Opera Adds Feature to Block Malicious Websites

Opera has announced that it has made a deal with Haute Secure to add Fraud Protection to Opera 9.5. Haute Secure has a technology where it can prevent malware from being installed or can warn the user that the web page being visited contains some kind of malware. The technology is similar to what Mozilla’s Firefox 2 had and has been extended to default in Firefox 3.

Available in Opera 9.5, the upcoming new version of Opera’s Web browser, Fraud Protection featuring HauteSecure technology prevents users from accidentally or unknowingly downloading rogue malware designed to steal personal data such as credit card numbers, passwords and other identity information. Jon von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera said, “Today we’ve extended that commitment beyond the browser to protect our users from malware that tries to attack when they visit a compromised Web page or that they may unintentionally try to download. Haute Secure’s prevention technology is reinventing Web-based threat detection and we look forward to working together in protecting our users all over the world.”

Firefox 2 had an option to use Google’s list of malware-infected or known malicious websites. With Firefox 3, its on by default. Both Firefox and Opera have realized that a lot of malicious content on the Internet is no longer passed through virus-infected executables or network-propagating worms. Although, these threats are dealt through Antivirus (AV) software, AVs work best after your computer has been infected. Instead, this approach of warning users, when visiting a malicious website is more useful. Credit-card information and phishing are the new ways of money making for hackers and this preventive solution can go a long way to put the hackers out of their jobs.

Opera is not the browser with a large market share, but it definitely has been on the forefront of innovation. It has provided innovative features with great agility and added features found in other browsers very quickly. Opera is available on nearly every Internet enabled platform, and it makes sense to add this new layer of security.