Opera Introduces Fraud Protection, Powered by GeoTrust and PhishTank: New release expands Opera's commitment to secure browsing

WebKnowHow
Tuesday, December 19, 2006; 08:53 AM

Opera Software today introduced real-time Fraud Protection in its award-winning Web browser. Fraud Protection includes technology from GeoTrust, the leading digital certificate provider, and PhishTank, a collaborative clearing house for data and information about phishing on the Internet. Fraud Protection is available in Opera 9.1, the newest version of Opera's Web browser. Opera is available completely free at www.opera.com.

"The key to an effective phishing defense is speed and responsiveness," said security expert Bruce Schneier, CTO of BT Counterpane and an Opera user. "Opera's Fraud Protection delivers both by providing the user with real-time anti-phishing detection, augmented with nearly immediate identification of suspected phishing sites."

Phishing is a form of online fraud in which a malicious party convinces users to visit a forged Web site. That site is designed to mimic a trusted site in order to trick users into divulging personal information, credit card numbers, or bank account details. According to PhishTank, the month of November alone saw more than 9,628 unique phishing attacks. Since most phishing sites are taken down quickly, only real-time protection holds the key to consistent safety.

"We are thrilled that Opera chose PhishTank among all of the available sources of phishing data," said David Ulevitch, Founder of PhishTank and respected member of the online security community. "Opera has long been a leader in innovation and usability and we hope Opera users find the addition of Fraud Protection from PhishTank in Opera to be of value."

PhishTank, operated by OpenDNS and community members, enables anyone to submit, verify, track and openly share phishing data. The open access of PhishTank, and the use of PhishTank data in Opera, is intended to encourage the sharing of information and increase the chance of eliminating phishing all together.

"Cyber-criminals are very active during the holiday season as more people venture online to shop or connect with friends and family," said Jon von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software. "At Opera, we work very hard to protect the users of our products. We commit a lot of resources to ensure that our users are as safe as possible when they are online. Opera's Fraud Protection tool is something we have created with our partners to help users protect themselves."

Fraud Protection extends the original anti-phishing capability in Opera. Opera 8 introduced the security information field to help determine if a phishing site was masquerading as a trusted and verified site. Fraud Protection adds a new level of online safety by working in real-time to protect Opera users from the latest phishing attacks. To learn more about Opera's Fraud Protection and our ongoing commitment to security, please visit www.opera.com/products/desktop/security.

About PhishTank

Launched Oct. 2, 2006 to coincide with National Cyber Security Awareness Month, PhishTank, operated by OpenDNS, employs a sophisticated voting system that requires the community to vote "phish" or "not phish," reducing the possibility of false positives and improving the overall breadth and coverage of the phishing data. PhishTank makes all phishing data it accumulates public and available via programmable APIs, which allow other software developers to incorporate the anti-phishing data into their tools. The open access is intended to encourage the sharing of information and increase the chance of eliminating phishing all together. For more information about PhishTank, please visit www.phishtank.com.

About Opera Software ASA

Opera Software ASA has redefined Web browsing for PCs, mobile phones and other networked devices. Opera's cross- platform Web browser technology is renowned for its small size, performance and standards-compliance, while giving users a faster, safer and more dynamic online experience. Opera Software is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with offices around the world. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol OPERA. Learn more about Opera at www.opera.com.