Each time the Opera Browser receives an update (which is quite frequent), GlassWire Firewall re-prompts for access. I guess this is because it installs into a version specific folder e.g.
C:\Program Files (x86)\Opera\58.0.3135.68\opera.exe
Can anything be done to always allow Opera?
I use that browser also and do the same. Since the hash changes, we have to do a new âask to connectâ. Otherwise someone could just call their malware opera.exe and it would bypass our firewall.
If you have some other ideas on how to solve this weâre glad to hear. For example maybe we should offer a mode where if an app has no cert signed then it receives an âask to connectâ prompt, but others do not?
I guess the only other option would be to wildcard the version part of the path.
C:\Program Files (x86)\Opera\*\opera.exe
I will share this idea with our team, thanks!
I wonder if it would be useful if we just OKâd certain certificates?
I guess you might not necessarily want access for all executables which have been signed by the cert. So for maximum security you could check both a pattern match on the path and the cert.
Thanks. Iâll share this with our team and weâll discuss whatâs possible/reasonable.
If youâre going to skip the firewall prompt for programs that update with a different file path then please log an alert because users will forget that they have activated this option.
Iâm resurrecting this old issue. Opera recently reached version 100 and since then I am finding that GlassWire is failing to correctly add/update the required firewall rules after each update. As a result, Opera cannot then access the Internet. Looking at Windows Firewall, GlassWire has added ~200 firewall rules for the various versions of Opera that have been released in the past 4 years.
I now find that I have to delete the app entries in GlassWire. close GlassWire, restart the GlassWire Control Service, launch GlassWire, launch Opera and then Allow the app. After this merry dance GlassWire will update the Windows Firewall and it will work until the next updateâŚ
Here is just a taster of some of the many rules. I think it is the last entry which fails to update correctly.
OK, here is my proof. Today Opera updated from v101 to v102. GlassWire detected the new version and prompted to allow the app. I clicked allow and the allowed entry appears in GlassWire in the Active Apps. But when I look in the Windows Firewall the GlassWire managed entry for c:\program files (x86)\opera\opera.exe (seen above) has been deleted. Without this entry Opera cannot connect to the Internet. Hopefully I will get a response this time.
Please can support respond to this issue. Is this due to the ever increasing list of firewall entries or is there another cause of this problem?
Opera just got an update and GlassWire borked the firewall rule again.
So once again I have to repeat these steps to fix Opera; delete the app entries in GlassWire. close GlassWire, restart the GlassWire Control Service, launch GlassWire, launch Opera and then Allow the app.
Support have confirmed that this is a well known issue and the bug is being worked on. A fix will be included in a future release. I guess they will get to it once they have finished renaming parts of the UI.
Truth be told, Opera isnât very trusted in the IT community for a few reasons. In addition to the parent company being acquired by China, they harvest user data to serve up ads which gets sent back to that parent company as well. It used to be a great alternative browser, until it switched to being Chromium based and the aforementioned changes too.
True, but having a free built in VPN/proxy makes it a useful tool in the IT toolbox.
Itâs not a VPN if it harvests all you data while using it. Other browsers offer VPNs too, including Edge (since 2022) and Firefox (since 2020).
If you need a good VPN look at privacytools.io for trusted VPNs that wonât sell you out.
I wouldnât recommend any of the free browser âVPNsâ if absolute privacy is your goal. But the Opera one is useful in that it doesnât require an account and allows you to change your region. The merits of these proxy services is however off topic when it comes to Glasswireâs management of the firewall rules.
Agreed. This was mainly to be a word of caution about Opera and their unfortunate business practices.
Our engineering team has confirmed that this is a bug, and we have initiated an internal bug tracking process for in-depth investigation, reproduction, and resolution of this issue.
In the meantime, we would like to suggest that you consider reinstalling GlassWire with the âclean installâ option enabled. However, itâs important to be aware that opting for this approach will result in the loss of all your traffic history, alerts, and firewall rules.
Good to hear that this is finally being investigated after all this time. Nuking all my history and rules is not however a viable option.
Issue remains in the latest version (3.3.630). The GlassWire managed entry for c:\program files (x86)\opera\opera.exe is deleted from the Windows Firewall during an upgrade, but then not reinstated for the new version.
