Is Opera 25 being pushed to Presto users via Presto's update-checking?
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blackbird71 last edited by adminAre Blink Opera25 updates for Presto Opera users being 'pushed' by Opera, at least selectively, to some users via processes involving the Presto Opera installations' internal update checks? If so, did this selective process start prior to the 15 October forum "sticky" announcement Presto upgrade to Opera 25 about Opera 25 and Presto users?
There are now at least 3 different users posting in these threads who indicate the very real possibility that user-unrequested 'pushed' updating of Presto installations has been occurring since 8 October, and that such apparent activity has created user problems:
(https://forums.opera.com/post/54173)
(https://forums.opera.com/post/53387)
(https://forums.opera.com/post/54279)
FYI, at least two of these involved users who were employing sandboxing for running Opera.
It is critical for Opera credibility that users be well-informed about whether their Presto installations' auto-updating is being used by Opera to 'push' Blink Opera updates, if even selectively or experimentally. If so, what are the measures users need to take to prevent such updating (with 100% assurance of blockage) if they so elect. As it currently stands, that information has not been clearly stated by Opera, and surprised users experiencing such apparent updates are blaming everything from Opera to malware to anti-malware programs for it. Note that one of those experiencing apparent 'pushed' updates indicates that he rejected an unsolicited "Opera" offerings panel choice to update, but was updated anyway. If this is malware at work, then that needs to be "officially" determined as well, if only by Opera officially denying they have anything to do with what is occurring.
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A Former User last edited by
My Opera 12.17 is set to Notify me. I didn't receive any notification that a new Opera was available.
When I do a manual check, it tells me that I am using the latest version of Opera.
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blackbird71 last edited by
My own various Opera versions are all set in Preferences to not even check for updates; and via manual version checks, all but one tell me that the latest version available is 12.17. My 12.14 version is set in opera:config to block even that - it shows itself as the latest version. I have thus far received no 'spontaneous' update offers/attempts from Opera on those systems. But some of the users in the comments referenced above seem seriously certain they also had not set their systems to accept auto-updating; moreover, auto-updating Presto Opera to Blink Opera is something Opera has assured users in the past that it was not doing "yet". The question I am asking is whether "yet" has now arrived, either selectively or experimentally. Up until now, users have been assured that Presto Opera could not be auto-updated to Blink Opera, even if the user wanted to.
Something real, akin to an Opera update attempt, appears to have happened to these users; and it is critical to determine if there is now some kind of malware out there that is attempting to systematically attack user systems by purporting to be an Opera update. Further, it is critical to determine whether such attacks are in any way co-operative with some user action (clicking something, even a "refusal") or whether they are a true exploitation of a system or Presto Opera codebase flaw. A statement from Opera or Opera users who have experienced such updates would go a long way to clearing the air about what is occurring.
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A Former User last edited by
A note on that "refusal clicking" and such
If you're having a dialogue - or "dialogue" - with which you're not yet closely familiar, do not push anything straight ahead: you need to attentively mouse-over the whole area of the "dialogue" first - it may appear a whole dumb shit link (like in ads); if you see any tooltips - like in your status/tooltip bar - heed them -- if they interrupt or change upon, say, moving between 'yes' and 'no'.
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blackbird71 last edited by
With a malware pop-up window, anywhere you mouse-click (including an "x" or "close" button) can trigger the payload it's linked to, because it has been created by JavaScript. Task Manager (ctrl+shift+esc) is the safest way to kill the process that creates, or supports creating, the pop-up. Using the keyboard Alt+F4 is an alternative way to kill the currently-active window on the system display, but you have to be sure it's done when the pop-up appears, before taking any other action or clicking anything else (such a click focuses and makes the "anything" active, so it will instead be killed via the Alt+F4 action).
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A Former User last edited by
Using the keyboard Alt+F4 is an alternative way to kill the currently-active window on the system display, but you have to be sure it's done when the pop-up appears, before taking any other action or clicking anything else (such a click focuses and makes the "anything" active, so it will instead be killed via the Alt+F4 action).
