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Does Your AI Agent Need a VPN? The Company Behind Norton and Avast Thinks So

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Why This Matters

The integration of VPN services with AI agents marks a significant advancement in online privacy and security for both consumers and the tech industry. By enabling AI agents to route traffic through VPNs, users can better protect their identities, access region-restricted content, and avoid traffic throttling, enhancing overall digital privacy and freedom. This development underscores the growing importance of security features in the evolving landscape of autonomous AI tools.

Key Takeaways

A VPN, or virtual private network, is an important tool for privacy and security. It works by hiding your IP address from public view, helping you access content that might be region-restricted or censored. Many VPNs, like Windscribe, also offer additional features, such as ad blocking.

But it may never have occurred to you to give your AI agent VPN access, too.

If you use OpenClaw, ChatGPT or one of the many other LLMs with access to the internet, your autonomous AI agent can now take advantage of the same privacy and security features.

Gen Digital's VPN for AI agents, from the company behind big names like Norton and Avast, will now let you route your autonomous AI agent through its VPN for Agents. It's available through the Gen Agent Trust Hub and powered by Norton VPN.

"Using a VPN with an LLM can provide several advantages, such as keeping your identity private. Your internet provider won't be able to see your AI agent's activity, or that you're using an AI agent," said Moe Long, CNET senior editor.

"You can also unblock regional content in an LLM. Running your VPN through an AI agent may let you avoid traffic throttling or blocked access. Gen's VPN for AI Agents works with multiple AI agents, doesn't require any downloads or client setup, and has multiple tunnel tech that lets you run several agents simultaneously through a VPN."

A VPN offers improved security and privacy for your internet activities, preventing an ISP and other actors from tracking you. Panchanut Chobjit/Getty Images

Long said more people are turning to AI agents, but those agents often access the internet without additional protection, meaning your IP address is associated with all their activities. That means not only does your ISP see your activities via the AI agent, but the agent also can't access regional content or bypass throttling or restricted access.

Windscribe recently debuted OpenClaw agent support, and Gen Digital now has a VPN that supports multiple LLMs, including OpenClaw and ChatGPT.

Atila Tomaschek, CNET senior writer, said that Windscribe expresses it in its blog post, where the company notes: "If your agent gets a little too enthusiastic and triggers a security challenge or lands on a blocklist, it's your digital reputation on the line, and potentially your entire home network that takes the hit."

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