Opera Mini

Main article: Web browser

Opera Mini is a browser for smartphones and mobile phones from Opera Software.

2020: Address Bar Spoofing Vulnerability Discovered

Rapid7 specialists, together with Pakistani security researcher Rafay Baloch, have discovered ten vulnerabilities in seven mobile browsers that can fake URLs in the address bar. This became known on October 21, 2020. The list of vulnerable browsers also includes Opera Mini. Read more here.

2018: Protection against cryptocurrency mining

On January 22, 2018, Opera browsers for mobile devices introduced the mining protection function. cryptocurrencies The innovation turned out to be useful, given the desire of site owners to make money on the growing cryptocurrency exchange rate.

The new option is built into the ad blocker used in Opera Mini (iOS and Android) and Opera for Android browsers. After activation in the settings, the function will automatically detect and disable mining scripts embedded in web page codes.

Comparison of processor load in the absence of protection against cryptocurrency mining in Chrome and active such function in Opera

The Opera developer website says that hidden cryptocurrency mining is connected to about 3 million sites. Such scripts significantly reduce battery power and reduce processor performance (sometimes CPU utilization reaches 100%) in smartphones.

It is estimated that the performance of more than 1 billion devices has been reduced due to cryptocurrency miners embedded in web page codes, and device owners themselves most often do not realize this. At the end of 2017, a mining Trojan was discovered that caused the batteries to inflate, which required their subsequent replacement. The malicious software turned out to be so effective that it took only 48 hours to damage devices.

When you browse sites on the Internet, there are no visual clues that your device is used for mining, "says Jan Standal, vice president of product marketing at Opera. - One web page you visit can reduce battery life by 4.5 hours if the tab is open. Often the charge remains only to use the application to search for a passing car or open a map for the road home.

So that users can determine whether their browser is protected from unauthorized cryptomining, Opera browser developers have created a special www.cryptojackingtest.com site where you can check if there is a mining threat to a smartphone or computer.^[1]

2012

Opera Mini 7.1

Opera Software announced in November 2012 the release of the Opera Mini 7.1 mobile web browser for phones with J2ME support and the BlackBerry platform. The Opera Mini 7.1 browser (download link) has a new, redesigned download manager that opens up new possibilities for working with files downloaded to the phone, be it documents, music, video and any other data.

"It's no secret that on mobile phones, the connection to the network is not always stable. Many people are familiar with the feeling that downloading a 10 MB file stops at 9.99 MB, when your subway car enters the tunnel and the network is lost until the next stop. In Opera Mini 7.1, under such circumstances, loading will be suspended and automatically resumed as soon as you find yourself in the network coverage area, "the company's press service said

Also, processing downloaded files has become more convenient than before. On the BlackBerry platform, files are accessed directly from the browser, and owners of J2ME-based devices will be able to choose whether to open the file in the media player installed on the phone or save it in the phone's memory.

The Opera Mini browser runs on more than 3,000 mobile phones in a wide range of prices. With up to 90% data compression technology, it saves time and money.

Opera Mini 7

Opera Software released in March 2012 a new version of the Opera Mini 7 browser running on the Android platform. The browser supports HTML5 and 3D graphics via WebGL, and you can add an unlimited number of bookmarks to the Quick View. The new browser has the function of directly accessing the camera application. According to the developers, Opera Mini 7 has added a data compression algorithm, so some Internet pages can shrink by 90%, which significantly saves the user's traffic costs. The new version of the browser is available for download from the Google Play online store.

2009

Opera Mini 5

The test version of Opera Mini 5 was released in September 2009 ^[2]. Written in Java. In the fifth version of the application, compared to the fourth, many new functions appeared, the interface changed dramatically, although the same engine remained at the heart.

Opera Mini 5 has the ability to open several pages (tabs) at the same time and switch between them. Each new blank tab now displays nine screenshots of web pages to quickly launch each of them - the Speed ​ ​ Dial function, which migrated from a desktop browser. In addition, Opera Mini 5 has learned to remember logins and passwords to quickly fill out authorization forms on web pages. When entering a login and password for the first time, the application asks if they should be remembered.