If nothing in your taskbar is highlighted - except if it's the "dialogue" task. Right?
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blackbird71 last edited by
On my Win7 system, bringing up Task Manager highlights only the first process in the list, so a user trying to kill a process has to find one with the appropriate name. That's why I generally use the Alt+F4 method first to try to kill the few malicious pop-ups I've encountered... it generally works fine, at least for me. However, if a user is 'nervous' and click-happy, he can easily pull focus away from the pop-up and by the time he thinks about using Alt+F4, he will instead kill whatever else he's focused the display upon. That's why I usually indicate to others the 'safest' way is to open Task Manager and try to match the process name to the pop-up window subject.
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A Former User last edited by
My Opera 12.17 is set to Notify me. I didn't receive any notification that a new Opera was available.
When I do a manual check, it tells me that I am using the latest version of Opera.Hi Pesala, long time no hear!
:party:
My Opera 12.17 is the same.
That may be because I've also got Opera developer 26 installed in a different folder?
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A Former User last edited by
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
Blackbird, a new client for you.>
</blockquote>Why are you posting it here?</blockquote>
Well, I felt reluctant to seek that special thread Blackbird had started... Sorry...</blockquote>
And why you answered on another topic?
Just because that one seemed sorta relevant (by title).
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blackbird71 last edited by admin
Add to the list (now 4 users):
https://forums.opera.com/post/53960
This one is significant in that it purportedly installed Opera 24.
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Deleted User last edited by
4 users out of how many thousands (probably tens of thousands) of updated users. I think the number is relatively insignificant.
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A Former User last edited by
My dear hockeyist, if something happens, it happens for a reason.
Being more correct and less poetic - there's always the cause and the trigger.
"Ha! 4 weirdos out of 140 million citizens contracted Ebola?
IT'S INSIGNIFICANT - forget and let's be positive!",
right? -
sgunhouse Moderator Volunteer last edited by
For me, 12.17 still says it is the latest version. Keep in mind, some external programs (security suites and such) might also try to update Opera for users ... I know that AVG has an update manager, though as I also have the latest version of Opera I can't say if it would try to update Presto or not.
Strangely, there was just an update to the Android version (currently called just "Mobile Classic"), but none on desktop.
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blackbird71 last edited by
4 users out of how many thousands (probably tens of thousands) of updated users. I think the number is relatively insignificant.
You probably would see things in a somewhat different light if you had been one of the four, and who was now trying to figure out if you were dealing with malware or a new Opera policy/experiment... and wondering how to now secure your system against similar perturbations in the future. Note that not all these users' "updates" functioned after the event... and the others are unsure about what they've now got, since they don't know from where it came - or why. At least some are certain they had blocked Presto Opera updating within that program... some had been using Presto Opera in sandboxes... and now, two different Blink Opera versions appear to be involved in the situations.
This is not about user stats, satisfaction/popularity indices, or anything like that. It's about trying to eliminate possible causes of a growing class of reported user problem, and so to determine both possible clean-up remedies and effective ways of protecting users in the future. But first and foremost, one has to understand what is going on.
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blackbird71 last edited by
... Keep in mind, some external programs (security suites and such) might also try to update Opera for users ... I know that AVG has an update manager, though as I also have the latest version of Opera I can't say if it would try to update Presto or not. ...
One of the two unsought-Opera-install user comments back in July seems to have involved this behavior by Vipre's software updater, as well. Only, in that case, it appears to have installed Opera "out of the blue" onto a user's system that had no Opera installation of any sort on it before. The other somewhat similar comment never developed enough clear feedback to figure out what was going on.
The difference with these current cases is that they all involve existing Presto Opera installations being suddenly "updated", replaced, or over-written by Opera 24 or 25 while the Opera internal options were set to "do not check for updates".
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A Former User last edited by
The difference with these current cases is that...
The resemblance, Black.
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blackbird71 last edited by
The difference with these current cases is that...
The resemblance, Black.
Actually, it is a "difference"... the cases in July didn't involve pre-existant Presto installations before Opera was push-installed, whereas all 4 of the current cases do.
