Monday, April 21,2008 @ 9:10am
PayPal: No plans to block Safari
Users of Apple's Safari browser will be able to continue making PayPal transactions, according to a representative from the latter company. PayPal has been critical of Safari, noting that it lacks direct anti-phishing safeguards, or EV SSL certificates. News emerged last week, however, of a internal security white paper, which suggested that the company might block such "unsafe" web browsers entirely as a means of protecting its customers. Permitting access through unsecure browsers is "equal to a car manufacturer allowing drivers to buy one of their vehicles without seat belts," the paper argued.
But the company's goals have been misread, counters spokesman Michael Oldenburg. "PayPal is developing features to block customers from logging into PayPal when using obsolete browsers on outdated or unsupported operating systems," he explains. There is "no intention" of blocking any modern browser, including Safari. Rather, people would for instance be prevented from using Internet Explorer 4 combined with Windows 98.
It is not clear when or if tighter security might take effect at PayPal.