today i returned home to find my VPN had been disconnected for most of the day

[REDACTED]

im very new to using a VPN. i also understand that occasionally servers encounter problems, heavy traffic, etc. and sometimes they are unavailable. however, it didnt seem like the software attempted a reconnection after it was disconnected. when i returned home, i clicked OK on the dialog box and reconnected manually. i can't figure out if there is an option to reconnect automatically after a disconnection, or if i can choose other locations for it to connect to if the one i've chosen becomes unavailable. i have the 'automatically turn on vpn when connected to the internet' selected but obviously that is not what happened after the location became available again. ultimately i am just concerned that a incidental disconnection will leave my connection insecure when i'm not around for extended periods and i would like to avoid that at all costs. it seems a little nonsensical that the software would provide an error dialog but not attempt to reconnect. please let me know if i am missing anything or if you have any suggestions.

[mchain]

Hi angelhair0,

<A little hard to read and understand due to run-on sentences.>

One way to have your VPN automatically reconnect is to log off your current session, and then log back on.

Are you using Avast VPN version 5.1.416?

[EDIT:]  Query applies to Windows based systems only.

[krahulik]

Hello,
the Turn on the VPN "Automatically when connected to the Internet" checkbox on the Network Security tab should enable an auto-connect for all networks except the ones excluded in trusted networks. The logic behind is relatively complex as it needs to handle network instability during networks switching but if it doesn't work properly, it's definitely a bug.

Additionally, you can enable the Kill Switch checkbox. It setups the PF firewall provided by macOS to block all the traffic except the one sent to a VPN virtual interface and to a local network. It protects you if VPN connection breaks (i.e. during network switching), computer goes to sleep, etc. The firewall rules are set prior the connect to the VPN and removed when you click on the disconnect button.

Best regards,
Martin