01 July 2010 | Author: D. Warburton Search Copywriter

Opera 10.60 enhances web security with AVG

The new version of Opera's web browser sheds its beta tag today, offering improved performance, added HTML5 functionality and security enhancements provided by none other than AVG.

By incorporating real-time Web threat data feeds from the freeware antivirus software, Opera takes a more immediate approach to addressing potential threats than browsers such as Chrome and Firefox, which favour isolating plug-ins and add-ons.

Users of Opera 10.60 for Windows, Mac and Linux will be presented with a 'Fraud Warning' page when accessing websites infected with harmful malware, with the option to ignore the warning and continue to the site if preferred. CNET reports that AVG's vast data feed used to identify such sites is compiled by around 51 million users worldwide, and could make Opera a browser of choice for safe surfing.

Other features of the new and improved Opera include the previously reported inclusion of Bing as a default search engine option - a surprising choice considering Opera's part in Microsoft's investigation by European antitrust officials over Internet Explorer.

Opera also boasts improved performance, claiming its new browser is 50 per cent faster than the previous version when judged by the Peacekeeper test - though some analysts have questioned the semantics.

"With the final version of Opera 10.60, the browser scores more than 50 percent faster than its predecessor ... in key benchmark tests," Opera said.

"This translates into a faster browsing experience for users on modern JavaScript-heavy sites such as Gmail and Facebook."

More HTML5 features have made it into Opera's latest browser too, including the video/audio codec WebM which Opera explains "gives you optimised video right in the browser on all platforms." The browser also incorporates more HTML5-powered geolocation features, bringing the Norwegian company up to speed with the latest developments by Mozilla and Google.

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