Opera: A fast & secure Web browser which you should start using

 Opera presentation and tutorial. A fast and secure alternative WEB browser for surfing the internet

Opera is very light and fast and is a serious alternative to Google Chrome,  Mozilla Firefox, and Internet Explorer / Edge.

This WEB browser offers new features that improve comfort when browsing the WEB.

Today, the Opera WEB browser is based on Chromium, it offers the following features:

• Spaces: Organize groups of tabs into separate customizable spaces.
• Light and dark theme.
• Integrated messaging: send and receive emails.
• VPN to protect your privacy and confidentiality.
• For more security: DNS Over HTTPS, WebRTC Protection.
• Integrated adblocker.
• Crypto Wallet to manage Cryptocurrency wallets.
• Opera Flow: My Flow is your personal space for the links, videos, images, and notes you want to have on your computer and phone at the same time.
• Favorites System.
• Synchronize your data to share it with multiple devices.
• Battery saver: Extend the battery life of your laptop.
• Video Detacher: Extend Your Laptop Battery Life

Finally, Opera is free and is available

Here is an overview of the Opera WEB browser, a fast and secure alternative.

OPERA: AN ALTERNATIVE WEB BROWSER

INSTALLATION

You can download the Opera browser from this link:  http://www.opera.com/

The installation of Opera is very simple since you have to click on Accept Install, which allows you to accept the conditions of use of the browser and start its installation.

Everything is then automatic.

FIRST START

1. On the first start, you can get the home page below.
2. Open tabs display horizontally at the top.
3. Below, the address bar with the icons on the right (Favorites, downloads, ad blockers, etc.)
4. Finally on the left is the toolbar for faster access to certain features: Synchronization, Downloads, History, and Settings.
5. The Opera icon at the top-left gives access to a menu.
6. The toolbar is configurable.
7. Thus, you choose the icons that compose it according to your needs.
8. For example, you can delete the messaging and add a download icon.
9. But you can also customize the content of the toolbar with a right-click.
10. Finally, Opera should import your favorites from your other WEB browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, etc).

Otherwise, you can do it from the menu More tools> import favorites

FAVORITE

But what would a browser be without “Favorites” or “Bookmarks”?

Favorites allow you to save your favorite sites for easier access from the Favorites library.

In addition, the favorite sites can also appear in quick access.

Opera has them too, don’t worry. They are called Bookmarks.

You can add in two ways, either by adding a bookmark on the current page visited – Shortcut: CTRL + D.

Finally, you can use the heart icon at the top right of the address bar.

The management of favorites is done from the menu then Favorites> Show all favorites.

But you can also access it from the toolbar.

You arrive on a page which gives the list of saved favorites.

You can create folders to store your favorites and of course, delete existing ones.

Note that a recycle bin is available for deleted favorites, with the same operation as the Windows recycle bin.

DOWNLOADING FILES

Downloading files with Opera works the same as other internet browsers.

Indeed, the latter is placed at the top right on the down arrow icon.

You can directly open the file or its location on disk.

The ” Show More ” button gives access to the download manager.

But you can also use the CTRL + J keys .

The latter classifies your downloads by theme or date in order to find them more easily.

Finally, the three dots icon on the right allows you to delete a file download.

HISTORICAL

The browsing history records the sites visited with a time stamp.

You can access this history from the toolbar or from the keyboard shortcuts CTRL + H.

This displays the sites visited by date and you can search by name.

It is then possible to delete a line, with the cross icon at the end to the right of the desired line.

At the top right, the ” Clear browsing data ” button allows you to delete the history, clear the internet cache and cookies.

There too a keyboard shortcut exists to erase the navigation data more easily: CTRL + Shift + Del.

Deleting browsing data with the Opera web browser is therefore very simple.

PRIVATE BROWSING OR PRIVATE MODE

Of course, like any modern internet browser, Opera offers a private mode.

It’s the equivalent of private browsing.

You can access it from the menu at the top left or CTRL + Shift + N.

In mode, you can activate the VPN very easily from the icon in the address bar. See below in the article.

Aspects are discussed on the following page: Chrome, Firefox, Edge: Private browsing 

THE SLOTS

Locations allow you to work on lists of different sites.

For example, you open several sites by topic (professional for example) and save the location.

You create a second one with fun sites.

Finally, you move from one location to another.

The following video shows you the principle of Opera slots:

SCREENSHOT (SNAPSHOT)

Opera also has a function to create screenshots.

This is done from the camera icon.

You can take a screenshot of the entire screen or a region of the screen.

Finally, we can generate a PDF.

The WEB browser even includes a screenshot editor.

You can then add annotations, etc.

OPERA SETTINGS AND SETTINGS

The settings allow you to configure and customize the Opera WEB browser.

You can access these at the top right.

This opens a page with the main settings.

For example, you can enable ad/tracker blocker or VPN.

It is therefore the ideal menu to temporarily activate the functionality of the internet browser.

Note the access to the advanced settings of the WEB browser at the bottom.

In the basic settings, we find the theme, confidentiality, start page and search engine parameters.

Opera also has a battery saver.

On the website side, we find the settings for Flash and JavaScript, Micro, and Webcam.

Opera using the Chrome rendering engine, we find the same settings as the latter:  Script blocking on Google Chrome

Site settings and blocking on the Opera internet browser

Finally, on the security side, Opera offers to use a VPN, cookie settings, etc.

Here too, we find the same settings as  Chrome.

Finally, for more security, you can activate DNS Over HTTPS.

Enable DNS Over HTTPS on Opera

OPERA’S PROTECTION AND SECURITY FUNCTIONS

To protect your privacy and confidentiality, Opera embeds tools and functions for protection and security.

BLOCK ADS AND TRACKERS

Opera integrates an ad blocker and trackers.

The latter is not activated by parameters or by advanced settings.

The shield icon turns blue when trackers or ads are blocked.

By clicking on it, information is obtained:

A counter is displayed at the top right with a blue shield and the number of blocked ads.

A Disable on this site button appears to whitelist sites so that ads continue to appear.

As a reminder, advertisements are sometimes the only source of funding for WEB sites.

So remember to activate them for sites that do not abuse so as not to penalize them.

ADDONS AND EXTENSIONS

Addons and extensions are additive programs that are added to Opera and allow you to add new functionalities or modify the behavior of the WEB browser.

The management of extensions is done from the menu then extensions (or CTRL + Shift + E).

This lists the installed extensions that you can disable or update.

On the left, the button gets more extensions leads to the Opera addons store.

But you can access it directly from this link.

The Opera extensions library will then open, you can search to find the extension you want.

The installation of the addon is very simple:

Open the extension file

Click the Add to Opera button to install the extension. The extension/addon is added to the list of installed extensions.

Opera web browser addons and extensions

For a list of useful add-ons and extensions, follow this link:

List of protection extensions for Firefox or Chrome

Selection of the best extensions for Google Chrome

A BUILT-IN VPN

The Opera browser includes a VPN by default.

This allows you to hide your IP address and secure your Internet connection when accessing it from a public place.

Aspects of VPNs are discussed on these pages:

• What is a VPN: principle and operation
• VPN: Why and when to use it

You can activate them from quick settings or advanced settings.

When the VPN is active, an icon is displayed to the left of the address of the visited WEB site.

Below, we can see that the IP address is changed, hidden, and masked.

By clicking, you can deactivate it or change the location.

This, therefore, helps to make Opera more secure.