For almost a decade, pockets of Web cognoscenti have snubbed Microsoft and Netscape, choosing instead to surf the Internet on Opera, the browser produced by Norway's Opera Software. With its estimated 10 million users, Opera has long run a distant third in the browser battles. But with security concerns about Microsoft's Internet Explorer on the rise, growing numbers are downloading Opera. CEO Jon S. von Tetzchner discussed the browser business with Senior Writer Stephen Baker and Software Editor Steve Hamm. Edited excerpts follow:
Q: Why would Opera be more secure than Microsoft's Internet Explorer?
A: Microsoft has one big system. The integration of Internet Explorer with the desktop wasn't a good idea. When you combine big things, the chances things will go wrong increases. It's also the question of everyone using the same system. Hackers go to Microsoft because that's where the traffic is.
Q: How do you do things differently at Opera?
A: Oh, we have our share of security problems. But typically we can do a fix in 24 hours. If you look at secunia.com [a security site], you see we have issues, but all of them have been dealt with. Microsoft has lots of open issues.
News source: BusinessWeek Online
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