Does your AI agent need a VPN? The company behind Norton and Avast thinks so
Most people already use a VPN to protect their browsing, hide their IP, and access region-locked content. But what about your AI agents? That is a question almost nobody is asking — and maybe they should be.
Every time an AI agent acts autonomously on the internet, searching, visiting websites, and collecting data, it does so using your IP address, without any extra layer of privacy or security. Your internet service provider sees everything. And worse, it cannot even tell whether it was you or the agent making the request.
That is exactly the problem Gen Digital, the company behind brands like Norton and Avast, stepped in to solve with a dedicated solution. And it did not come alone — Windscribe also moved in the same direction, with direct support for OpenClaw, one of the leading AI agents right now. 🤖🔒
The market for autonomous agent security is taking its first steps, and these recent moves show this goes well beyond a passing trend.
What is a VPN and why it matters in this context
A VPN, or virtual private network, is an essential tool for online privacy and security. It works by hiding your IP address from the public and creating an encrypted tunnel for your internet traffic. With that, you can access content that might be restricted by region or censored in certain countries. Many VPNs, like Windscribe itself, also offer additional features such as ad blocking.
Until recently, VPN usage was designed exclusively for humans browsing the web. You would install the app on your computer or phone, turn on the secure connection, and that was it. But with the explosion of AI agents that access the internet autonomously, that landscape has completely changed. There is now a whole new category of online traffic that needs protection, and very few people are paying attention to it.
The problem nobody was seeing
When you set up a VPN on your computer or phone, the traffic going through that device is protected. Simple enough. But modern AI agents operate on a different layer — they run on servers, cloud environments, or automated pipelines that simply are not covered by the VPN on your personal device. That creates a massive open window, and most people do not even realize it exists.
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The agent goes out, runs a search, hits an API, collects a piece of data, and all of that happens with your IP exposed, without any protection. As Moe Long, senior editor at CNET, pointed out, using a VPN with an LLM can offer several advantages, such as keeping your identity private. Your internet service provider will not be able to see your AI agent’s activity, or even know that you are using an agent at all.
Beyond that, there is a privacy issue that goes further than the IP itself. When an autonomous agent browses the internet, it leaves behavioral traces. Websites can identify access patterns, infer that the traffic is automated, and in some cases, link that behavior directly to the user behind the agent. This is not theory — it is the basic function of any modern traffic analysis system. And the more sophisticated your agents become, the more exposure you have.
The scenario gets even more delicate when you consider that many of these agents handle sensitive information: they access internal systems, query private databases, and interact with platforms that require authentication. All of that activity, without a proper security layer, is an open invitation for problems — from inadvertent information leaks to targeted attacks based on traffic analysis.
Gen Digital and Windscribe enter the game
Gen Digital is not just any company in this space. With a portfolio that includes Norton, Avast, AVG, and other well-established digital security brands, the company has the track record and the infrastructure to build robust solutions here. Gen Digital’s recent move toward protecting AI agents represents an important strategic shift: for the first time, a major security company is treating autonomous agents as entities that need their own protection, not just extensions of the human user.
Gen Digital’s solution, called VPN for Agents, is available through the Gen Agent Trust Hub and is powered by Norton VPN technology. According to the company, the service works with multiple AI agents, requires no downloads or client configuration, and features multi-tunnel technology that lets you run several agents simultaneously through the VPN.
Windscribe, on the other hand, took a more direct and immediate approach: it announced native support for OpenClaw, positioning its service as a plug-and-play solution for anyone already using or planning to use that agent. OpenClaw has been gaining serious traction among developers and automation enthusiasts precisely because of its flexibility and ability to handle complex tasks autonomously. Integrating VPN support directly into that experience makes total sense, because it eliminates the need for manual setup and reduces the chance of users simply forgetting to turn on protection before letting the agent loose.
On its blog, Windscribe did not hold back when explaining the risk: if your agent gets a little too enthusiastic and ends up triggering a security challenge or landing on a blocklist, it is your digital reputation on the line — and potentially your entire home network that takes the hit.
