Opera Introduces Fraud Protection, Powered by GeoTrust and PhishTank

Opera Software today introduced real-time Fraud Protection in its award-winning Web browser. Fraud Protection includes technology from GeoTrust, the leading digital certificate provider, and PhishTank, a collaborative clearing house for data and information about phishing on the Internet. Fraud Protection is available in Opera 9.1, the newest version of Opera’s Web browser. Opera is available completely free at www.opera.com.

“The key to an effective phishing defense is speed and responsiveness,” said security expert Bruce Schneier, CTO of BT Counterpane and an Opera user. “Opera’s Fraud Protection delivers both by providing the user with real-time anti-phishing detection, augmented with nearly immediate identification of suspected phishing sites.”

Phishing is a form of online fraud in which a malicious party convinces users to visit a forged Web site. That site is designed to mimic a trusted site in order to trick users into divulging personal information, credit card numbers, or bank account details. According to PhishTank, the month of November alone saw more than 9,628 unique phishing attacks. Since most phishing sites are taken down quickly, only real-time protection holds the key to consistent safety.

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