Does Opera allow online banking and shopping?
Yes, Opera supports SSL, TLS, Javascript and cookies which are usually required for such services so technically there’s no reason why Opera 3.62 cannot be used for online banking. Unfortunately some users are still unable to access their accounts however due to various problems with the service itself such as non-standard coding or poor browser sniffing. Many banks will only allow the use of specific versions of certain browsers, regardless of the fact that other browsers like Opera may in fact be more secure, or at least equally capable. Without identifying itself as Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator banks often refuse the browser access. Other services may also require a later version of Javascript or multiple windows, neither of which are supported by Opera 3.62. Problems like these will hopefully disappear in the future with the arrival of Opera 5, an incredibly well featured browser, and as the banks are forced to cater for wireless users.
Yes, Opera 5 supports secure connections (providing full 128-bit encryption) Personal certificates, improved Javascript support, Cookies, Java applets (If the Symbian JVM is installed) and multiple windows, which are sometimes required to log in. With these features, and Opera’s excellent support for markup/styling languages, there is no reason for any bank to refuse it’s customer access to their account from a Symbian device running the Opera browser. However, there are unfortunately still some banks operating poorly designed websites which discriminate against Opera and inform the visitor that their browser is inadequate. This is simply not true. There have even been banks whose websites have established a 128-bit encrypted connection with an Opera browser and then informed the customer— over that secure connection— that the browser they are using does not support secure connections, and therefore needs to be upgraded to IE4!
