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Opera Browser Asked to Blacklist Pirate Sites in 'Turbo Mode' (torrentfreak.com)

Opera web browser's 'Turbo Mode' is designed to speed up browsing. As a side effect, it also bypasses website blocks, something popular with pirates. However, it appears that the company has been in talks to integrate a blacklist which could stop access to blocked domains. From a report on TorrentFreak: It transpires that earlier this year, Opera's owners were approached by Russian telecoms watchdog Roskomnadzor who aired concerns about the browser's ability to unblock banned sites. It was suggested that Opera should introduce some kind of filtering/blacklist mechanism to disallow blocked sites from accessing 'Turbo Mode.' Russian publication Kommersant says that it was able to confirm the nature of the discussions with sources within Opera. And according to Roskomnadzor's Vadim Ampelonsky, a meeting took place between the parties early in the fall. Ampelonsky says that discussion surrounded the technical issues of keeping blocked sites inaccessible when 'Turbo Mode' is activated. Representatives from Opera reportedly confirmed that this kind of filtering is possible. "We are ready to periodically send a list of sites to enter into such a filter at the conclusion of a bilateral agreement [with Opera]," Ampelonsky says, adding that discussions continue.

39 comments

  1. summary fail / what's new by vel-ex-tech · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    But what does this Turbo Mode, er, do that's defeating these blocks?

    Might I suggest that if something client-side can defeat a block, the block might just fucking suck? Why do I have a feeling there's a woman involved somewhere here? Completely ineffective method to block websites, but the problem is those ALL MEN GEEKS and their UBERHACKING!

    1. Re:summary fail / what's new by The+MAZZTer · · Score: 4, Informative

      Turbo Mode, by it's very nature, also functions as a proxy, since the data needs to go through Opera's servers first to get compressed.

    2. Re:summary fail / what's new by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      how the fuck did you manage to turn this into a sexist rant? Honestly, I'm asking seriously, what about this screamed "stupid women, men good, ARGGG" cause that's effectively what you'd done here.

    3. Re:summary fail / what's new by houstonbofh · · Score: 5, Informative

      It defeats it by using a proxy to request the page and compress it. Essentially an un-encrypted but compressed VPN. That kind of thing defeats much of the "blocking" today unless the location of the server is also blocked. The easy fix is regional servers, but that has a non-trivial cost.

    4. Re:summary fail / what's new by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why do I have a feeling there's a woman involved somewhere here? Completely ineffective method to block websites, but the problem is those ALL MEN GEEKS and their UBERHACKING!

      Because you're a mysogynist with a micropeen?

    5. Re: summary fail / what's new by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What about ziproxy for the win?

    6. Re:summary fail / what's new by vel-ex-tech · · Score: 0

      Yeah, I'm a misogynist, and you're a homophobic sack of shit. Not everybody gives a shit about your hunnies.

    7. Re:summary fail / what's new by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the same way feminists turn everything into a sexist rant about men..

    8. Re: summary fail / what's new by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      By hiring sexually frustrated Russian web trolls to do it?

  2. It's the only reason I use Opera... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Quite often switch out of Chrome or Edge to use Opera for this very reason.

    1. Re:It's the only reason I use Opera... by CaptainDork · · Score: 0

      And you unload your gun to go into some biker bars.

      --
      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
    2. Re:It's the only reason I use Opera... by b0bby · · Score: 2

      Chrome on Android has a Data Saver setting which does the same thing, routes you through Google for compression. Looks like it's also available in the Chrome store.

    3. Re:It's the only reason I use Opera... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How was I supposed to know that? And why would I even search. Google seems to know which sites I'm not "allowed" to visit.

    4. Re:It's the only reason I use Opera... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Guns in a bar? Typical amarican idiocy, i guess.

  3. Censorship, plain and simple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You thought the Age of the Surveillance State was bad? Enjoy the new hotness: The Age of Censorship, where you're not even allowed to choose anymore, your Nanny State does it for you. They can go fuck themselves sideways with a rusty Zika-and-HIV infested chainsaw.

  4. commentsubject by Falos · · Score: 1

    "The people are only allowed to go to the websites we give them permission to see" but at least they're not compelling them, forcing them. At least this targets infrastructure instead of the people. "You may only use devices pre-loaded with our logger, comrade."

    Still shit on balance. Still only affects casuals; there's always several ways around, and Our Betters are satisfied if they're sufficiently obscure, but they don't seem to realize these ALWAYS propagate until it trickles down to being a phone app "on every street corner" so to speak. Then they whack-a-mole, drop a new barrier, and the cycle begins a new.

    It's a rather literal proof of a distinction for "doing something before it was cool."

