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Why the Internet fell apart today
If you were on the internet on Friday morning, congrats! You were one of a lucky few who maintained their connectivity in the face of a massive, nationwide DDoS attack against part of the Domain Name System (DNS), a crucial piece of digital infrastructure which, when offline, cripples our ability to access the internet. But despite its importance, the DNS is often overlooked -- much like the rest of the behind the scene mechanisms that make the internet work. So before you go resetting your router to see if that clears things up (hint: it won't), let's take a quick look at what the DNS does and how it managed to break so spectacularly earlier today.
PayPal's Mastercard deal brings its payments to more stores
PayPal wants to be your go-to payment option online and in stores, but it has a problem: banks and credit cards aren't a fan of its free bank transfers and other attempts to push online payment over the conventional variety. However, it's trying to make amends. In the wake of a Visa deal from July, PayPal has forged a partnership with Mastercard that gives the credit card firm higher prominence online in return for more of a retail footprint. PayPal will make Mastercard a "clear and equal" payment choice in its wallet (complete with an image of your card), let you set the card as a default payment method and will "not encourage" you to link a bank account if you're a Mastercard customer. In exchange, you can use a linked Mastercard in your PayPal wallet to make in-store purchases at contact-free terminals.
PayPal won't refund a Twitch troll's $50,000 in donations
An Australian teen is learning one of the many reasons why you shouldn't cause grief for Twitch streamers. PayPal has refused to refund Anthony Archer after he made a total of $50,000 in donations to several well-known Twitch users (including LegendaryLea and NoSleepTV) as part of a trolling scheme. He'd intended to cancel the transactions through PayPal a month after making them, leaving the streamers high and dry, but PayPal wasn't having any of it -- he's on the hook for the full amount. And given that he appears to have used his parents' credit card, he's in more than a little trouble with them, too.
Turkish law forces PayPal to suspend operations in the country
Turkey and the tech world's relationship is infamously contentious, and the country has crippled another company: PayPal. Starting this June 6th, the secure payment service is closing up shop, according to a statement (Turkish) spotted by TechCrunch. Paypal users in the country will be able to transfer any balances to a Turkish bank account after that, but that's about it. Sending and receiving money -- you know, PayPal's main attraction -- via the service will be off the table.
PayPal is killing its Windows Phone, BlackBerry and Amazon apps
On June 30th, PayPal is forcing all its Android and iOS users to update their apps to version 6 if they haven't yet. Notice how Windows Phone, BlackBerry and Android Fire users aren't included in that list? That's because the company is killing its apps for those platforms on the same day. PayPal didn't explain why it decided on shutting down its non-Android and non-iOS applications. In her announcement post, PayPal VP Joanna Lambert only mentioned that everyone can still access the mobile website and that it's still possible to send P2P payments via BBM or to send money from their inbox on Outlook.
Peter Thiel is the one behind Hulk Hogan's Gawker lawsuit
Confirming rumors that had grown over the past few days, Paypal cofounder Peter Thiel admitted to the New York Times that he is financing Hulk Hogan's lawsuit against Gawker Media. Its Gawker blog published an article in 2007 titled "Peter Thiel is totally gay, people" (before later publicizing the sexuality of Apple CEO Tim Cook, and a Conde Nast exec) which kicked off this whole revenge-by-proxy legal saga. Hogan's involvement comes after the site posted a video of the wrestler (real name: Terry Bollea) having sex with the wife of a friend, clipped from a tape with other interesting details. He sued the site and won a $140 million award, which Gawker is appealing.
PayPal stops protecting you when crowdfunding goes bust (updated)
PayPal won't be so crowdfunding-friendly in the future. The payment giant is dropping Purchase Protection for crowdfunding projects as of a user agreement change coming June 25th. From then on, you back efforts at your own risk -- if a campaign goes bust or otherwise doesn't deliver what you were promised, you can't dispute the PayPal charge to get your cash back. You might not want to take a chance on that too-cool-to-be-true gadget, then.
PayPal Credit comes to the UK with interest-free plans
PayPal wants to be the method that everyone naturally defers to when buying goods and services online. Instead of grabbing your debit or credit card, the aim to make you naturally hit the PayPal button whenever you reach the checkout. To incentivise this, the company is rapidly expanding PayPal Credit in the UK, which helps you make purchases even when you don't have the funds in your bank account. You'll need to apply for the privilege online, but if you pass the company's credit check you can get zero percent interest on orders over £150 for the first four months.
PayPal nixes North Carolina ops center following anti-LGBT law
The passing of HB2, a law that denies protections for people who are gay or transgender, is proving to be very expensive for Governor Pat McCrory and the state of North Carolina. In the weeks following Governor McCrory signing the anti-LGBT bill into law, a number of companies, production studios and even the federal government have spoken out against the legislation. Some are pulling money and business ventures from the state, and one of the most recent is PayPal. The financial transaction company announced plans to build a new operations center in Charlotte just before HB2 passed. Today, the company killed those plans, withdrawing the project that would've brought 400 new jobs to the area.
PayPal's redesigned mobile app makes money transfers easier
If you're a fan of sending money with PayPal while on the go, a new version of the company's mobile app aims to make the task easier. As you might expect, handling transactions is the most popular task for the software, and the redesign makes those controls the main attraction. The home screen now shows recent transactions, recent contacts and allows you to quickly resolve any pending requests. In fact, separating transactions based on what's pending and what's completed is a welcome change that should make keeping tabs on your finances a bit easier. It's also easier to pay for things like Yelp Eat24 orders with the app. For Android users, PayPal says it improved fingerprint scanning for more devices, too.
