14 DAY TRIAL // Yesterday, Opera Software pushed out version 38.0.2205.0 of its famous Web browser, the first major browser to include a free VPN service in the standard distribution.
Opera 38 is the company's so-called "Developer Edition," the equivalent of an early alpha release, so if you want the new and enhanced Opera, you'd have to ditch the current stable release, which is Opera 36, and install the latest cutting-edge version.
Don't forget to turn it on!
By default, the VPN comes turned off, and in order to start using it, users should navigate through the browser's menu to the Settings option and then access the Privacy & security section.
Scrolling down, you should find the VPN section, which includes a toggle to turn on the VPN for all your browser's connections.
Once this option activated, all your Web traffic will be encrypted and sent through a tunnel to intermediary servers that will then relay it to your desired Web address.
Currently, Opera's VPN includes exit nodes in Germany, Canada, and the US, but expect more locations in upcoming versions.
Opera's quest for better user privacy controls
Using a VPN is recommended for users who would like to keep their privacy while online, to avoid restrictive firewalls, to access blocked websites, and to mask traffic on public wired or WiFi networks.
Lately, Opera has been very focused on adding privacy-enhancing features to its browser, and Opera 37, the browser's current Beta release, is already testing out a built-in ad blocking module. Besides blocking ads, the native ad-blocker will also prevent advertising companies from gathering information and fingerprinting users online, yet another plus for user privacy.
If you've been following the browser scene since the mid-'90s, you won't be surprised by this latest addition to Opera's core features, since Opera has been pioneering and testing a large number of browser features before anyone else.
You can download Opera 38 from its official website, or from one of Softpedia's download mirrors, for Linux, Mac, and the Windows operating systems.
