Internet Explorer, Safari and FireFox users may lose access to PayPal
By Leslie Poston
If you use an older version of Internet Explorer or FireFox, you may soon lose access to financial site PayPal. The company has decided that future versions of its site will not be viewable by browser that are not complaint with new web security standards. This means that one of the biggest financial sites may finally force reluctant web users to comply with new standards, or risk not being able to use their money.
The reason behind the switch to a site more in keeping with current web security standards is to prevent phishing and account theft, and thwart hackers. From the site’s announcement: “At PayPal, we are in the process of re-implementing controls, which will first warn our customers when logging in to PayPal from those browsers that we consider unsafe. Later, we plan on blocking customers from accessing the site from the most unsafe — usually the oldest — browsers.”
In order to be accepted on the new site once it rolls out, browsers will have to accept Extended Validation Certificates and offer the latest tools to block phishers and hackers. The newest FireFox is the best option for this, and Internet Explorer 8 is supposed to include better protection (though I take a “believe when I see it” approach to IE complying with any standards). Safari has a new release out, but it isn’t clear if it complies with PayPal’s upcoming requirements.
The latest policy changes and the planned new site follow on the heels of PayPal’s purchase of Fraud Securities earlier this year. The purpose of the purchase was to increase online security at PayPal and it’s parent site, eBay. The security measures come hot on the heels of user dissatisfaction with eBay’s recent fee and feedback changes. some are saying that locking out web users who are dragging their heels on discarding deprecated browsers for better, more secure versions is a bad PR move at a time when PayPal / eBay can’t afford it. Since PayPal still has no challenger for an online payment option, I’m taking the view that they can pretty much do that they want, at least for now.
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on Sunday, April 20th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
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