Using the Opera browser? Here’s something you need to consider

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I knew that Opera was having problems — but not these kinds of problems. Per Steve Symington at the Motley Fool: Shares of Opera (NASDAQ:OPRA) were d
[See the full post at: Using the Opera browser? Here’s something you need to consider]

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Elly, Kathy Stevens, LHiggins, rontpxz81

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Keep an eye on Mozilla.

Byte me!

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Mozilla Corporation is wholly-owned by the Mozilla Foundation; neither entity trades on the open market. As a result, accurate financial information might be a little harder to obtain.

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Kirsty

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Btw, multiple law firms are attempting to recover losses for investors. The litigants claim that Opera’s lending app violates Googles TOS and will be dropped once Google learns of the rates they’re charging (approx 365 – 876, IIRC).

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AlexEiffel

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jabeattyauditor wrote:

The litigants claim that Opera’s lending app violates Googles TOS and will be dropped once Google learns of the rates they’re charging (approx 365 – 876, IIRC).

Opportunity to edit expired, unfortunately:  that’s 356 – 876% – OUCH!

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Cybertooth

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I’ve had Opera on my HTPC that runs Win7.  I just took the safe step and got rid of it and installed Edge.  MSFT will support Edge for another 18 months on Win7 and I just need it to stream about four content providers (movies and sports).  No other browsing at all.

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After the transition from Netscape in the Aughts, I bailed out of Opera in the Teens when updating to a new version converted the entire mailbox system to something that was largely inaccessible — moved to Firefox and haven’t looked back with any fondness for the other one.

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Spiral

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Opera is based on Chromium so transitioning to another browser should be pretty straightforward. Besides Chrome and Credge there are several Chromium based browsers with the 2 best known being Vivaldi and Brave. Also, there are some Firefox derivatives available also.

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[EP]

Unlike many of you here, I’m in the small minority since I’ve been using Opera browser for several years and it has been stable on most of my PCs and I’M NOT ABANDONING OPERA ANYTIME SOON, despite what woody or anyone else says about Opera

I will continue to use Opera browsers for years to come until its creator completely discontinues development of it.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by EP.

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Wayne, DrBonzo

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I agree. IMHO Opera is a great browser. I’ve used it almost exclusively for the last 5 years on Vista, Win 7, macOS Sierra, High Sierra, and Mojave, and Linux Ubuntu and Mint. It’s fast, has never frozen or crashed on me, has a good user interface and is easy to personalize and maintain. I’d be very sorry to see it go.

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If the allegations are true, then the company will be bankrupt sometime this year or next.

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Bottom line for me is, has anyone found evidence that the Opera Windows desktop browser has been compromised or poses a threat to the user?  I only use it for a few things and could live without it, but it works well for those tasks, and the more choices and competition there is in the browser market, the better.  If it’s not going to cause me any problems, I’d just as soon keep using it, and maybe help give a less problematic company a reason to acquire the core browser business and keep it going if the rest of the Opera empire collapses.

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AmbularD wrote:

Bottom line for me is, has anyone found evidence that the Opera Windows desktop browser has been compromised or poses a threat to the user?

That’s the question I have.  The lending thing smacks of desperation on the part of the Opera people, and if Google giving them trouble for violating the Play TOS is inevitable, it could be bad for their bottom line and for the future of Opera, but that remains to be seen.

I’d have to know the terms of the so-called “predatory” loans before deciding that the company is too unsavory to trust.  In harder times, I’ve taken loans with very high interest rates, and I’m glad that these loans were available, as the consequences of not having the money would have cost me even more.  If you look at it in terms of a $25 fee for a week long loan of $150, the effective interest rate is massive, but if you look at it in terms of preventing disconnection and reconnection fees (and additional deposits) for the electric bill, not to mention the huge inconvenience, it’s way cheaper.  Way, way cheaper.

It could be that Opera is in trouble financially, and the browser may be discontinued if the worst happens, but if you’re an Opera user, you might as well wait until that happens before worrying about switching.  If you like Opera, why bail on it now because it might be discontinued soon, rather than waiting until it actually is?

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[AmbularD]

In harder times, I’ve taken loans with very high interest rates, and I’m glad that these loans were available, as the consequences of not having the money would have cost me even more.

Agreed.  I’ve found myself in that position in the past as well, and though it’s absolutely true that it would be all too easy to get into trouble with that kind of loan, it can also be a lifesaver if you’re desperately in need of cash and simply don’t have any other options.  I don’t want to assume the loans under discussion here are comparable to those offered in the U.S. market, though, where I know we at least have some consumer protection regulations in place.

