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Opera Software released a new beta version of the company's Opera web browser on October 17, 2019 to the public. Opera 65 Beta includes support for DNS over HTTPS (DoH), a privacy and security feature that encrypts DNS traffic to prevent spying and common attacks such as spoofing or pharming.

Opera 65 Beta is already available. Existing Beta installation should receive the new version automatically thanks to the integrated automatic updating system. Opera Beta downloads are also linked on the official blog post that announced the new release.

Opera browser is based on Chromium but the company decided to select Cloudflare as its partner for the test. Mozilla, maker of the Firefox web browser, entered an agreement with Cloudflare as well to power the DNS over HTTPS functionality of the Firefox browser.

Google on the other hand makes available several provides in the DNS over HTTPS test in the company's Chrome browser.

All DNS queries will run through Cloudflare servers when the feature is enabled in the Opera web browser. Requests that Cloudflare cannot handle are still handled by the local DNS server; this is mainly done to allow the browser to connect to local resources, e.g. those behind firewalls or on internal networks (which Cloudflare cannot resolve).

The DNS over HTTPS feature is not enabled by default in Opera 65.

Opera users need to do the following to enable it:

1. Load opera://flags/#opera-doh in the browser's address bar. This loads the right experimental flag on the internal opera://flags page directly. You can also load opera://flags and search for Secure DNS to find it.

2. Set the Secure DNS (DNS over HTTPS) flag to Enabled.

3. Restart the Opera web browser.

The feature is supported by all desktop versions of the Opera web browser. Opera is available for Windows, Mac and Linux desktop systems.

The flag's description:

Secure DNS (DNS over HTTPS)

Quote:Use secure DNS (DNS over HTTPS; DoH) instead of local DNS. This replaces your default DNS with Cloudflare's public 1.1.1.1 server for public server name lookups. – Mac, Windows, Linux

The feature is experimental at this point in time. While it worked fine when I tested it for a short period of time, it is certainly possible that issues may be experienced. Uses may want to turn off the feature if that is the case to see if that resolves the issues that they experience.

Opera Software, unlike Mozilla, has not published any information regarding privacy. It is unclear if the company has brokered a deal with Cloudflare that is similar to Mozilla's to limit data exposure, use and retention when the service is enabled.

Now You: What is your take on DNS over HTTPS?
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