To improve user privacy and security when using the web browser.
The VPN client is free to use and imposes no bandwidth or traffic restrictions, so there's no reason not to use the feature unless you're already using a VPN with full system coverage.
One of the reasons the Norwegian company added a VPN is to improve privacy by keeping users anonymous when using the browser.
As with any VPN or proxy solution, it is important to ensure that the underlying program does not leak information to remote servers.
If you have enabled the VPN feature in Opera, then when checking for potential leaks, you will notice the following:
- Regular IP address checks only show the VPN server's IP address, not the computer's actual address;
- The WebRTC leak check shows the local and remote IP address of the computer.
Opera, like many other modern web browsers, supports the WebRTC protocol, which means it can leak the real IP address even when using a VPN.
Some browsers such as Firefox allow you to disable WebRTC completely, while other products do not offer this functionality. Given that WebRTC can be used by sites for identification purposes, even if you are using a VPN or proxy, you will probably want to disable the technology if you are not using it.
Block IP address leak in Opera VPN
Opera does not have built-in options to disable WebRTC, but you can install a browser extension that monitors WebRTC leaks in the browser and improves privacy when using Opera's built-in VPN feature or full system coverage VPN solutions.
Download and install the WebRTC Leak Prevent extension in the Opera browser. You will notice that the plugin blocks access to the computer's local IP address, but the public IP address is still reported by the WebRTC implementation.
To fix this leak, open the extension settings. You can open a list of all installed add-ons by entering the address of the opera://extensions/ page in the browser's address bar and clicking the Settings button next to the name WebRTC Leak Prevent.
On the settings page you need to do the following:
- Check that the "Prevent WebRTC from using non-proxied UDP" option is enabled;
- In the “IP handling policy” section, select the value “Disable non-proxied UDP (force proxy)”.
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What is the difference between public and local IP addresses?
When checking for leaks, you will see two types of IP addresses: public And local.
Public IP addresses are unique. They are part of your online identity. When you use a VPN, sites see the VPN server's public IP address instead of yours, meaning your privacy is protected.
However, if WebRTC detects your real public IP address when you are connected to the VPN, rather than the VPN server address, then third parties can use it to identify you. If you see your public IP address in the test results, then your privacy may be at risk.
Local IP addresses are not unique to your device. These IP addresses are assigned by your router and are reused by millions of routers around the world. So if third parties find out your local IP address, they still won't be able to associate it directly with you. If you see the local IP address in the test results, then this does not threaten your privacy.
5 steps to check for leaks via WebRTC (with and without VPN)
If you Not If you use a VPN, your confidential data will undoubtedly become available to third parties. (Want more information?.)
If you use VPN, and our test shows that a leak is possible, you can run one more test:
- Disable your VPN and open this page in a new tab or window.
- Write down any public IP addresses you see.
- Close the page.
- Connect to the VPN and reopen the page.
- If you still see any of the public IP addresses you noted down in step 2, you have a leak.
If you're using a VPN and our test shows there's no leak, then you're safe!
Want to check if you have other sensitive information leaks? Try these tools:
What is WebRTC?
Web Real-Time Communications (WebRTC) is a set of standardized technologies that allow web browsers to communicate directly with each other without the need for an intermediate server. Among the advantages of WebRTC higher speed And less latency when using video chats and file transfer and streaming applications.
However, any two devices communicating directly with each other via WebRTC must know each other's real IP addresses. In theory, this could allow a third party website to use the WebRTC feature in your browser to determine your real IP address and use it to identify you. This is what we call a WebRTC leak.
Any leak of your public IP address is a threat to your privacy, but WebRTC leaks are less known, easily overlooked, and not all VPN providers protect you from them!
ExpressVPN explains: What is WebRTC?
How does a WebRTC leak compromise my privacy?
Problem with WebRTC is that this standard uses more advanced methods to discover IP addresses than those used in "standard" IP address discovery.
How does WebRTC discover my IP addresses?
WebRTC reveals IP addresses via protocol ICE (Interactive Connectivity Establishment). This protocol uses several IP address discovery methods, two of which are described below.
STUN/TURN servers
STUN/TURN servers serve two key roles in WebRTC technology: they allow web browsers to ask the question “What are my public IP addresses?”, and they make it easier for two devices to communicate with each other, even if they are outside of NAT and internetworks. screens. The first feature may affect your privacy. STUN/TURN servers determine your IP address in the same way that a website sees your IP address when you visit it.
