{"id":12519,"date":"2016-09-20T09:52:53","date_gmt":"2016-09-20T08:52:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/?p=12519"},"modified":"2016-09-20T13:48:28","modified_gmt":"2016-09-20T12:48:28","slug":"opera-website-browser-adds-free-no-logging-vpn-protect-users","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2016\/09\/opera-website-browser-adds-free-no-logging-vpn-protect-users.html","title":{"rendered":"Opera Website Browser Adds FREE No-Logging VPN to Protect Users"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Opera<\/a> website browser, which is available to both Smartphones, Tablets and Desktop Computers, has today attempted to make itself more appealing to the market by adding a free built-in Virtual Private Network (VPN) feature that doesn’t log your online activity and protects privacy.<\/p>\n

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Opera use to be one of the most popular browsers around, although in recent years’ its popularity has suffered due to the rise of Google’s now dominant Chrome<\/strong> browser and other popular picks like Firefox<\/strong> (Mozilla) and Safari<\/strong> (Apple). Personally I still prefer Firefox on our Desktop systems for development reasons, but we’ve found Opera to be better on Android phones.<\/p>\n

Whatever your preference, Opera wants you back and it’s trying really hard to attract interest. As a result the browser developer has recently added a number of new features, such as battery saving enhancements for laptops and the sometimes controversial addition of built-in ad blocking. Today they’ve gone one step further by adding a free VPN<\/strong> to their browser.<\/p>\n

Krystian Kolondra, SVP of Opera Browser for Computers, said:<\/strong><\/p>\n

“If people knew how the internet truly works, I believe they all would use a VPN. By making our browser VPN free and easy to use, we hope to make it an essential tool, just as the lock and key is to your house.<\/p>\n

We know that people are concerned about their privacy online and that the interest for VPN is increasing. However, two major obstacles are blocking people from using it: VPNs are too complicated to use, and they require a monthly subscription. Opera resolves both issues by introducing its free and easy-to-use service right into the browser.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In fairness there are in fact a fair few free VPN services around and they’re usually not complicated to use (most of the time you only need to type a login and password), but free services aren’t always very good for anything except the basics and it’s often harder to trust the owners of such services with your personal data.<\/p>\n

By comparison Opera’s new VPN feature is powered by its subsidiary, SurfEasy<\/strong>, which uses a secure 256-bit AES<\/strong> encrypted connection to the VPN virtual locations and does not retain any logs of your online activity. The company claims to have five server locations around the world and Opera can be set to “intelligently select the optimal server location based on factors such as network speed, latency, location and server capacity<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

How to use the VPN in Opera for Computers:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

1. Download the browser client.<\/p>\n

2. Go to Settings (or \u201cPreferences<\/em>\u201d on Mac).<\/p>\n

3. Choose \u201cPrivacy & Security<\/em>\u201d and then toggle the free VPN on.<\/p>\n

4. An icon labelled \u201cVPN<\/em>\u201d will appear in the browser to the left of the address field, from which you can activate the VPN and choose your preferred location.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The press release only appears to reference the new feature for use on its Desktop browser, although traditionally such enhancements often end up filtering down to their mobile browser too (Android, iOS etc.). The downside is that such a feature could be abused (e.g. making it harder to track criminal or unlawful activity), although equally it can help to protect your privacy and security (e.g. when browsing on a public WiFi<\/a> network).<\/p>\n

At present Opera says that there are no usage limits on the new VPN and that they have no plans to use the new service for making money (injecting adverts etc.). The goal, for now, is simply to differentiate their product in the market and thus boost users.<\/p>\n