Is PayPal safe? What you should know about using PayPal for online purchases

By Jim Sloan

Late in 2010, a freelance software developer in Seattle released a free program that lets someone see what you are doing on your laptop or smart phone while on an unsecured WiFi network. The program then lets them log on as you on all the sites you just visited.

So even if the password you entered to get on Facebook, Twitter, Amazon or eBay is encrypted, this software (Firesheep) can snatch your cookie--that segment of code that contains your computer and site settings and other private information--and allow another user to become you. More than a million people downloaded the program in three months, the New York Times reported.

Sound scary? It is, but the developer released the program to point out the need for what computer engineers call "end-to-end encryption"--something that is used on PayPal and on bank websites to protect users' highly sensitive financial information.

Why PayPal is so safe

PayPal is safer than most sites because it automatically...

By Jim Sloan

Editor's Note: Thank you for your interest, these offers have expired and are no longer available.

If you're one of those chaps who likes to hop the pond for a quick getaway, you've got to take a look at the British Airways Visa Signature Card.

For a limited time, British Airways and Chase Card Services are offering new sign-ups to the British Airways Visa Signature Card a bees knees bonus of 50,000 bonus Avios.

You need a good to excellent credit score to be considered for the card...

By Jennifer Rose Hale

Every now and again you go to the mailbox only to discover that, indeed, "the check is in the mail": blank checks, ready for your signature. If you're like many consumers, you get two types. The first, for your bank's checking account, often features kittens, patriotic images or American landmarks.

The second? Those are a mysterious "gift" from a credit card company. You may receive them from a company you already do business with, or they may arrive, unsolicited, from a new bank.

Just what are those checks, and what can you do with them?

Credit card checks: better interest rates or fast cash

Checks from credit card companies can have two primary purposes:

By Richard Barrington

In George Orwell's "1984," the totalitarian regime often confused the populace by using contradictory phrases such as "war is peace" and "freedom is slavery." The common credit card term "minimum payment" might contain a similar sort of contradiction, because by making minimum payments, you'll find yourself shelling out the maximum amount of money.

The reason is that the longer it takes you to pay down a credit card balance, the more interest you will pay on that balance. Thus, making the minimum payment each month will mean racking up more in the way of interest charges. Just how much more may surprise you.

The true cost of minimum payments

Suppose you shell out $1,500 for a home theater system. It's a big investment, so you put it on your credit card so you can pay it off over time.

For this example, let's assume your credit card charges a minimum payment equal to the larger of 3 percent of your outstanding balance, or $10. These are fairly typical minimum payment terms.

Under those terms, if you make just the minimum payment every month (and assuming you add nothing else to your balance) it will take you over ten years to pay off that $1,500 purchase. Meanwhile, interest charges, at a fairly typical 15 percent rate, would have totaled $810.41. Thus, you would have increased the total cost of that

By Joe Taylor Jr.

In college, grades are given out based on how you rank against your peers, and credit scores work the same way. So how do you stack up in terms of credit history?

Researchers working for major credit bureaus and scoring agencies, including Experian and Fair Isaac Corporation, regularly review data from their company's comprehensive collection of personal credit reports. Their statistics can shed light on whether your own credit history stacks up with that of the typical American consumer.

Ask yourself these questions to find out:

Do you use more than two credit cards? If so, you're packing more in your purse or your wallet than the typical American consumer, according to Experian. For the first time in years,

By Tom Tennant

You've got bills to pay and a creditor or two reminding you that you're a couple weeks behind on your payment. Maybe your car is in desperate need of repair. Or, heck, could be that vacation is around the corner and you'd like some extra "walkin' around" money.

No matter the reason, the promise of quick cash by way of an "instant tax refund" is pretty darn alluring. The problem is, that fast federal tax refund isn't a refund at all. It's a loan - and an ultra-expensive one at that.

We're talking tax preparation fees, interest rates that could soar into the triple digits, and the possibility that your refund will be less than your loan amount.

Which begs the question, if you can file your taxes electronically, possibly for free and with help from local non-profit groups and the IRS, and then have Uncle Sam direct deposit your refund straight into your checking account in under two weeks, why give so much of that refund away to get cash in your pocket the same day?

It just doesn't make sense.