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Opera Adds Free VPN-Client With Unlimited Usage To Its Desktop Browser
On Thursday, Opera announced that it is adding a free built-in virtual private network (VPN) client to its desktop browser. The feature, which isn't available on other popular Web browsers, will allow users to hide their IP address, unblock firewalls and access region-locked content. It will also help users protect their personal information on public Wi-Fi networks as it offers 256-bit encryption. "Everyone deserves to be private online if they want to be," Krystian Kolondra, SVP at Opera told Slashdot in a statement. "By adding a free, unlimited VPN directly into the browser, no additional download or extensions from an unknown third-party provider are necessary."
The move comes a year after Opera acquired North American VPN company SurfEasy. Unlike Chrome and Firefox, which require you to use an additional third-party tool (such as an extension), Opera's VPN offering is baked in the browser. What's more, it is free and offers unlimited usage. The feature is available on Opera's Mac, Windows, and Linux clients.
The move comes a year after Opera acquired North American VPN company SurfEasy. Unlike Chrome and Firefox, which require you to use an additional third-party tool (such as an extension), Opera's VPN offering is baked in the browser. What's more, it is free and offers unlimited usage. The feature is available on Opera's Mac, Windows, and Linux clients.
Now that Netflix is actively blocking VPN users, I wonder how this will play out?
We don't have a Constitutional level of freedom of the press in the US. Fuck, we don't have a Constitutional level of any kind of freedom in the US.
> Chinese company that is buying Opera has close ties to the Chinese government,
That's just FUD. If you read anything about the companies that make up the consortium (it wasn't just one China based company) that bought the Opera properties, you see they are just capitalistic as any other multinational corporations. Mergers, acquisitions, venture capital groups, monopoly lawsuits, investors, high finance, etc. are all part of the Asian megacorps that are emerging from China. Besides, I can't believe after the surveillance state rant bait that's posted daily here on slashdot, that anyone would trust US companies (or European or Israeli ones) to not spy on their users. Just because Apple and Microsoft now have decided to go for the positive PR by making a show of fighting the Feds after decades of gleefully cooperating with them at the expense of their customers privacy, suddenly that makes them all more trustworthy? Pshaw.
Fact of life: if you aren't paying for something, YOU are the product.