Apple Thoughts - News & Reviews on all things Apple

"Last week we told you about the upcoming check capture feature in the iPhone PayPal app. This new feature uses your device's camera to capture checks so they can be deposited into your PayPal account. This feature is similar to the Chase banking app and snaps the front and back of the check you want to deposit."

Nice update to a handy app, and it's free.

"So these reports of a major security hole in iTunes, one through which people have had their PayPal accounts drained?"

Um, no. A few instances of gullible users falling for a phishing scheme does not mean that the iTunes Store has (unreported) vulnerabilities. It doesn't matter where the 'news' comes from, users have been, are, and will continue to be hoodwinked into giving up their: bank account information, their userid and password, the paypal account information, [fill in the blank here]. Now in addition to banks and credit card companies being 'attacked,' PayPal and iTunes are now considered big enough to challenge. No big surprise here. As we've seen lately, the press seems to take perverse pleasure in pointing the finger at Apple, for anything that happens. A bit of schadenfreude in reporting?

"PayPal has released a major update to its mobile iPhone application. Along with a complete redesign, PayPal 2.0 now adds support for withdrawing funds and requesting money as well as an integrated tip calculator for splitting restaurant bills and requesting everyone's share via PayPal."

I have this app but never really used it much as it lacked functionality, which appears to have been added with this update and the ability to withdraw funds from your account. The tip calculator is a nice touch, as is the bump feature, but since most of my PayPal usage is for people that aren't standing right next to me, I doubt I'll be using the bump function too much. Perhaps when I add money to the account my daughter has, but then again, now that she has her drivers license she isn't home much! I joke of course, and the app is available in iTunes as a free download.