PayPal shoots self in foot while 'white knighting' for Netflix
With the recent rollout of Netflix Everywhere, the company has been on a tear trying to track down and lock out users who rely on VPNs to bypass its regional restrictions and access the US programming list -- or any other country's local selection of shows. Doing so hasn't been as easy as Netflix initially anticipated so it called in PayPal for backup.
PayPal has a Super Bowl ad, too
At the rate companies are releasing their Super Bowl ads prior to this Sunday, it's a wonder why they even spent the millions to air them during the big game at all. The latest in that YouTube-approved trend is none other than PayPal, which is hoping to sell viewers on the idea that it's "new money." The under-a-minute clip has everything an ad needs these days to garner attention amid the cacophony of macro-brewed beer commercials and flashy spots for monsters that reside in red and white spheres.
PayPal's Venmo adds third-party app payment support
After being dogged by scary security concerns last year, PayPal-owned Venmo is focusing on new features for its payment system. The company revealed that it will let you pay for sporting events via Gametime and gourmet meal deliveries from Munchery. The service is only available on iOS for select users to start, but Venmo plans to use the limited rollout to get feedback and will add more folks over time. The service works much as PayPal does -- you just tap the Venmo icon to pay, and will be linked directly to the app for authentication. Payments are automatically added to your purchase history.
Australian securities market set to begin trading Bitcoin
The Australian securities exchange (ASX) is preparing to publicly trade shares of the Bitcoin Group on February 9th, under the BCG handle. Bitcoin Group currently operates 6,000 "mining" rigs spread across seven international locations (though mostly in China where the cost of electricity is most affordable). The company hopes to raise more than $20 million on the sale of 100 million, $0.20 shares during its initial public offering.
Some 'Shenmue III' backers won't get their rewards after all
After breaking records with their Shenmue 3 Kickstarter campaign, the developers at Ys Net are taking an... interesting stance toward fans of the project. You see, as a result of the wildly successful crowdfunding campaign for another entry in the cult classic franchise, not everyone who wanted to get in on the action was able to before it ended. So Ys opened up a "slacker backer" period where folks could pledge their support (and dollars) via Paypal, adding to the $6 million already promised to the developers from Kickstarter backers. All good, right?
PayPal, Square and big banking's war on the sex industry
For nearly a decade, PayPal, JPMorgan Chase, Visa/MasterCard, and now Square, have systematically denied or closed accounts of small businesses, artists and independent contractors whose business happens to be about sex. These payment processing authorities have also coerced websites to cease featuring sexual content under threat of service withdrawal, all while blaming ambiguous rules or pressure from one another.Monday a federal appeals court ruled that pressuring credit card companies like Visa and Mastercard to stop doing business with speech-protected websites violates their First Amendment rights. Specifically ones that feature content from sex workers. And in June, the FDIC clarified that it's against the rules for businesses like PayPal, Chase and Square to refuse business or close accounts based on "high risk" assessments related to human sexuality. But it may not be enough to stop what's become an entrenched pattern of systematic discrimination by payment processors -- one that disproportionately denies financial opportunities for women.
How PayPal stole Christmas (according to 233 Brits)
Halloween has passed and November is here. For advertisers, that means it's about time to debut this year's festive adverts. PayPal jumped straight in, airing its own during an X Factor ad break on Sunday night, but for hundreds of Brits, it's already destroyed the magic of Christmas. The Guardian reports that the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has received 233 complaints from viewers arguing that PayPal's advert implies that Father Christmas isn't real.
'Mighty No. 9' demo gets a Humble Bundle and a new release date
Even though Mighty No. 9, the new crowdsourced video game from venerated MegaMan creator Keiji Inafune, won't be available until some time in 2016, fans can still get a slice of the action. The game's production team tweeted Friday that the game had both a new release date and that it's playable demo has arrived on Humble Bundle. Per the game's Kickstarter page, Mighty No. 9 will hit American consoles on February 9th, 2016 and launch worldwide on February 12th. And, according to the Mighty No. 9 official site, users must log in to Humble Bundle using the same email address as their Kickstarter/Paypal pledge and follow the download link for the Special Demo Version.
PayPal makes it even easier to call in your debts
While PayPal has made its name (and serious money) helping people pay for their online and in-store purchases, sending cash to friends or family takes a little bit longer than it needs to. That's why the company created the Venmo app, but that's only available to US users. Even though Venmo, Facebook Messenger, Square Cash and other peer-to-peer payment apps are gaining in popularity, many people still shy away from actually asking for the money they're owed. In an attempt to take the friction out of asking for and receiving payments, the e-commerce giant has launched PayPal.me, a new service that makes requesting money as simple as sending someone a web link. Not only that, it's a link that'll never change.
Outlook plays nicely with Office for iOS, PayPal and Uber
Outlook is now a more powerful tool if you get a lot of work done on your phone... or just need a quick ride to the airport. To begin with, the iOS versions of Excel, PowerPoint and Word have received tight integration with Outlook. You can send a document you're working on as an Outlook email attachment, or edit someone else's attachment and return directly to Outlook with a new message ready and waiting. Also, some big, promised third-party Outlook web add-ons have gone live. You can set Uber ride notifications in your calendar, or put Evernote clippings into email. Boomerang will schedule both meetings and messages, while PayPal lets you pay a friend for last night's meal. Tie-ins with IFTTT, Wunderlist and Yelp are still "coming soon," but there's already plenty here to keep you busy.
