The issue arose after users on social media started posting screengrabs of the Windows error message, and it became clear that these weren’t isolated incidents. ProtonVPN says it has identified the issue and is working on a fix. While it appears that this issue doesn’t affect all users, it does mean that those who are having trouble are unable to access the VPN at all. Those who are experiencing the issue have been told to disable their anti-virus software, or install an older version of ProtonVPN. Disable your anti-virus software ProtonVPN believe that the issue may be the result of its VPN software conflicting with anti-virus software installed on the users machine. In this scenario, it has advised customers to try disabling their anti-virus software, although understandably, they may be reluctant to do so. Should you disable your anti-virus? In our view, you’re better off disabling the VPN, unless it is absolutely essential to your privacy, at least until Proton issues a fix. Downgrade to the previous version of ProtonVPN As the previous build of ProtonVPN doesn’t seem to cause this error, the company has recommended reverting to the older version of its software. Downloadable from the ProtonVPN website, the Windows 1.17.6 build may well resolve the issue for affected users. For those that don’t want to do either of these, ProtonVPN is currently working on a fix, although there is not firm date for this yet. The good news is there are plenty of excellent VPN packages to choose from, including some that we rated higher than ProtonVPN. Our highest rated VPN, NordVPN, offers a full feature set, whilst also being easy to use for those who don’t want to navigate and tweak multiple menus (don’t worry, you can still do that if you want). With over 3,600 servers in 62 countries, fast speeds and ad-blocking It’s excellent value too, from $2.99 per a month, and there’s a 30 day money back guarantee if you try it out and you’re not satisfied.