Possible Host Detection
Most devices have multiple IP addresses associated with their hardware. They are usually hidden from websites and STUN/TURN servers by firewalls. However, the ICE protocol specification means that browsers can collect these IP addresses simply by reading them from your device.
In most cases, devices are assigned local IPv4 addresses, and their discovery will not affect your privacy in any way. However, if your device has an IPv6 address, then your privacy may be at risk.
IPv6 addresses work differently than IPv4 addresses. Typically, an IPv6 address is an external, public address, meaning it is unique. If your device has an IPv6 address and it is detected using the ICE protocol, then your sensitive data may be exposed.
A malicious website may use STUN/TURN servers or a possible host discovery protocol to trick your browser into providing an IP address, which can be used to identify you without your knowledge.
WebRTC leaks: which browsers are most vulnerable?
At the moment, users of desktop versions of Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari and Microsoft Edge browsers are most vulnerable to WebRTC leaks because these browsers support the WebRTC standard by default.
Note that you may be safe from WebRTC leaks in one browser but not in another. If you regularly use multiple browsers, be sure to check each of them using ExpressVPN's WebRTC leak test.
What is ExpressVPN doing to protect me from WebRTC leaks?
ExpressVPN works hard to ensure VPN apps can protect you from WebRTC data leaks. When you open new web pages after connecting to ExpressVPN, your public IP addresses become unavailable.
However, some browsers can be quite aggressive when it comes to saving data from old tabs. If you had a tab open before that As you connect to the VPN, your real IP address may be cached in your browser's memory. These IP addresses may persist even if you refresh the tab, putting your privacy at risk.
ExpressVPN Browser Extension(currently available for Chrome and Firefox) solves this problem by allowing you to disable WebRTC completely in the settings menu, ensuring you are immune to any caching issues.
How ExpressVPN's engineers, who specialize in fixing various data breaches, protect you
ExpressVPN protects you from a wide range of WebRTC leaks across different browsers and platforms. But since WebRTC is a relatively new technology, it is important to constantly test different WebRTC leak scenarios on different platforms and in different browsers. ExpressVPN is a leader in this area. Our team of experienced engineers specifically works on this problem, constantly researching new ways of data leakage and quickly developing protective measures.
What other ways are there to prevent leaks via WebRTC?
In addition to using ExpressVPN, you can protect yourself from leaks by manually disabling WebRTC in your browser.*
How to disable WebRTC in Safari browser on desktop
There is currently no way to completely disable WebRTC in Safari. But fortunately, Safari's permission model is more restrictive than most other browsers. By default, your IP addresses are not exposed to web pages other than the one you use to connect. That's why you don't need to take any additional action to prevent leaks via WebRTC in Safari.
To disable WebRTC in the Opera browser, you need to download the WebRTC Leak Prevent extension and also follow these steps:
- Open the extension settings (View → Show extensions → WebRTC leak prevention → Options)
- Select "Disable Unproxied UDP (Transparent Proxy)" from the list in the dropdown menu
- Click the button Apply settings
How to disable WebRTC in the Microsoft Edge browser
Unfortunately, there is currently no option to completely disable WebRTC in the Microsoft Edge browser. You can change your browser settings to hide your local IP address by following these steps:
- In the address bar, enter about:flags
- Check the box next to the option Hide my local IP address when connecting via WebRTC
But as mentioned above, revealing your local IP address does not pose a threat to your privacy, so the steps above are not of much use. The best way to stop WebRTC leaks when running on the Microsoft Edge browser is to use the ExpressVPN app for Windows.
*Disabling WebRTC will likely not affect your web browsing because most sites don't rely on WebRTC... yet. But in the future, as WebRTC becomes more widely adopted, you will notice that some features will be missing on some websites if you decide to disable it completely.
Hello. Tell me how to properly disable WebRTC in Firefox and other browsers?
Disabling WebRTC is not a difficult matter, but before we move on to the disabling instructions, let's figure out what kind of beast it is and why an ordinary user needs to disable it.
What is WebRTC?
WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) is an open-source standard that allows real-time streaming of video and audio data through a browser using P2P technology.
This technology is built-in and enabled by default in all modern browsers: Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Chromium and Opera.
Why is WebRTC dangerous?
Why is WebRTC enabled dangerous? Because P2P requests the user’s real IP address during information exchange, and WebRTC kindly provides this information to everyone. Even if the user works through this miracle technology, an attacker can easily find out the user’s IP address. And using vulnerabilities, your real IP, of course, can.
