Recently eBay announced that hackers managed to gain access to login credentials for eBay employees. These credentials allowed access to eBay user information such as name, address, birthday, phone number. The eBay account passwords were encrypted but people are strongly advised to change their eBay passwords.
Other than having to enter your account name and password to login to a website or service one can add an additional layer of security called two factor authentication (TFA). This means that in addition to your user name and password you also need to supply an additional piece of information. This usually takes the form of a key that is changing after a preset amount of time. One well-known free TFA is Google Authenticator which is a piece of software that one installs on your tablet or cellphone and that one can use for various websites including of course Gmail and Outlook.com.
However eBay and its payment site Paypal does not use Google Authenticator. Instead there are various options. You either have to use a key fob or security key generator one of which PayPal sells for $30 which has a rotating code that changes every 30 seconds. You then enter this code in addition to your normal login information. There are other security keys out there that work with PayPal and eBay. Another security option is one can configure PayPal to send you an SMS code to your cell phone.You then enter the code you receive on your cellphone via a text message along with your normal login information. There is a third option which uses software based rotating key generators which is what Google Authenticator is. One such piece of software that works with eBay and PayPal is from Symantec called VIP Access that is available for your smart phone, tablet or desktop computer. For more regarding PayPal’s $30 key fob or to configure SMS messaging on PayPal see this PayPal web page. For Symantec’s software based authenticator and to download the appropriate software see their website. In order to use VIP access on your eBay account install the appropriate software from Symantec’s website link and then visit this link . To set up the software for your PayPal account visit this link
For both eBay and PayPal when using either the $30 key fob or the free software one has to enter the serial number off the key fob or Credential ID from the VIP application along with 2 different Security Codes that the fob or VIP software generates. Once this configuration is set up every time you login to your eBay or Paypal accounts you will enter your login name and password then you will be prompted for the security code being displayed on the key fob or on the VIP software.