections like a kill switch, DNS leak protection and an audited no-logs policy. The antivirus software that comes along with your VPN should include virus/malware detection and removal, real-time protection, malicious website blocking and automatic updates to keep on top of evolving threats.
Price
If you’re on a budget, price will be an important consideration. If you’re purchasing a VPN bundled with antivirus software, then you can expect to pay about $15 per month or between $60 and $100-plus per year, depending on what’s included in the VPN’s package. Naturally, it’ll be more expensive than getting just the VPN on its own, but you’ll probably save some cash over getting a VPN and antivirus separately.
Usability
Your VPN should be as easy to use as any other app you’re used to using. Connecting to a VPN server and navigating the settings should be a simple, straightforward affair -- whether you’re an experienced VPN user or a total newbie. As for the antivirus, you should barely even know it’s there because it should work in the background with minimal impact on the performance of your computer. That said, you should be able to hop into the settings and customize your antivirus security protection and schedule scans easily whenever you need to.
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