PayPal is offering a free Security Key for Business Customers but anyone else who uses PayPal should order one too. At only $5 its well worth the money.

The PayPal Security Key is a small electronic device that generates a unique security code for your account about every 30 seconds. You use that code, in addition to your login name and password, to access your account. It’s like a combination lock for your account, except that the combination is always changing so only the owner of the account who has the Security Key and the correct login info can get into the account!

If you should lose or break your Security Key you will still be able to log in to your PayPal account but you’ll be asked you to confirm your account ownership by providing some information that only the true account holder can look up.

If you get one of these keep it with you on your key chain or in a locked and bolted down safe. Never leave it near your computer or in your laptop bag!

Even if you’re a dumbass and get successfully phished and enter your email, password, and token id, that information will only be good for 30 seconds. The worst part of many account breaches isn’t the first attack, it’s the 100 other guys the info gets sold to.

— Ben Popken, Consumerist.com

Tags: paypal, verisign, rsa, security