  5. What does one commie say to the other commie? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    BLOCK! BLOCK!

  6. Turbo Pirates! by anthony_greer · · Score: 1

    perhaps the perfect metal band name...

  7. Führer by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    Di Führer is mad that them.

  8. Response by Opportunist · · Score: 3, Funny

    Yes, we'll certainly eliminate the one feature that sets Opera apart and makes it appealing.

    Yeah.

    Definitely.

    We're working on it as fast as you're pulling out of the areas you're occupying. Promised.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  9. Opera to give up market share ... by CaptainDork · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ... of pirates to another browser.

    --
    It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
    1. Re:Opera to give up market share ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Opera has market share? I thought they were something some people talked about but nobody ever saw.

  10. Turbo mode is least of their worry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Opera browser also has a encrypted VPN built-in to the client which connects to their SurfEasy network. So far, the access is free and probably used far more frequently by Opera users in Russia, the UK, or anywhere else domains are blacklisted than Turbo mode is. Turbo doesn't work with HTTPS so its limited in usefulness.

  11. Any browser can do it via hosts files by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    See subject: For the best hosts file APK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ SR-4 32/64-bit https://www.google.com/search?...

    Ads rob speed, security (malvertising) & privacy (tracking).

    Hosts add speed (hardcodes/adblocks), security (bad sites/poisoned dns), reliability (dns down), & anonymity (dns requestlogs/trackers) natively.

    Works vs. caps & PUSH ads.

    Avg. page = big as Doom http://www.theregister.co.uk/2... & ads = 40% of it.

    Hosts != ClarityRay blockable (vs. souled-out to admen inferior wasteful redundant slow usermode addons)

    Less power/cpu/ram + IO use vs. DNS/routers/addons/antivirus (slows you) + less security issues/complexity.

    Compliments firewalls (blocking less used IP addys vs. hosts blocking more used domains) & DNS (lightens dns load).

    Gets data via 10 security sites.

    APK

    P.S. - Safe https://www.virustotal.com/en/... (Verified by Malwarebytes' S. Burn "seen the code & it's safe" http://forum.hosts-file.net/vi... )

    1. Re:Any browser can do it via hosts files by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey, where the hell were you?

  12. Killing Features Before They're Born by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Since Opera was bought by a Chinese company, what amounts to a proxy service was already suspect at best. Now, however, one of the few remaining uses of it is being knocked off. They're doing a great job to strip a featured service of most (if not all) of the things you could possibly want it for.

  13. Pirates my ass! by LTIfox · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm surprised that the blurb makes it all about pirates while in fact it's about state censorship. That's Russian government we're talking about. Pirates has nothing to do with the request - it's all about blocking porn, of course! ;)

    1. Re:Pirates my ass! by KiloByte · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I'm surprised that the blurb makes it all about pirates while in fact it's about state censorship.

      And copyright abuses -- heck, copyright at all -- aren't a subset of state censorship, how exactly? From day one, when it was The Worshipful Company of Stationers?

      --
      The creatures outside looked from Alt-Right to Antifa; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
    2. Re:Pirates my ass! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm surprised that the blurb makes it all about pirates while in fact it's about state censorship. That's Russian government we're talking about. Pirates has nothing to do with the request - it's all about blocking porn, of course! ;)

      Since when was blocking porn considered censorship?

      If you do consider it censorship, then why is blocking copyright-protected material not censorship?

      Finally, what does this have to do with Russia in particular that would not be equally true of any other state in the world?

  14. Security by Obscurity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    As fucked up idea as DRM.
    Please die.

  15. In talks with who? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Who exactly are they in talks with?

    We have the 2nd Amendment to protect our rights, and politicians and gun grabbers are saying are rights are not under threat, then we come across things like this.

  16. Better subject: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  17. F Russia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Mongols.

  18. Bilateral by dromgodis · · Score: 1

    bilateral agreement

    Bilateral as in "you enforce our censorship and we won't imprison the users of your product in our country".

  19. "Dr. Korby was never here" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    See subject: Besides, TRUE Opera (not "ChOpeRa") has built in blocklists from who knows when to its final 64-bit model 12.18...

    * I am EvErYwHeRe as I pilot my starship through Cyberspace!

    APK

    P.S.=> Busy rewatching that old Star Trek TOS episode & though that'd fit in my reply (w/ useful info too of course)... apk

    1. Re:"Dr. Korby was never here" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      shut up you autistic n1gger.

  20. You wish you were me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    See subject: Vs. the mindless chimp you are trolling as unidentifiable ac. I do good things. You can't (& you know it).

    * Languish in your simian stupidity...

    APK

    P.S.=> LMAO - you KNOW it's true... apk