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• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by AmbularD.

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Gonna join those that support Opera, until the day its no longer safe to use it, I will keep using it

Besides, its not like this browser isn’t free.

Just someone who don't want Windows to mess with its computer.

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Who would trust a Chinese browser ?

In November 2016, the original Norwegian owner of Opera sold his stake in the business to a Chinese consortium under the name Golden Brick Capital Private Equity Fund I Limited.

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I became a fan of Opera back in the late 90’s. That would of been version 3. something, something. Hung in there with 12.18, using it as my default browser until mid 2018 and still have it on my desktop. After being sold to the Chinese and going Chromium with the Blink engine, I never messed with Opera after that. Every once and awhile, I’ll boot it up. I’m amazed that the Presto engine still works as well at rendering web pages as any Browser today. Another amazing thing was, someone had uploaded the all the source code for the Presto engine on to GitHub. It sat there for over a year before someone noticed it and took it down. My guess is, anyone who saw it, thought it was to outdated to mess with. The youngsters today, have no idea that many of the features they enjoy today on a browser, were innovations brought on by Opera. If Opera bites the dust, so be it. IMO; the real Opera bit the dust years ago!

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Huawei 5G and now Opera are threats to personal or national security? I have yet to read any detailed scenario of how a back door into the 5G equipment can help the Chinese take over the world. Theft of IP is possibly a legitimate concern but there are so many other ways to collect data that ranting on about Huawei or now Opera seems more about stifling a commercial rival as per the current trade war. What does using a good browser have to do with its owners’ other apps? Is there any evidence that the Chinese owner is turning Opera into some kind of threat? Losing market share and thus income resulting in losing a product has happened before, e.g., Netscape, but given the amount of data gathered by Google, this rationale for dropping Opera seems a bit paranoid—or just plain foolish.

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Huawei 5G and now Opera are threats to personal or national security?

I am guessing there are plenty on Chinese with lots of imagination and there is enough mal intent to go around. I vote for security! We are always behind in communications tech these days anyway 😂

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Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

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Looks like it is time to take a second look at using Opera.

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Another of the many calls for further information on this:

 
What is going on at Opera Software?
by Martin Brinkmann | January 19, 2020

 
An analysis of Opera Software’s performance by Hindenburg Research suggests that the company that is best known for its Opera web browser faces troubling times.
Note: Hindenburg Research specializes in “forensic financial research”.
…
The company was acquired by a Chinese-based investor group in 2018 prior to its IPO and things have taken a turn for the worse since then.
…
What does this mean for users of the Opera web browser?
It is too early to come to a final conclusion. The claims made by Hindenburg Research need to be be looked at and it remains to be seen how Opera will react to the report.
If the allegations are true, it could potentially mean the end of Opera and the Opera web browser.

 
Read the full article here

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Alex5723 wrote:

Who would trust a Chinese browser ?

In November 2016, the original Norwegian owner of Opera sold his stake in the business to a Chinese consortium under the name Golden Brick Capital Private Equity Fund I Limited.

That surprised me a bit because I only recently found Opera runs faster than Firefox on my outdated Android.  Sadly, it seems the owners may not be trustworthy because the “party” will undoubtably have a say in the matter.

https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSObiJnNKLa

My slightly off-topic position.
What’s also troubling is the lack of choices in that Firefox wants to be like Chrome.I’ll minimize my exposure to all tings “alphabet” related because they only want to abuse my data.Brave might be nice, but it’s not available to my phone until I get a newer one.  If only there was some actual choice in the device matter.  Android or iPhone, shakesfist. Let’s have another browser war.  And while we’re at it, perhaps another type of contest with various mobile OS’s competing for the mobile device market.

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In the interest of fairness, here’s what Opera has to say for itself.

https://investor.opera.com/

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Kirsty

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Just HOW Does a browser company make money off of a FREE browser anyway?? 🤨

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Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

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Driving traffic to search sites with which they have a deal, perhaps?

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Too much “smoke on the water” here with Opera. Do the research for answers. DON’T play into op-ed write ups for basic information. You’ll more than likely find much of what is being said is generally MOOT, and will remain so, until, something official has made its way into the general tech community. I don’t trust Chinese made tech any more than the next person may or may not. But I believe in putting the proof in full view. Until then……Cheers!!

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