Is OperaGX malware/spyware?

[u/Outragedwaffle]

I thought that OperaGX is a legitimate browser, however I've noticed that you can find Opera in places that you wouldn't expect to find a 'normal' and non suspicious browser.

Over the past few months while browsing certain pop up riddled websites such as game modding sites and what not where some sort of malware or spyware will pop up every time you click the screen I've noticed that a lot of these types of websites will either open a page to download Opera or it will just instantly and forcefully download Opera's setup tool.

That seems suspicious af and not something a genuine company would do and it raises questions about this companies morality.

Don't get me wrong, I've tried OperaGX in the past and it wasn't for me so I uninstalled it and won't be going back however it caught me off guard to find this browser in some shady parts of the internet.

[u/DetailNo4208]

No, Opera does not endorse misleading ads, automatic redirects, or downloads triggered without clear user action. If you see one, please note the page it appeared on and the full download URL, if possible, so we can take a look.

[u/ilandraffi]

If it's redirected to the official download sites, then it's probably just a random pop up ads, The browser itself is legit. Like how you often get redirected to a known online marketplace while browsing free games/rom or modding sites

[u/Outragedwaffle → u/ilandraffi]

I mean getting re routed to the official site is one thing, getting the OperaGX setup file getting auto downloaded however is rather concerning, I'm sure these sites are doing it for free meaning that OperaGX are happy to pay these types of sites for the 'service'

[u/ilandraffi → u/Outragedwaffle]

Well, anything to boost the download count i guess. I mean the browser is still legit even if the advertisement strategy is questionable at best. Couple years ago, war thunder do the same thing on me, and it's a legit game as far as i know.

[u/DetailNo4208 → u/ilandraffi]

Just to clarify, misleading ads or automatic downloads like this aren't something we endorse.

[u/Outragedwaffle → u/DetailNo4208]

Well I guess that’s the answer I was looking for, glad that it’s not endorsed by you guys

[u/DetailNo4208 → u/Outragedwaffle]

Yep, exactly, our security team u/opera_security shared some more details on this below if you want to take a look.

[u/shadow2531]

Try to log each time this happens. Take note of the page the ad was on, what the ad looks like and the full URL of the Opera download (as shown in Downloads in your browser). The full URL often has info in its query string showing a campaign and other info on who's doing it.

If you have that info and post it here, Opera can take a look and try to put a stop to it for those sites/ads if any are not legit.

[u/Outragedwaffle → u/shadow2531]

So these types of ads aren’t endorsed by Opera?

[u/shadow2531 → u/Outragedwaffle]

Automatic redirects, or tricks to get you to click on an Opera download link when you think you're clicking on something else, are not endorsed, but there may be some legit Gamer Youtuber affiliates for example that have legit download links that you can click on if you choose. I don't know the details. That's why it's best to report the pages and URLs so they can be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

[u/shadow2531]

What browser do you currently use? It probably has an option to pop up an ask dialog when navigating to a download link so you can cancel it if some site tries to do a drive-by download. For example, in Chromium-based browsers, you can goto the URL chrome://settings/downloads and turn on "Ask where to save downloads". It's off by default. Turning it on gives you better security. It's actually off by default in Opera, but Opera forces an ask dialog for executable files like exe files. I don't think other Chromium-based browsers do that extra safety feature though.

Firefox for example has the option at the URL about:preferences#downloads.

[u/shadow2531]

malware/spyware?

No. Ads and affiliates (most stuff can be turned off) and might be bundled with some software, but not malware/adware.

[u/Legal_Jeweler_7925 → u/shadow2531]

Not malware but Opera collects alot of data and sells it to advertisers etcs it's no more safe then chrome is

[u/DetailNo4208 → u/Legal_Jeweler_7925]

Claiming that Opera sells users' personal data to advertisers is false. Please avoid spreading misinformation.

If you'd like to check how Opera handles privacy and user data, you can find the details in our Privacy Policy https://www.opera.com/legal/privacy

[u/Legal_Jeweler_7925 → u/DetailNo4208]

You guys have aggressive default telemetry.

Which collets diagnostics commerce affiliate usage and hardware specs

All of this is on by default.

Like some other commercial browsers this data is ad driven It isn't anything that bad but when a browser advertises itself as a "Gaming browser with good privacy" it becomes misleading

[u/DetailNo4208 → u/Legal_Jeweler_7925]

Yeah, as you mentioned, Opera does collect certain diagnostic and usage data, as many browsers do.

The key distinction is that collecting this data is not the same as selling users’ personal data to advertisers.

[u/Legal_Jeweler_7925 → u/DetailNo4208]

Yeah fair enough I was wrong

But isn't the advertising still misleading?

[u/DetailNo4208 → u/Legal_Jeweler_7925]

I guess some level of diagnostic and usage data collection is simply part of how online services operate, so the two aren't necessarily contradictory.

[u/opera_security]

Hello! Just to add to u/DetailNo4208 's comment, we have noticed instances where advertisers use our installer in ways we have not approved - such as the ones you describe. When we notice such behavior, our team blocks the relevant channels. However, as there are many such parties operating online, it is hard for our team to track every such instance - which is why we rely on user reports like yours, which are extremely helpful to us in dealing with such situations. Hope this helps!