Opera Launches 'Free And Unlimited' VPN App For iOS (theverge.com)

Opera has launched a new VPN app for iOS that is free to use and includes unlimited data. The app uses the US-based SurfEasy VPN service acquired by Opera last March. Opera is promising that its mobile VPN is free for life, with no subscription needed. For comparison, SurfEasy's standalone apps for Android and iOS do charge subscription fees. Opera says the app is "especially relevant on campuses and workplaces," where Wi-Fi provided by one institution may have limited access to "social media and video streaming websites." The software blocks ads and trackers, in addition to allowing users to access geo-blocked content by routing their internet connection through another country. You can download the app here.

Comments

This will be great for testing!

[Anonymous Coward]

My company can't seem to get DNS to work well since we're attempting to use a Windows server for DNS, so it will really help when trying to test from outside the network. Well, that is if it also sends DNS requests over the VPN.

Re:This will be great for testing!

[Anonymous Coward]

An easy fix for that is BIND's Response Policy Zone (RPZ). You setup BIND to forward requests to the Windows server with exceptions for the entries that keep disappearing or changing to incorrect values on the Windows server. It's a lot easier than trying to clone the entire zone file and keep it up to date. The only hard thing is to not put a trailing period for the hostname like you have to do in the other BIND config files. More info on the config:

http://www.zytrax.com/books/dns/ch7/rpz.html

It's really made our life easier since the hostname for our Git and Jenkins servers kept disappearing from the Windows DNS server.

Re:This will be great for testing!

[Anonymous Coward]

We found it was the Windows DHCP server that constantly deletes or changes hardcoded IP addrs. Putting a BIND server running RPZ in front of it lets us guarantee certainly important DNS entries stay.

Re:This will be great for testing!

[Big Hairy Ian]

Didn't they launch this or something very similar the other month?

... waiting for

[Anonymous Coward]

FOR LIFE!

Pays to join Publisher's Clearing House! You WILL WIN! Hooray!

Convenient commercial aggregation of your data

[Anonymous Coward]

And provides a nice, clean, convenient place for Opera (and the FBI) to monitor everyone's data at 1 egress point.

Um, no thanks.

Re:Convenient commercial aggregation of your data

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, should only Google and Facebook have all the fun?

Re: Convenient commercial aggregation of your data

[Anonymous Coward]

This.

You have to wonder: what's their incentive to offer a free service? They can sell all the data they decrypt.

Great idea, just not sustaible

[randomErr]

This will only work for a while. You'll notice they released the app on a relatively small platform*. If they expand it beyond this eco system they'll have not valid way to keep the service going unless a third party pays for it and harvests user data. I can't see this living part a year.

* By small platform I mean install base. Theres just a ton more Android devices in use. They could have went with something like Firefox OS. But those platforms are no where near as mature or tightly controlled.

Re:Great idea, just not sustaible

[tlhIngan]

This will only work for a while. You'll notice they released the app on a relatively small platform*. If they expand it beyond this eco system they'll have not valid way to keep the service going unless a third party pays for it and harvests user data. I can't see this living part a year.

* By small platform I mean install base. Theres just a ton more Android devices in use. They could have went with something like Firefox OS. But those platforms are no where near as mature or tightly controlled.

Not a small platform. Small in variance, maybe (most running the same OS), but large in traffic. In fact, I think 2015 was the year that Android mobile traffic FINALLY became the majority - despite Android outselling iOS 4:1 worldwide, iOS traffic was the majority.

So it's really a good testing scenario - small variance in platforms, large amount of potential traffic to test your servers with.

The question becomes - how is Opera paying for this? I can't see this being "free" unless it's paid for in some way. I mean normal VPN servers cost around $70 a year or so...

What's the hidden cost?

[Anonymous Coward]

Is all of my info going to be funnelled straight to the NSA and China? Because brother, I can't imagine why a for-profit would bother doing this out of the goodness of their hearts.

Re:What's the hidden cost?

[Anonymous Coward]

Is all of my info going to be funnelled straight to the NSA and China? Because brother, I can't imagine why a for-profit would bother doing this out of the goodness of their hearts.

Besides the obvious fact that they are not relevant browser and need to distinguish themselves from the crowd?

Re: What's the hidden cost?

[Anonymous Coward]

Looks like I'm going to have to transmit a bunch of dick pics for them to review...

Not a small platform

[SuperKendall]

There are not a ton more Android devices in use.

Looking at the U.S. 43% of active subscriber devices are iOS (as of last September)

A lot more Android devices EXIST. But that does not mean they are in-use in any way that matters to a VPN provider.

That said I agree with your main point roughly, that it doesn't seem sustainable to offer free VPN to over a billion devices. So then they obviously are making money somehow... still want to use that "free" VPN?

Re:Not a small platform

[Anonymous Coward]

Free VPN is not possible.

So how do I access this service from Android again?

Hola chrome extension does the same

[schwit1]

https://chrome.google.com/webs...

Re:Hola chrome extension does the same

[Anonymous Coward]

Hola only works for a short period of time until you pay them their $5.

With that said, IMHO it's $5 very well spent.

Re:Hola chrome extension does the same

[Anonymous Coward]

No, Hola routes your traffic through other Hola users. Meaning that exit traffic from Yahweh-knows-where looking at Vishnu-knows-what is coming out of your connection too. It is basically TOR, but everyone is an exit node and it has none of the security.

The Real Question

[Anonymous Coward]

Will it causes most location-based apps to see the VPN location instead of yours? This is the big feature I want to bypass MLB restrictions.

Not the FBI

[Anonymous Coward]

Remember the chinese military owns Opera.

Opera WAS Great – But is now Chinese NSA-ba

[Sir Holo]

I've used Opera since it first came out – when you had to PAY for web browsers. It has always been speedy, and has given the user as much control as desired.

But, a Chinese conglomerate is buying Opera. The offer was made a month ago. And, from the NYT article: "Opera’s board has unanimously decided to recommend that shareholders accept the offer."

Yikes! A Chinese-owned browser with built-in VPN, for free. Uh-huh, I believe THAT one... No back doors? Pinky-swear?

And, of course, NSA will target Opera users for their "full-take" of internet activity.

I'm sorry Opera, but your board had made a terrible decision, and I can no longer trust any of your products. Goodbye.

Re: Opera WAS Great – But is now Chinese NS

[untoreh]

You could say the vpn was built after the chinese acquisition because chineses want to spy you... or you could say that the vpn was built after the chinese acquisition to target the chinese market, since you know... big firewall of China, this could be a great selling point for chinese users.

Doesn't like to shut off

[j33px0r]

Tried it out. It always liked to turn back on regardless if you disable in setting or through the app. Slows down surfing as well.