Opera’s latest browser pulls out all the stops to give you the best web experience. All those fiddly extensions you have to download on other browsers? No longer necessary. Opera includes everything you need already built-in, including a battery saver, snapshot tool, ad-blocker, and better yet, a FREE and unlimited VPN.
What is a VPN?
VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. Instead of exchanging information directly with the internet, all your traffic goes through the VPN servers first, preserving your anonymity and protecting your data.
This means you can mask your computer’s IP address so websites don’t know your location. The VPN also encrypts your data, so anyone spying on your connection can’t view sensitive information, such as bank details and credit card numbers.
Why do you need a VPN?
VPNs are like the skeleton keys of the internet. They bypass censorship and other restrictions to ensure you get full access to the world wide web. They also prevent governments, agencies, criminals, or your ISP (Internet Service Provider) from spying on you, and potentially, using that data to persecute, extort, or steal from you.
A VPN protects you on public wifi, for example. Cybercriminals often exploit these unsecured connections to infiltrate bank accounts or steal sensitive data. A VPN, however, encrypts your connection, so even if someone hacks into the public wifi spot, they won’t make sense of your data. VPNs are therefore extremely powerful tools to keep you safe online.
Why use Opera’s VPN?
Most free VPN providers cap your data usage, limit bandwidth, or require you to log in and activate the VPN every time you want to use it. This leads to a slow, frustrating experience, forcing you to upgrade for a hefty price for the best service. And even then, many of these VPNs require you to install an extension that is potentially unsafe.
Opera’s VPN replaces your IP address with a virtual one, hides your location, and protects you on public wifi networks. Better yet, it’s completely FREE, has no bandwidth or usage limits, and never stores (or even views) your data. It’s therefore one of the easiest, most hassle-free ways to enjoy the internet – and as it’s fully integrated within the browser, once activated you won’t even know it’s there.
How to switch on Opera’s VPN (desktop)
If you’re looking for a safe, fast, and censorship-free internet, download Opera and turn on the integrated VPN. It takes just a few minutes, and full instructions are below:
- Download Opera.
- Install and start Opera.
- On the top menu, click Opera → Preferences…
- Go to Advanced → Features
- Toggle VPN on
Now, instead of communicating with third-party websites directly, everything goes through the VPN servers first to cover your tracks. This might slow your internet speed a bit, but you probably won’t notice, and it’s a small price to pay for the additional security and privacy.
Once enabled, you can toggle the VPN off and on by clicking the VPN button in the URL bar. You can also choose which location to present to the internet, but Opera is smart enough to choose the best one for the page you’re trying to access. Feel free to toggle the VPN off and on as you like.
How to switch on Opera’s VPN (mobile)
At the moment, you only get the integrated VPN on Opera’s mobile app for Android. To enable the VPN, download and install Opera for Android, click settings (the three vertical dots in the top right) and toggle the VPN on. Once enabled, you can toggle the VPN on or off from the URL bar in the same was the desktop version.
Opera has done an excellent job of pulling together the features you need for the best web experience. The integrated VPN is super useful, and being free and without usage limits, puts it at the top of our most recommended VPNs ever – the fact it’s preinstalled on one of the best browsers, too, is just the icing on the cake.
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