Opera VPN app to be permanently discontinued
Opera launched its VPN app for Android and iOS two years ago. The free app provided users with secure VPN encryption to the web (with support for spoofing one of five countries), plus the blocking of both ads and tracking cookies.
At a time when privacy is at the forefront of a lot of people’s minds, and VPNs are growing in popularity, it will perhaps come as a surprise to hear that Opera has made the decision to discontinue its app as of April 30. Yes, that’s the end of this month.
Opera 52 launches faster ad-blocking tool, adds support for multiple tab selection
Opera Software has released Opera 52.0, the latest version of its Chromium-based browser for Windows, Mac and Linux.
The main highlight in this new release is the unveiling of a faster ad-blocker tool. In addition, users gain the ability to select multiple tabs with a variety of related actions, including a brand new option for copying Web URLs. There are also new animations to accompany error and warning messages.
Opera 51 unveils better Windows performance, host of functional tweaks
Just one month after its previous update, Opera Software has unveiled Opera 51.0, the latest version of its Chromium-based browser for Windows, Mac and Linux.
There’s no let up in new features and improvements in Opera 51. Chief among these is the promise of faster browsing on Windows, with Opera claiming it’s 38 percent faster than Firefox 58. This is down to the fact the program code is now compiled using Clang.
Opera 50 unveils a host of new and improved features, including anti-bitcoin mining protection
Opera Software has released Opera 50.0, the latest version of its Chromium-based browser for Windows, Mac and Linux.
As befitting such a landmark release, Opera 50 is packed full of new features. Chief among these is the addition of an anti-Bitcoin mining tool, but there’s also support for both Chromecast and Oculus Rift VR headsets, better protection for browsing sessions after crashes, and a major upgrade to its VPN service.
Opera 50 web browser will offer anti-Bitcoin cryptocurrency mining feature
Opera may not be the most popular web browser, but it is certainly one of the most feature-full offerings. Quite frankly, it is actually quite good, and if you haven't tried it recently, you should. Not to mention, it is very much a cross-platform affair, offering versions for Windows, macOS, Linux desktop, Android, iOS, and more.
The upcoming version 50 of the Opera web browser is particularly intriguing. Why? Well, it will offer a really cool integrated anti-Bitcoin mining feature. Besides Bitcoin, it will also block the mining of other cryptocurrencies such as Litecoin and Ethereum. If you aren't aware, some websites are hijacking user computers to mine for cryptocurrencies. This is not only a potential violation of trust, but it can negatively impact the computer's performance too. Mining is also a huge waste of electricity. Opera 50 will offer an optional setting that, when enabled, blocks this nonsense.
Opera 49 adds editable elements to its screen capture tool, rolls out VR headset support
Opera Software has unveiled Opera 49, the latest version of its Chromium-powered browser for Windows, Mac and Linux.
Opera 49’s headline new feature is a major update to its new snapshot tool, with editing features, a selfie mode and support for emoji. Elsewhere, the VR headset support previewed in the Developer release has also been included, along with a new 'easy setup' button offering convenient access to key settings.
Opera 48 unveils pop-up search and conversion tools, Snapshot screen-capture utility
Opera Software has unveiled Opera 48 for Windows, Mac and Linux. After the last feature-light release, version 48 adds a number of interesting new features as well as improvements.
Chief among these is a new pop-up search tool, which also doubles as currency, unit and time zone converter. Opera also adds a new screenshot capture tool for web pages, plus widens its bookmark-importing tool to support Edge and Yandex browsers.
Opera Mini for iOS isn't dead after all -- the developers were just waiting for iPhone 8
Earlier this year, I was shocked to learn that development of Opera for iOS was effectively dead. No, this was not just a rumor -- an Opera employee told me publicly on Twitter. And so, we here at BetaNews reported the unfortunate news. Luckily, the report of the browser's demise was short-lived -- the company later told me the employee was misinformed. I was dubious, so I took a wait-and-see approach to see just how alive development truly was.
