Does Avast VPN Work With Netflix?


Does Avast VPN Work With Netflix?

A Virtual Private Network or VPN for short is a security tool that encrypts your data and masks your location and other crucial information from other people. Avast also offers VPN services. But does it work with Netflix?

Netflix has blocked most of Avast’s servers and therefore Avast cannot be used with Netflix in most cases. However, as of the time of writing this article, some of their servers can access US, UK, and Norway Netflix libraries.

While Avast is a very secure software, it is not particularly concerned with allowing geo-blocked content to be streamed with their software. Netflix itself also actively prevents its customers from accessing restricted content. The reason behind this is discussed further in this article.

Avast Secureline VPN

Virtual Private Networks are software that were developed for secure and anonymous browsing of the internet. VPNs encrypt the data coming in and out of our devices making it extremely difficult for hackers and prying eyes to get hold of our personal information. 

Not only that, but VPNs can also mask one’s IP address by hosting the user’s activities on its own IP address. This will make the user untraceable and their data unobtainable.

VPNs are also used to bypass geo-blocking and to access shows, sites, and content that are otherwise illegal or unavailable in one’s own country.

Avast is a multinational software company based in the Czech that specializes in security software, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Avast Secureline VPN is their VPN service that allows us to browse the internet safely without worries.

Avast is one of the most popular software in the world boasting over 435 million monthly active users. Not only that, but this company also has over 1700 employees across 25 offices located worldwide! Therefore, their VPN service is also popular since it is easier and more convenient for avast users to subscribe to Secureline if they already use their other software. But why do people use VPNs to access Netflix?

Why Use VPN For Netflix?

There is a myriad of reasons why people choose to use a VPN for browsing the internet. However, people choose to use VPN software for Netflix because of two primary reasons:

Security

While Netflix offers a secure service, the network the user connects to for accessing Netflix may not be safe. A lot of time people opt to watch Netflix in public places such as cafes and libraries. The wifi in these places is naturally far less secure compared to our home wifi. 

Hundreds of people connect to these networks daily and not all of them are necessarily harmless. Devices connected to the same network can access each other’s data. However, VPNs block this by hosting the user’s activities on their own servers. This and other security reasons are why some people may choose to use VPN while using Netflix.

Bypassing Geo-blocks

Netflix offers different libraries of content for different regions of the world based on several factors. However, since VPNs have servers worldwide and are capable of hosting your actions on their servers, they can essentially trick websites and streaming apps into thinking you are accessing their content from a different part of the world. This could for example allow you to access Netflix’s UK library while sitting back home in Texas. 

Some countries have much bigger Netflix libraries compared to others and this is the main reason why people consider using VPNs. Netflix however, does not allow this kind of action and actively cracks down on VPN servers worldwide.

Why Does Netflix Block Avast VPN?

Netflix does not just block Avast VPN but actively bans as many VPN servers as it can. It is not in malice however and neither is it because Netflix thinks its users will do something illegal. Netflix blocks VPNs because accessing geo-blocked content is inherently against all of Netflix’s licensing agreements.

Netflix has different licensing and copyright agreements with different countries. Just because it has the legal rights to stream particular content in one country does not mean it can show it in another. Countries with strict censorship also by nature show lesser content compared to a more liberal nation.

Again, there are also cultural aspects as some shows may be seen as inappropriate in specific cultures. Netflix also tries to promote regional shows to their home regions. But if a user uses VPN to stream shows in a country where that particular show is not allowed, Netflix will be liable for not taking action against it. This is primarily why it blocks all VPN servers it can including Avast Secureline VPN.

How Netflix Blocks VPN Use?

Netflix uses specialized software that was specially designed to look for VPN servers. This software looks for particular characteristics that VPN servers usually have and flags them. It looks for signs such as encrypted connections that are essentials for VPN and identifies servers that have a lot of people connecting to them as VPNs usually have a lot of users. 

When Netflix detects these servers, it blacklists their IP addresses and once that is done, that server can no longer be used to access Netflix. This action is known as IP blacklisting. Once blacklisted, entering Netflix from that particular IP will show an error message.

However, VPNs can often bypass this system by buying more IP addresses across the world and distributing them to their customers. However, only the largest companies with the highest amount of budget are capable of doing this. Smaller VPN networks stay blocked because of this.

Why Does Avast VPN Not Work?

Avast does not work with Netflix because the majority of its services have been tracked down and blocked. Avast has only 55 servers worldwide and they are vastly used because Avast is popular software. 

Since it is used by a lot of people and the number of servers is small, it is easy for Netflix to block Avast. Even though Avast has the budget to buy more software, they are more concerned with security, and bypassing geo-blocking is not a concern for them. This is why Avast does not take active steps to avoid a block by Netflix.

WorkArounds

There are a few other ways to access forbidden content. You may choose to use a bigger VPN network that has numerous servers to avoid geo-block. You can also choose to use other streaming services that have the rights to stream that show you are looking for. And if all other options fail, you can also take some risk and torrent the content.

Mark Lewis

Security nerd with a Data Privacy First mindset!

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