The makers of the Opera Web browser have come up with a new feature called Opera Unite that may save you some time when you want to share files with friends and family.

Opera Unite will be a new feature in Opera 10 that is still in the testing stages, that will essentially turn your Web browser in to a file and media server.  The concept is simple that you will open up this new feature, tell it which hard drive, files or folders you wish to share and from there you simply choose if you want to share these items publicly, with password protection or just for your own use.  After you are all set up with your registered Opera account you will be issued a unique Web address that will allow people to get to your files easily.

While the majority of the tech bloggers are singing the praises of this feature and how they feel it will revolutionize the Internet, StarterTech is going to be a little bit more realistic about it.  We have a few serious concerns about this new product.

• Many Internet service providers (ISPs) have strict rules about setting up a server on their systems.  While they may not catch on to you sharing a file here or there, if you start streaming media across their network on a regular basis, something Opera is saying this is perfect for, it may be a very good way for you to get a warning from your ISP.
• If you should happen to leave this open publicly, you run the risk of your files being potentially indexed by a search engine, and if you have copyrighted material amongst your files, then it may be a good way to get yourself in trouble for copyright infringement.
• If you plan on using this in any serious capacity, another thing Opera suggests by saying it’s a good product for Web designers, this means leaving your computer on full time and Opera running it at all times.
• You could also see serious slow down in your Internet connection due to people accessing files on your “server”.

In short, yes, it could be a convenient tool for sharing things like photos instead of having to go upload them on sites like Flickr or Photobucket, but in general I find it a potentially dangerous product for the general user that isn’t familiar with security, how portions of the Internet work and what possible ill side effects there might be for your computer and Internet connection.  Seeing as Opera is not a serious contender in the current round of the browser wars it is doubtful that it will ever become a widely used product, but it is still something people should give a lot of thought to before starting to use it.