Opera 9.5 web browser ready to roll

Opera Software has released version 9.5 of its web browser. The new version, currently available for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, FreeBSD and the Intel version of Solaris, is available to download from the vendor's server. According to Opera, they've "made the fastest browser in the world even faster." One of the most conspicuous features is the new look. Opera Software have given their browser a dapper new standard theme. Some the elements of the user interface have also been rearranged. Some of the functions in the view symbol bar have been moved to the status bar, which is now once again activated by default.

Perhaps the most important innovation is 'Quick Find'. The browser now records not just the URL and title of websites visited, but also the complete text. If the user types a term into the address bar, Opera lists all sites visited which contain this term. On request Opera Link saves a PC's bookmarks and speed dial web sites on an Opera server and synchronises then with other desktop Operas, including the Opera Mini browser for mobile devices, which has supported this feature since version 4. Opera 9.5 checks sites visited against the Haute Secure database, which offers users additional protection from phishing attacks.

Version 9.5 also includes 10 security updates with an emphasis on certificate management. Support for Extended Validation (EV) certificates and automatic downloading of trusted root certificates have been added, and SSL v2 and weak ciphers disabled. The security notification scheme has been redesigned to distinguish between EV, standard SSL and HTTPS sites with issues, and a fraud warning appears for blacklisted sites. Certificate handling and the certificate repository have been improved. Other security changes include the elimination of bugs that allowed cross-domain image reading, cross-frame location manipulation and page address concealment.

For developers, Opera has released a preview version of its Dragonfly developer toolset. It includes a whole series of useful aids for web developers, such as DOM and CSS inspectors, a JavaScript debugger and an error console and command line. For the visually impaired, Opera has added a 'basic' implementation of the Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA) standard and an experimental screen reader, specifically for Window-Eyes, JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver. Opera 9.5 also includes dozens of other new features. Details of these new features can be found on the Opera 9.5 information page and in the changelog for the relevant operating system.

(trk)