How to check if WebRTC is enabled?
To check your browser, you need to go to these sites:
The following screen indicates that the WebRTC function is enabled in your browser. In addition, the site provides other interesting information.
How to disable WebRTC?
Of all modern browsers, Firefox is the most trainable. And in this particular case, Firefox showed its best side, allowing the user, without using third-party add-ons, to disable WebRTC using hidden settings.
Disabling WebRTC Firefox
To disable it in the Firefox browser, enter the command about:config in the address bar, after which this message will appear.
Click on the “I promise...” button and continue.
In the settings window, in the search bar (not in the address bar!), as shown in the screenshot below, enter the command media.peerconnection.enabled . The line we need will appear. Right-click on it and select the first item “Switch” from the drop-down menu.
After switching to the “Value” field, you should see the “False” option. Now close this window and restart the browser.
Another way is to install a special extension Disable WebRTC. But I prefer and advise you to perform this operation yourself. I don’t like installing programs on my computer, especially in a browser.
There is an even simpler way - download the ConfigFox utility, which, in addition to this operation, can significantly improve the privacy and anonymity of the Firefox browser. We wrote about this program in the article ““. I highly recommend using this utility to all users of the Mozilla Firefox browser. The program does not install itself into the browser, but simply allows you to change the settings file.
Disabling WebRTC Chrome
In the Google Chrome browser, things are a little more complicated. In Chrome, there is no way to disable this feature in the browser itself. To do this, you need to download a special add-on, it’s called WebRTC Block. You can download and install the add-on using this direct link. We have not tested this extension and cannot give any guarantees.
There is also a ScriptSafe add-on that can also help solve this problem. In my opinion, this is the best way to solve the WebRTC problem in Chrome.
This extension will be more difficult for an inexperienced user, but if you are an advanced user, I highly recommend that you dig deeper into it.
If you know other ways to solve this problem in the Chrome browser, write in the comments.
Disabling WebRTC Opera / Yandex Browser
There are several plugins for the Opera browser: WebRTC Leak Prevent and WebRTC Control. I haven’t tested it personally, try it and write what helped and what didn’t.
In conclusion, I want to say that at the moment there is no one hundred percent reliable way to disable WebRTC in Chromium browsers such as Chrome, Yandex, Opera, etc. Therefore, I advise anyone who uses a VPN and who cares about anonymity to temporarily stop using these browsers. I think in the near future, this hole will be closed and you will be able to return to them. In the meantime, you can temporarily switch to Firefox.
That's all. In the following articles we will talk about the anonymity and reliability of VPNs and public Proxy. It will be fun, we will break stereotypes. You will love it ;)!
The WebRTC protocol was originally developed for the Google Chrome browser. Accordingly, it is used by default. For those who are not aware, WebRTC is a special technology for direct data transfer between browsers. It causes your IP address to leak, so many users disable it to ensure their security.
To disable WebRTC in Chrome, you need to use a special WebRTC control extension for Chrome . It will allow you to turn the technology on and off with the press of a button.
To do this you need:
- Launch Google Chrome.
- Open the browser menu located in the upper right corner.
- Hover over “Additional tools” and select “Extensions.”
- A page with your extensions will open. Scroll down the page and click on the “More extensions” link.
- You will be redirected to the Google Chrome online store. In the search bar, in the upper left corner of the screen, enter the name of the application “WebRTC control” and press Enter.
- In the list of applications, select the one you need and click “Install.”
- In the pop-up window, click on the “Install extension” button.
- The application will automatically install and be enabled. It will appear as an icon in the extensions panel in the upper right corner. If the application is running, its icon will be blue. You can enable or disable WevRTC by clicking on this icon.
Unfortunately, WebRTC in Chrome cannot be disabled manually, at least on the PC version, so you will have to use a third-party extension anyway.
Disabling WebRTC on Android
It's even easier to disable WebRTC in Chrome on Android devices. You don't even need to use a plugin to do this.
- Open browser.
- In the address bar, enter the command “chrome://flags/#disable-webrtc” (without quotes).
- After that, set the value to “Enable”.
- That's all, WebRTC on the Android version of Chrome will be disabled.
As you can see, disabling WebRTC is easy both on the computer version of the browser and on the mobile one. It is best to take your time and do this once, so as not to experience problems with security and leakage of your IP address. We hope this instruction helped you and was useful. Thank you for your attention!
If you still don’t understand, then watch the video in which we will tell you how to disable WebRTC dj in all browsers.