The timing of these two moves happening together is no coincidence. The AI agent ecosystem has grown at a breakneck pace over the past few months, and the security infrastructure simply has not kept up. Tools like OpenClaw and ChatGPT democratized access to powerful autonomous agents, but they also created an army of users who never thought about traffic protection for these systems. Security companies spotted that gap and are racing to fill it. 🔐
What the experts are saying
Moe Long, senior editor at CNET, noted that more and more people are adopting AI agents, but those agents frequently access the internet without additional protection. That means your IP address is tied to everything they do. The practical result is that your internet service provider sees everything the agent does, and the agent also cannot access regional content or get around speed throttling and restricted access.
Long also highlighted the practical advantages of Gen Digital’s VPN: it works with multiple AI agents, requires no downloads or client setup, and the multi-tunnel technology allows you to run several agents at the same time through the VPN. That is especially relevant for anyone working with automation at scale who needs multiple agents operating in parallel.
Atila Tomaschek, senior writer at CNET, added what might be the most critical point in this entire discussion: your internet service provider cannot distinguish between your own traffic and the traffic from your autonomous AI agent. But with VPN integration — whether from Gen Digital or Windscribe — the agent’s traffic becomes encrypted, which means you are protected from anything your agent might do autonomously on the internet.
What actually changes with a protected OpenClaw
For anyone using OpenClaw on a daily basis, the integration with Windscribe’s VPN changes quite a bit. The agent’s workflow gets routed through secure servers, which means the source IP on its requests is no longer your real IP. Websites and services the agent accesses see a different address, making it much harder to track and link that traffic to your identity.
For those using OpenClaw in research projects, data collection, or process automation, this represents a significant privacy layer that simply did not exist before. And with Gen Digital’s support through Norton VPN, ChatGPT and other LLMs with internet access also gain that same protection.
There is also the operational security side of things. When agent traffic runs through a trusted VPN, it is protected against interception on less secure networks — something especially relevant for anyone running agents in shared environments or cloud infrastructure not fully controlled by the user. On top of that, traffic encryption ensures that even if someone manages to capture data packets, they will not be able to read what is being transmitted. It is the same principle that already protects human browsing, now applied to autonomous agent activity.
It is also worth highlighting the impact on the reliability of agent operations. An AI agent operating without protection risks having its requests blocked by anti-bot systems, getting banned from platforms for suspicious behavior, or having access limited by geographic restrictions. With an integrated VPN, the agent gains geographic mobility and a cleaner traffic profile, which increases the success rate of its tasks and reduces workflow interruptions. That is an immediate practical benefit, on top of all the privacy layers. 🌐
The bigger picture beyond OpenClaw and ChatGPT
While OpenClaw and ChatGPT are the most mentioned names in these early integrations, the movement has much broader implications. Gen Digital’s solution was designed to work with multiple LLMs and autonomous agents, which means we are not talking about a solution limited to a single ecosystem. As new AI agents emerge — and they will emerge at an accelerating pace — the demand for autonomous traffic protection will only grow.
For companies already using AI agents in internal processes like customer service, data analysis, or market monitoring, VPN protection adds a layer of compliance and governance that could be decisive. In regulated industries, where traffic tracking and data exposure are serious concerns, having an agent operating without protection could represent not just a technical risk, but a legal and regulatory one as well.
So far, Gen Digital has not responded to requests for additional comment about future plans for the service, but the structure of the Agent Trust Hub suggests the company is thinking long-term and building a platform, not just a standalone product.
Why this matters right now
The rise of AI agents is creating a new category of digital presence — one that acts on your behalf but, until now, did not have the same protection resources available to humans. The arrival of solutions from Gen Digital and Windscribe signals that the security industry is finally recognizing this. It is no longer just about protecting the device or the user, but the entire automation layer operating on that user’s behalf across the internet.
The growth of AI agent usage in both corporate and personal environments will keep accelerating. With that, the privacy and security concerns tied to these systems will become increasingly central in conversations about responsible technology. Those who are prepared now — both in terms of tools and awareness of the risks — will be in a much more comfortable position when these conversations become mandatory, not just optional.
The market for autonomous agent protection is still in its early chapters, but this week’s moves make one thing crystal clear: VPN for AI agents is no longer a futuristic idea. It is a present-day necessity, and OpenClaw is at the forefront of that shift. 🚀
