macnn
04/18/2008, 11:25am, EDT
Friday, April 18th
Safari users to be blocked from PayPal?
Users of Apple's Safari web browser may be blocked from making PayPal transactions in the future, according to a white paper from the latter company. While the company has already taken Safari to task for lacking specific anti-phishing protection, or EV SSL (Extended Validation Secure Sockets Layer) certificates, PayPal's CIS officer now argues that the threat of phishing may be too great to allow users to send money through "unsafe" web browsers. "In our view," writes Michael Barrett, "letting users view the PayPal site on one of these browsers is equal to a car manufacturer allowing drivers to buy one of their vehicles without seat belts."
"At PayPal, we are in the process of reimplementing controls which will first warn our customers when logging in to PayPal of those browsers that we consider unsafe," Barrett continues. "Later, we plan on blocking customers from accessing the site from the most unsafe -- usually the oldest -- browsers."
The focus of this effort is said to be on older versions of Internet Explorer no longer supported by Microsoft, but does not exclude other types of unsecured software. At present neither Firefox nor Opera support EV SSL, but the companies behind both have already announced development plans in that regard. To date, Apple has not revealed any intention to add the technology to Safari.
, 
, 38
, 
, 
, 
, 
, 
Top
subscribe to comments
for this article
How?
This is an absurd comment that's not even worth discussing.
However, to claim that EV Certificates provide any more security than regular certificates is ludicrous. EV Certificates are nothing more than a cheap ploy to extort more money out of certificate buyers and ends up from preventing non-profit organizations from being able to afford them.
I really wish Steve Jobs or someone would make a public stand against these certificates and expose them for the rip-off they are.
This barrage from Barrett is not only ignorant, but offensive: I'm a big boy, and I don't need a PayPal Mommy to hold my hand. I'm suspicious of an ulterior motive, or some kind of collusion here.
I also agree: if Safari is OK by Bank of America, where does PayPal get off dictating to me?
PP is skating on thin ice here.
How so ? By effectively preventing Mac users from using their website. PayPal is rife with fraud, and they do little to protect their 'customers'. I speak as someone who's been stung by PayPal's paper-thin fraud protection in the past.
Staying clear of PayPal is the best thing you can possibly do....
Scenario: I receive a phishing e-mail to 'confirm my log in information'. I click on the link, Safari opens, I ignorantly enter my PayPal info. Later, I go to real PayPal, it tells me I can't use Safari. Fair enough; I fire up Firefox. I log on and I'm in shock; phisher got my user ID and raided my account.
Is PayPal actually attempting to force Safari users to drop Safari altogether??? Surely they know Safari is on the rise and their little effort will have no consequence on that growth. So how again are they helping their customers against phishing by forcing them to use another browser when going to the LEGITIMATE PayPal site?
This decision is just patently absurd!
Not. Going. To. Happen.