Opera has revealed another huge addition to its desktop browser, that will help address the privacy concern of users — specially in times when Government snooping and external cyber threats continue to escalate.
The company has integrated a free VPN service directly into the current offering of their desktop browsers. For Opera browser users, addition of VPN service will be a double delight, after the recent addition of a in-built Ad Blocker to the browser.
For those who aren’t aware of the term, a VPN is a Virtual Private Network services allows users to hide their location and is mostly used by those concerned privacy or wanting to access content only available in certain countries. It helps you bypass your own network, and run the internet via a remote location server.
This value addition is the result of Opera’s acquisition of North American VPN company, SurfEasy last March. As a result of that, users are not required to download any third party extensions anymore, since Opera itself is reinforcing concerns over the privacy of data and identity by adding native VPN support in it’s browsers. The VPN feature however, is currently in BETA and is available only in the Developer Version of the browser, and it features 256-bit encryption.
To activate it,
Mac users just need to click the Opera menu,
select “Preferences” and toggle the feature VPN onWindows and Linux users need to go to the “Privacy and Security” section in “Settings” and enable VPN there.
A VPN button will appear in the browser address field, from which the user can see and change location (more locations will be added soon), check whether their IP is exposed and review statistics for their data used.
The VPN integration built into the browser works out-of-the-box and doesn’t require any subscription, and will be free and unlimited for all of it’s users. Opera reinforces this fact in their official announcement, by shading the paid VPN services.
It says that even though Opera is providing you with all the features for free, don’t you be thinking there might be a loophole somewhere!
The in-built Opera VPN offers several must-have options available in paid VPN’s, such as:
- Hide your IP address – Opera will replace your IP address with a virtual IP address, so it’s harder for sites to track your location and identify your computer. This means you can browse the web more privately.
- Unblocking of firewalls and websites – Many countries, schools and workplaces block video-streaming sites, social networks and other services. By using a VPN you can access your favorite content, no matter where you are.
- Public Wi-Fi security – When you’re surfing the web on public Wi-Fi, intruders can easily sniff data. By using a VPN, you can improve the security of your personal information.
