- Quick specs
- Price: Free
- Operating system: Windows 95, Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows 98
- Date added: June 20, 2006
- Total Downloads: 7,967,269
- Downloads last week: 9,274
- See full specifications
A newer version of Opera is available.
(Download doesn't provide access to previous versions of this program.)
- CNET editors' rating: stars
- Average user rating: stars out of 2802 votes
See all user reviews
CNET editors' review
Reviewed by: CNET Staff
The premise of Opera has always been the same--develop the fastest, smallest, and most full-featured browser available--and the latest version maintains the tradition. Opera has all the basics covered, including tabbed browsing with an added functionality that lets you hover over a tab to preview a page; a search bar with Google and several other popular portals; advanced bookmarking tools, including one that lets you easily import from any popular browser; and simple integration with your favorite e-mail and chat clients. Mouse-gesture support, keyboard shortcuts, and drag-and-drop functionality further enhance your surfing experience.
With solid basics, Opera's extra features push it to the top of the class. Integrated theme support lets you preview and download themes from within the interface so you know what you're getting before you download. Widgets (akin to Mac OS X dashboard applications) are small, useful programs that appear in a window from any app while Opera is running. The Wand utility helps you autofill online forms and lets you securely save passwords for multiple sites. We really like the addition of BitTorrent support, letting you drop a Torrent link into the address bar and begin a file transfer immediately without the need for an extra app. Overall, we think Opera might have what it takes to unseat even the biggest-name browsers if users give it the opportunity. Opera is a must-download for those looking for a full-featured browser with added extras.
Publisher's description
From Opera Software :Opera is a free Web browser with a pop-up blocker, multiple-window navigation, mouse gestures, keyboard shortcuts, an e-mail client with a spam filter, and integrated search for user security and speed. The cross-platform browser includes IRC-compatible chat, support for RSS newsfeeds, a password manager, and one-click customization and privacy-protection settings. Mouse gestures and keyboard shortcuts allow for accelerated Web navigation while the Fast Forward and Rewind buttons easy browsing. Users can run multiple windows as well as personalize the user interface with one-click skins. The browser also contains special elements for users with disabilities, drag-and-drop support, a notes function, user profiles, and a host of other features. Opera supports the latest in security and provides password and cookie managers.
Version 9 adds BitTorrent support, search-engine customization, thumbnail previews, and widgets.
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User reviews of Opera 9
- Average user rating: 4.4 stars out of 2802 votes
- My rating: 0 stars Write review
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Showing 5 of 220 user reviewsSee all 220 user reviews
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84 out of 98 people found this review helpful
Version: Opera 9
Pros: No set-up needed, just click on the installer and in two clicks you're surfin'. No need to install extensions to make this browser faster(sorryFF)and besides, with all the extensions it(FF)becomes a mem-drain. FireFox might be the RollsRoyce of browsers, but Opera is the Ferrari with the options you want!
Cons: Widgets aren't included....oops, two clicks and there they are.....so I guess the only con is that the FireFox got it's second strike.....so it's outta here!!! Off to the archives for you!(move over IE)
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40 out of 48 people found this review helpful
Version: Opera 9
Pros: It does everything i want it to. It's very versatile and stylish looking with many cool skins to pick and choose from. Being able to empty the disk cache on exit. The mouse gestures are almost perfect. Very customisable so i can get it to exactly the way i want it. It's a browser i will stick with forever unless Opera manages to shoot itself in the foot like nullsoft did with winamp 3. Opera was always an average browser until version 8 beta and i've been a fan ever since.
Cons: Everytime i open Opera it always tries to connect to check for updates which always sets off my Peerguardian 2. Maybe i'm missing something but i don't think there's anyway to stop it from calling home. It would be nice to be able to delete bookmarks with a simple right click instead of going into 'manage bookmarks'. Sometimes the mouse gestures are too sensitive meaning that sometimes when i want to go back one page it closes the page. Luckily this doesn't happen too often. The name 'Opera' isn't very good but now i'm being too picky. This is an excellent browser!
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42 out of 52 people found this review helpful
Version: Opera 9
Pros: Firefox is great but it is so because you can play with it adding plugins that make it a very interesting experience. My Firefox tells me the local hour and international too. Tells me the weather in my city and some other places too. Helps me load 30 pages I check every morning with just a click... all with the help of plugins.
But when it comes to simply browsing, and doing so fast and safely, Opera beats Firefox and any other browser there is.
Opera 9 has a new feature; the Widgets which I don't pretend to use but may be useful to many others. If I want some other feature in a browser I prefer Firefox, but for pure and smooth browsing... Opera 9 is the best!
Cons: None. Really, none.
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39 out of 55 people found this review helpful
Version: Opera 9
"More stable, more features and very, very secure."
Pros: The people that develop this browser are very security minded as this browser is extremely low on the radar when it comes to advisories for browser vulnerabilities. The main functions carry over from the previous versions and the thumbnail previews are (at least I think) unneeded/overkill. It is fast and low memory minded for the people (like myself) that don't have a lot of RAM. You'll find that this browser is very customizable and for the widgets, well, there seems to be a lot of people that like clocks, that's right, clocks. If you're looking for an alternative to IE this one definitely deserves a spot on your computer for the sheer security and speed without additional plug-ins. This can be a downfall though. There aren't many "extensions/widgets" that will block ads or a site advisor but it will notify you when a certificate verification is questionable and will ask if you want to continue. The built in clearing of records is a must and it carries over network settings that you can adjust to "tweak" your connection to some degree. It will fetch your favorites and has a very nice interface, one that will not make you feel cluttered and has a perfect amount of functions at your fingertips. Overall this browser remains to be one of the best.
Cons: It doesnt' work with login with My Yahoo and checking your mail from your homepage, it will switch back to the sign in page. I also don't understand the large download size from download.com compared to filehippo.com and majorgeeks.com. Am I missing something?
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19 out of 35 people found this review helpful
Version: Opera 9
Pros: Start Installing.
Cons: None.
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