Opera 84 final is out with Paste Protection

Opera Software released Opera 84 to the stable channel on February 16, 2022. The new version of the Chromium-based web browser introduces the new protective feature Paste Protection.

Opera updates automatically by default, but this does not happen the moment a new version is released by Opera Software. Users may run a manual check for updates by selecting Menu > Update & Recovery, or by loading opera://updates in the browser's address bar.

Opera displays the installed version and runs a check for updates to install any update that is found. A download of the latest version of the browser is also provided on the official Opera website.

Paste Protection

Opera Software highlights Paste Protection as the main feature of the new Opera browser. I reviewed Paste Protection back in December 2021 when it was introduced in Opera 84 Developer, a development version of the browser.

Paste Protection aims to protect sensitive Clipboard content by informing users about potential manipulations. Users who copy data such as banking account numbers or crypto wallet identifiers are informed by the browser if the content is manipulated. Malware may target these specifically so that transactions are hijacked if the user does not pay attention to the target addresses. Paste Protection warns users only so that they are aware of potential manipulations. Pasting is not prevented though.

Opera Software's blog post does not reveal additional information about the release, but it links to the full changelog.

Naturally, Chromium, the base that Opera shares with browsers such as Chrome, Vivaldi, Edge or Brave, has been updated to a new version. Opera supports the new Windows 11 snap layout popups and there appear to be some changes in regards to the DRM system Widevine as well in the release.

Other than that, there is not a lot that is sticking out. The changelog lists bug fixes, including crash fixes and memory leaks in the new version.

Now You: have you updated to the new Opera? What is your impression so far?

Opera 84 final is out with Paste Protection

Frontpaged: Opera 84.0.4316.14