PayPal is a great idea, giving computer users a fairly easy way to
send and receive funds.
PayPal is also a dangerous idea. It is not a bank, is not required
to follow banking laws, can restrict your account without any
warning, and can reverse transactions months after you've shipped
merchandise.
And, as I learned this morning after two days away, it can let a
complete stranger hijack your PayPal account. All they have to do is
guess you password, authorize their own address, change your
password, and remove your old email address(es) from the account.
Just like that, they've not only been given access to whatever
balance is in your PayPal account, but also the ability to access any
funds in the checking account tied to your PayPal account - in my
case, the business account for Cobweb Publishing.
The account was hijacked at around 4:40 p.m. Sunday (EDT), only an
hour after I posted a "close Monday" sign on Low End Mac and left for
vacation. I suspect the criminal may be a regular site visitor.
I've already emailed PayPal about what happened on Sunday, and
I'll be attempting to contact them by phone as soon as I post this.
And believe me, I'm going to be standing at the door when my bank
opens this morning to put a block on transfering any funds into my
PayPal account and make sure no transactions have taken place since
my PayPal account was hijacked.
And to the people at PayPal: This is no way to run a business.
To the rest of you: Pick very obscure, very hard to guess
passwords. Don't pick a dictionary word or part of your email
address. Include numbers plus upper and lower case letters. (My
regular password does all of this, but PayPal didn't think it was
long enough, so I came up with a longer one that turned out to be
less secure. Sigh.)
Convenient as the PayPal service is, they've made it too
convenient for thieves to break into accounts. Once I clear up this
mess, I plan on closing down my PayPal accounts. I can live with this
level of risk.
Update, 7:45 a.m. Phone call got PayPal to put a lock on the
account. Have a voice mail into PayPal investigations. Awaiting call
back after 8:00 a.m. EDT.
Dan Knight has been using Macs since 1986,
sold Macs for several years, supported them for many more years, and
has been publishing Low End Mac since April 1997. If you find Dan's articles helpful, please consider making a donation to his tip jar.
Low End Mac Needs Help Moving to Joomla, 10.08.
We've settled on Joomla as the content management system that should work very well for Low End Mac, but we're running stuck with templates.
Mac of the Day: iMac G5 (iSight), Oct. 2005 -Apple built an iSight webcam into the last version of the G5 iMac.
List of the Day: Leopard List Low End Mac's email list covering Mac OS X 10.5.
October 12 in LEM history: 98: Beyond HFS+ nightmares - 99: iMacs for all - 00: The future of low-end gaming - 01: Tips on buying a new computer - 05: iMac G5 (iSight) - Simple backup strategies - 06: Bring back flexible, easy to upgrade 'Books - 07: Road Apple nominations - PB 150 boots from Compact Flash - Leopard to slow down PowerPC Macs?
Best Mac Pro Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.10.
Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,799; new, $1,949 after rebate; 2.8 4-core, $2,099 shipped; 8-core, $2,599 shipped; 3.0 $3,399 shipped; 3.2, $4,099 shipped.
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Modding Your Old Mac to Make It More Useful, Phil Herlihy, The Usefulness Equation, 10.09.
If your old Mac is too slow, too noisy, too plain looking, or has too little room for expansion, you might want to mod it.
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Used 15" 700 MHz CD-RW, $269; 800 Combo, $300; 1 GHz, $390; 17" 1.25 GHz SuperDrive, $400; 20", $529.
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Best Mac OS X 10.4 'Tiger' Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.09.
DVD upgrade from 10.3, $75; upgrade bundle with 10.3, $118; full version, $129; family pack, $200; 10-user Server, $350; unlimited, $400.
Migrating My Law Office from Windows to Macintosh, Andrew J Fishkin, Best Tools for the Job, 10.08.
By switching to Leopard Server, everyone in the office will be able to move to a Mac - but which ones will best meet their needs?
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