Opera VPN - Is it Safe to Use ?

johnbull44

johnbull44

I have been using Opera VPN consistently under the confidence that Opera treats my security
seriously and that their is no hanky-panky going on with the VP provider.

Can somebody please assure me that my data and surfing activities using the Opera VPN is personally
secure and safe to use.

I have read this - https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/693700/opera-vpn/ and end up
totally confused.
I need an Opera users opinion.
Thank you

blackbird71

blackbird71 @johnbull44

@johnbull44 There really shouldn't be confusion. In practical terms, a VPN encrypts your traffic and routes it to/from their server after contacting the destination IP on your behalf. If it's a browser VPN, that's the only traffic routed thru the VPN; if it's a whole-system VPN, all the system traffic flows thru the VPN. Since your traffic is routed thru the VPN, the destination/origin IP address of the traffic will always be that of the VPN server to which you're connected, rather than a website you're trying to reach. Assuming the VPN's connection encryption is robust, someone monitoring your connection can determine you're using a VPN by noting its IP address in the traffic, but they cannot know beyond that what site(s) you're contacting. Opera's VPN connection is https encrypted and should be secure, though the fact that you're using the VPN would be knowable to snooping.

In terms of the other end of the connection, the VPN communicates your traffic to the destination website as if it was originating at the listed IP location of the VPN's exit server (wherever that may be), so your own true location can be obscured in that way. However, there are other ways a browser, its extensions, and/or an OS can betray a user's true location to a website, especially if the website's code is designed to sniff out information via WebRTC, OS geolocation data, or other JavaScript-enabled details (default language, available fonts, etc). In this case, security depends on the website and whatever extra system precautions you've taken. If it matters to totally hide your details from the viewed website, such security may require some in-depth tweaking of your system - in some cases, even disabling JavaScript in the browser, which can render many sites crippled or unusable as a side effect.

Finally, because a VPN "sits in the middle" of your traffic flow, it inherently has access to your traffic and the details regarding it (including connection logging of who, what, when). In that regard, what matters most are the integrity of the VPN provider and the national laws applying to where they conduct business. In both those areas, Opera remains secure.