Paypal Security Key – Securing Your Business Funds
I am an avid paypal user, I pay for almost everything for my business with paypal. What I can’t pay for with paypal, I pay for with my paypal debit card. Give I use paypal so much, it would be a huge mess if my paypal account ever got stolen/hacked. Now I don’t have to worry about my account being hacked from paypal’s side of things. Most of the time when an account is “hacked” it is just a matter of someone using a poor password, giving that password out, or being phished. I use a pass rather secure password for my paypal, and I don’t use that password for anything else. However I am always up for more security.
My paypal security key is linked to my account with a special serial number. Every time I log into paypal I push the button on the key and it generates a random six digit code. I add that six digit code to the end of my password. Each code can only be used once, so its very secure. In order for someone to get into my paypal account they would need my username (easy), my password (hard to get), and my security key (which is attached to my keys and never leaves me). So if someone were to find me, steal my keys, figure out my password, then they could log into my paypal. Assuming I didn’t change my password first. Anyway, that scenario is highly unlikely.
I also linked up my security key to my ebay account. I got my first key right after they came out a few months ago. After having it a while my 1 year old son got ahold of it and chewed on it. I can say that they paypal security key, albeit durable, was not designed to withstand a 1 year olds mouth. 
So I ordered a new one. In the mean time paypal let me log into my account without the key if I could answer some extra security questions. Then when I got the new key I set it back up, which took all of a couple of clicks. I can’t say that it was that easy for ebay. To get the security key disconnected from my ebay account I have to call them. That takes a small act of congress, and is not something I typically have time for. Rather I don’t want to take the time to do it, I hate long waits on phone systems. I don’t like the automated ones, and the voice activated are even worse. It would be so much simpler to just do it online. It has been a month an a half since I replaced the key and I still have not contacted ebay, meanwhile paypal is back to functioning smoothly. Sometime when i stop using my wife’s ebay account and get mine fixed up I will not be hooking the security key back to it.
The key costs only $5 and it totally worth it for me. I once had my Chase business debit number was stolen and a bunch of charges racked up. Chase refunded all of the charges and fees, but it just took a while to get done. The key doesn’t protect my paypal debit card, but the debit card is backed by mastercard, so I am good there. I enjoy knowing paypal has got my back and its would be pretty impossible for my account to get stolen.
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