Concerned about your security and privacy online? Find out here how to make the Opera check page safety for safe browsing automatically and prevent tracking across sites to boot.
First, Birds Do It, Trees Do It
Let’s do it! Let’s fall asleep!
Yes, trees do it: at night, their leaves and branches droop by a few inches or centimeters to “sleep.”
Now, in this world, who or what does not sleep? Opera looking for malicious pages you are about to visit, of course:
How to Have Opera Check Page Safety Automatically with Safe Browsing
Time needed: 3 minutes
To have the Opera browser on the desktop check pages for their safety before opening them:
- Click Menu (O) in Opera.
- Select Settings or Go to full browser settings from the menu that has appeared.
Keyboard shortcuts: On a Mac, you can also press Command
,, and on Windows, you can press Alt P to open Opera settings. - Scroll to the Privacy & security category.
Here’s how: You can click Advanced followed by Privacy & security, for instance, in the menu along the side.
- Now select Security under Security and Privacy.
- Turn on Protect me from malicious sites.
- Close the Settings tab.
How to Have Opera Prevent Privacy Tracking on Websites
To have Opera also remove most scripts and web beacons (small, just about invisible images) that track you across the web:
- Click Easy setup in Opera.
- Enable Block trackers.
Her’s what this does: This enables checking web sites against the EasyPrivacy list.
Here’s what it blocks: You can check the current contents of EasyPrivacy at EasyList.
Optional:
- Select Settings in the Opera menu.
- Check Block ads and surf the web up to three times faster as well under Privacy protection.
- Click Manage lists immediately underneath.
- Check NoCoin to stop scripts on websites from using your computer’s resources to mine cryptocurrency in the background
Plea: Do not check EasyList or turn on Allow Acceptable Ads. Advertising that is not intrusive helps pay for much of the free web.
Privacy and advertising: Do guard your privacy online with the likes of Google Ads Settings and Your Online Choices without blocking ads across the board. - Close the Settings tab.
How to Have Opera Check Page Safety Automatically with Safe Browsing: FAQ
How does the Opera browser determine unsafe sites?
Opera uses PhishTank and Google Safe Browsing.
What happens when Opera checks for a fraudulent site?
Opera checks the page’s address against its aggregation of phishing block lists at Opera servers.
Can I still access an unsafe site in Opera?
Yes.
To open a page identified as unsafe by Opera:
- Click Ignore this warning on the warning page.
Can I have Opera Mini check for dangerous sites?
No, unfortunately, Opera Mini for mobile devices does not currently check pages for their safety.
(How to have Opera check page safety automatically with safe browsing tested with Opera desktop 99–105; updated November 2023)