This whole situation (including the speed dial page) smells a lot like a backroom deal between Opera and Google.

any further alterations in that json will make it invalid in their security verification and Opera won't allow you to use it.

I remove entries in the json all the time to free up shortcut letters. Wouldn't that trigger the same problem?

I just tried to "hack" the Amazon entry, replacing it with a startpage.com config. It didn't work.
Opera will check that the file was adulterated and ignore it and falling back to only 1 default search engine (may depend on region), you kinda bug it. See malware can't get in...

Bad move. A user should be able to choose a search engine of it's own liking. Maybe I'll install Opera again in a year or so. For now; byebye. Uninstalling...

I have also un-installed Opera from my computer. Going with Google's rendering engine created a browser that took away many basic features. It took a while before I became OK with all these changes, and then now these guys feel the need to take away my choice to choose my default search engine. I mean, are they for real?

I've gone back to Firefox and awaiting the launch of Spartan.

[mod edit: partly removed. No need to curse people. Bye.]

any further alterations in that json will make it invalid in their security verification and Opera won't allow you to use it.

I remove entries in the json all the time to free up shortcut letters. Wouldn't that trigger the same problem?

We can't have a UI to add a search engine because malware could use that to add a malicious search engine.
Instead, we have to edit a JSON file to add a search engine... which malware TOTALLY can't use to add a malicious search engine.

Wrong, you can recover Bing via the json because the json is official from a prior Opera version, any further alterations in that json will make it invalid in their security verification and Opera won't allow you to use it.

We can't have a UI to add a search engine because malware could use that to add a malicious search engine.

Instead, we have to edit a JSON file to add a search engine... which malware TOTALLY can't use to add a malicious search engine.

Ultimately, sufficiently advanced malware is indistinguishable from the user, regardless of platform and regardless of method (simulated clicks, file edits, etc).

On Windows, the best you can probably do is put the JSON configuration in Program Files, where editing it require admin privileges. If that's the intent, though, then why are you overwriting it and making me angry all over again with every update?

Those of us who think about this even a little bit see through the malware argument. If Bing were truly such a security threat shouldn't Opera warn users who even attempt to visit the page?

You should think a little bit more then. The issue is letting users add Bing and set as default would open the gates for any malware to add and set a malicious search engine as default. That's why they need to implement security against this before allowing the user to select any search engine.

The solution you have in your head is white-listing but imagine the developers having to white-list every website in the web that can be added as search engine? That's not happening.

As a long, long time Opera user I'm extremely disappointed in this move. Those of us who think about this even a little bit see through the malware argument. If Bing were truly such a security threat shouldn't Opera warn users who even attempt to visit the page? If the problem were real there would be zero liability in doing so. It becomes even more suspect when you factor in articles such as this which bring into question the validity of the malware claims in the first place:

http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/answer/Bing-security-Is-search-engine-poisoning-a-problem-for-Bing-users

Bottom line is if Bing is truly a threat we need to protected from then Opera is doing a disservice to its users by not instituting a warning each time the page is visited or better yet, blocking it entirely. If it is no more dangerous than any other search engine, as the article I cited claims, then stop limiting your users by ending this.

On another note, I do see the irony in a company who was once taken to court for limiting its users personal browser choice being placed in the role of victim in a very similar circumstance.

Maybe Opera in now part of google

Yeah that's why they added DUCKDUCKGO and still allow you to use YAHOO, YANDEX and BAIDU!

@tuulenhalkoja Maybe Opera in now part of google. i dont like.

No, Opera is not part of Google.

People like choose their default search engine.

Yes, but in past Opera 12 they changed searchengines, too.
That may depend on contracts with searchengine providers which engines you can use.

You all are free to patch the file defaultpartnercontent.json for your needs.

While I don't care for Bing, it's ridiculous that search engines were ever locked up in this way.

I'm going with solution number 2 (out of my mentioned comment). I was reassured by Opera's devs that they really want this to happen themselves. They just didn't come up with a solution yet that prevents third-party programs from fiddling with your search engines.

Sure, as they said two years ago when they first introduced the anti-feature. The problem is that the entire idea is ill conceived. If the user installs something that hijacks their search engine, tough for them! There's simply nothing you can do to protect against this without taking it out of the users hands entirely.

AFAIK there are ways. Encrypting the search engine settings with a password set by the user for example.
I don't know how they do it but Internet Explorer has a setting to block third-parties from attempting to change the search engine settings.

If a user installs malware, all bets are off. Protecting the search engine isn't even worth consideration in this scenario. No doubt Opera have their reasons, but nobody should buy their excuse.

It's worth consideration because a malicious search engine will actually generate revenue for the malware maker and it could lead to even worse infections. The other important consideration is that if the user is using one of the partner search engines and a malware hijacks it Opera Software will lose its usage numbers and that will make them lose money in the long run, since Opera is a free browser which development is paid by these partners they need to do this. I believe you either accept this "excuse" or you'd have to elaborate an argument about Opera turning into a commercial software (paid by users).

Yes they must allow user preference of the default search engine but for that they must invest in the development of the anti-hijack mechanism otherwise the browser will be wide open to search-hijacking malware like Firefox and Chrome are - it's a crap that breaks security and also cuts from their revenue and Opera doesn't have a lot of market share so they can't deal with that. When the management let the devs touch this area of code instead of other areas they're improving and fixing search engine choice will finally see the light of day, let's hope.

This is really insane that Opera even could not allow me to set !