The address bar has been moved to the active screen, that is, it is displayed simultaneously with an open web page (previously, to enter a new address, you had to return to the beginning, or open an empty page). Next to the field for entering the address is a separate field for searching on the Internet with the ability to select the desired search server.

The navigation bar and the main menu now appear not in the lower left corner, but at the top of the screen, under the address bar. A new function is also available here - search by page, which was previously only in Opera Mobile.

Opera Mini 5 is the first version of the Java browser to support touch screens. It is designed for both phones that do not have a touch screen and touchphones. The program interface includes larger buttons to make it convenient to hit them with your finger.

The web browser allows you to play videos on sites such as the mobile version of YouTube, but the video does not work on the regular version of the site. At the moment, the developers do not plan to add such functionality to the browser, choosing the speed of opening web pages and compression technology as priorities for themselves - as you know, Opera Mini opens pages not directly, but through its own server, which compresses traffic and significantly reduces waiting time (by the way, Opera 10 also has such technology - a browser for desktop PCs and laptops).

Nigeria - Top 10 Countries by User Audience Size in March

The rapid growth in the number of Opera Mini users in Nigeria allowed this state to enter the Top 10 countries in terms of user audience in March 2009 , displacing Germany from the rating. For the month, the number of web pages downloaded using Opera Mini in Nigeria increased by 4000%, and the number of users - by 1500%.

Chile is the leader in user growth for the year (+ 3200%)

March 2009 saw a mobile boom Internet in Latin America. Chile became the leader in this region - the number of Opera Mini users in this country increased by 3200% over the year, and the number of pages viewed - by 26,000%. Also in the four leading countries, and Brazil. Mexico Venezuela

The March 2009 report also contains data on the nature of mobile Internet use in the Top 10 countries during the average day (data for Tuesday, March 17). In all but two regions, the Opera Mini browser was most actively used at the end of the day - from 20:00 to midnight. The exception was Indonesia and China, where the peak of web page downloads occurred between 12:00 and 16:00 and from 8:00 to 12:00, respectively.

"In the future, mobile phones will become the main devices for working on the Internet," said Jon von Tetzchner, chief executive officer of Opera Software. "With Opera Mini, millions of people visit the world wide web every month, so content providers have a great opportunity to gain competitive advantages in the environment of mobile users. To do this, you just need to guarantee the correct display of your web resources on any hardware platform, open them to new generation web users. "

• In March 2009, the number of users of the Opera Mini browser exceeded 23 million people, which is 12.1% more than in February 2009 and 157% more than in the same period last year. In March 2009, users viewed more than 8.6 billion pages. This is 17.4% more than in February, and the result of a year ago was exceeded by 255%.
• In March 2009, Opera Mini uploaded 148 million MB of data to user devices, which is 19.3% more than in the previous month and 319% more than a year earlier. Opera Mini compresses traffic by an average of 90%. Otherwise, Opera Mini users would have to upload about 1.4 petabytes of data to their mobile devices.
• Russia continues to lead in the number of Opera Mini users. Over the past year, the growth of this indicator was 102%, and the number of downloaded web pages increased by 216%. On average, Russian users viewed 428 web pages per month.
• For the first time in terms of the number of visits, the site overtook odnoklassniki.ru mail.ru. The vkontakte.ru social network remains the most popular among Opera Mini users on the Runet.

Top 10 Runet sites in terms of the number of unique Opera Mini users:

1. vkontakte.ru

2. odnoklassniki.ru (formerly 4)

3. yandex.ru

4. mail.ru (formerly 2)

5. rambler.ru

6. google.com

7. wikipedia.org (formerly 9)

8. wapos.ru

9. my.opera.com (formerly 7)

10. seclub.org

Top 10 mobile phones for using Opera Mini in Russia

1. Nokia Corporation 6300

2. Nokia N73

3. Sony Ericsson K790i

4. Sony Ericsson K750i

5. Nokia 6233

6. Sony Ericsson K550i

7. Nokia N70

8. Sony Ericsson W760i

9. Nokia 5310

10. Nokia 6120c

Notes