Well, today, Opera supplied proof that its popular Mini browser is alive and kicking -- a new version! Apparently the company was just waiting for the iPhone 8 before updating the web browser. In a blog post highlighting the upcoming release of a new iPhone, the company shares that the user interface has been refreshed. For instance, there is more use of the "Opera red" color and trending news stories have been bumped to the top of the start page. New features have been added too, such as an enhanced search bar that can scan QR codes.
'It is time to return to not being evil': Opera and Vivaldi founder accuses Google of 'misuse of power'
The founder of the Opera and Vivaldi web browsers, Jon von Tetzchner, has lashed out at Google in a vitriolic blog post in which he accuses the search giant of a "misuse of power." He says that Opera helped Google to grow and that it didn’t take long for the company to expose its dark side.
He complains that despite the fact that Vivaldi is based on Chromium, the web browser has to hide its real identity in order to work with Google Docs. He also suggests that his Google AdWords campaigns were suspended after he gave interviews in which he described Google as being a threat to democracy. von Tetzchner is not a happy man, and he has a simple message for Google: "it is time to return to not being evil."
Opera kills off its free data-saving app, Opera Max
Opera Max -- the free data-saving and VPN-like tool from the team behind the Opera web browser -- is being killed off.
The app has been removed from Google Play with immediate effect, and there will be no more updates. Opera is not really giving a reason for the sudden decision other that the fact that Opera Max had "a substantially different value proposition than our browser products."
Opera 47 (finally) adds bookmarks export, smoother video playback
Opera Software has unveiled Opera 47.0 for Windows, Mac and Linux. It’s a fast turnaround from Opera 46, taking less than the usual six-week development cycle to go from alpha to final release.
As a result, the new release is light on major features, but does boast a number of improvements, including smoother video and exportable bookmarks. It also updates the underlying Chromium engine to version 60.
Google Chrome bests Microsoft Edge in new battery life tests
Ask Microsoft which browser offers the best battery life on Windows 10 and it will not hesitate to tell you that Microsoft Edge is the best. And it has the test results to prove it: on a Surface Book, for instance, Microsoft Edge lasts a couple of hours longer than Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, which is remarkable.
But, and there is a but, an independent test disputes Microsoft's claim. YouTuber Linus Tech Tips has pitted Microsoft Edge against Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Opera and discovered that it does not deliver as strong a performance as Microsoft claims.
Opera abandons iOS [Update]
I have been enjoying the Opera desktop web browser lately. In fact, the experience has been so good, that I have been using it on Windows 10, Linux, and macOS. The browser has many great features, plenty of extensions, and it is darn fast too.
As an iPhone and iPad user, I thought maybe it was time to use Opera on mobile. After all, why not use the same app across all my devices? Unfortunately, after searching for Opera in the Apple App Store, I noticed something odd -- none of the company's iOS browsers (Opera Mini and Opera Coast) have been updated in 2017. Since we are almost halfway through the year, I decided to ask Opera what was up. Shockingly, the company told me that it no longer has a team working on iOS.
Warning: Chrome, Opera and Safari's auto form fillers make it easy to steal personal data
We're all looking for ways to save time and effort, so it's hardly surprising that some web browsers offer a feature that automatically fills in online forms with commonly requested personal information. While incredibly useful, the feature can also be exploited to extract data a user might not want to share with a particular website.
Chrome, Opera and Safari all offer to save and automatically fill in details such as name, address, phone number, and so on, and users are ordinarily only aware of the data which is obviously filled in on their behalf. But a web developer shows how it is possible -- and very, very easy -- to use hidden fields to secretly gather all of the information saved in an autofill profile.
Mozilla announces Project Mortar to bring Chrome plugins to Firefox
The browser wars continue as Chrome, Opera, Firefox and Edge all vie for attention. One of the biggest draws to any browser is plugin support, and the absence of a particular plugin can make the difference between a user switching allegiances or sticking with their tried-and-tested browser.
With this in mind, Mozilla launches Project Mortar. Its aim is to make the development and maintenance of Firefox as cheap and easy as possible. To do this, it is investigating the possibility of borrowing plugin functionality from other browsers, including PDF and Flash support from Chrome.
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