The company improved the security of the browser

Dec 20, 2006 12:00 GMT  ·  By

Opera is one of the most used browsers on the Internet, combining features that will help users browse webpages fast and easy. Because the security is the main concern for many software developers, Opera's producers tried to improve the application with a new update released yesterday.

The browser came with a new security feature entitled Fraud Protection that is meant to improve the security of the browsing process while they are visiting sites. The new function will verify every visited website through a powerful server and will inform you if it is safe or not.

"When Opera Fraud Protection is enabled, you contact a server at Opera every time you request a Web page. HTTPS sites are checked via an encrypted channel, while IP addresses on the local intranet will never be checked. The server checks the domain name of the requested page against live whitelists compiled by GeoTrust, and blacklists compiled by GeoTrust and Phishtank. Opera's fraud protection server downloads blacklists directly from Phishtank, and sends a query to GeoTrust," the company said on the official webpage.

By default, this option is disabled and the application will never contact a server to verify the website you are visiting. If you want to active the feature, you should go to Tools, Preferences, Advanced, Security and check the option entitled "Enable Fraud Protection".

"With Opera Fraud Protection enabled, every Web page you request is subjected to a phishing filter, and the status of the page is displayed as an icon on the right side of the address field, as indicated in the table below. Clicking on the icon opens a dialogue box with additional information, including the possibility of reporting a site as either suspicious or trustworthy, with an explanation," the developer added.

Opera 9.10.8679 was tested by Softpedia and is available as a free download HERE.