If i take out my hard drive and put it in another pc can ebay tell?

[Athletichunta]

Will they know I'm using another pc ?. Ive heard using more than one computer is bad but what about with a hard drive swap?

[ilcarletto]

No, they have no way to find out you are using another PC.

Using more than one computer is fine and eBay or PayPal can't spot your HD swapping.

[swbluto]

If you've got flash enabled, they can read the drives, though this will probably bring up some security violation warning window.

[MM78]

Originally Posted by Athletichunta

Will they know I'm using another pc ?. Ive heard using more than one computer is bad but what about with a hard drive swap?

What exactly are you trying to accomplish? Are you wanting to stealth from any Computer?

[aspkin]

Originally Posted by Athletichunta

Will they know I'm using another pc ?. Ive heard using more than one computer is bad but what about with a hard drive swap?

Nope, as long as you're connecting to eBay/PayPal with a traditional browser, what they know about your device is limited.

[swbluto]

Here's the flash:

Flash® Player provides basic file reading and writing capabilities, via the FileReference class. For security reasons, when running in Flash Player, the user must always grant permission before you can read or write a file.

Adobe® AIR® provides more complete access to the file system of the host computer than is available in Flash Player. Using the AIR file system API, you can access and manage directories and files, create directories and files, write data to files, and so on.

Adobe Flash Platform * Working with the file system

[MM78]

Originally Posted by swbluto

If you've got flash enabled, they can read the drives, though this will probably bring up some security violation warning window.

So what your saying is that Ebay and PP are or can read our Hard Drives?

[swbluto]

Looking at File - Adobe ActionScript® 3 (AS3 ) API Reference, they can read:

File(path:String = null)
The constructor function for the File class.
File

browseForDirectory(title:String):void
Displays a directory chooser dialog box, in which the user can select a directory.
File

browseForOpen(title:String, typeFilter:Array = null):void
Displays the Open File dialog box, in which the user can select a file to open.
File

browseForOpenMultiple(title:String, typeFilter:Array = null):void
Displays the Open File dialog box, in which the user can select one or more files to open.
File

browseForSave(title:String):void
Displays the Save File dialog box, in which the user can select a file destination.
File

cancel():void
[override] Cancels any pending asynchronous operation.
File

canonicalize():void
Canonicalizes the File path.
File

clone():File
Returns a copy of this File object.
File

copyTo(newLocation:FileReference, overwrite:Boolean = false):void
Copies the file or directory at the location specified by this File object to the location specified by the newLocation parameter.
File

copyToAsync(newLocation:FileReference, overwrite:Boolean = false):void
Begins copying the file or directory at the location specified by this File object to the location specified by the destination parameter.
File

createDirectory():void
Creates the specified directory and any necessary parent directories.
File

createTempDirectory():File
[static] Returns a reference to a new temporary directory.
File

createTempFile():File
[static] Returns a reference to a new temporary file.
File

deleteDirectory(deleteDirectoryContents:Boolean = false):void
Deletes the directory.
File

deleteDirectoryAsync(deleteDirectoryContents:Boole an = false):void
Deletes the directory asynchronously.
File

deleteFile():void
Deletes the file.
File

deleteFileAsync():void
Deletes the file asynchronously.
File

getDirectoryListing():Array
Returns an array of File objects corresponding to files and directories in the directory represented by this File object.
File

getDirectoryListingAsync():void
Asynchronously retrieves an array of File objects corresponding to the contents of the directory represented by this File object.
File

getRelativePath(ref:FileReference, useDotDot:Boolean = false):String
Finds the relative path between two File paths.
File

getRootDirectories():Array
[static] Returns an array of File objects, listing the file system root directories.
File

moveTo(newLocation:FileReference, overwrite:Boolean = false):void
Moves the file or directory at the location specified by this File object to the location specified by the destination parameter.
File

moveToAsync(newLocation:FileReference, overwrite:Boolean = false):void
Begins moving the file or directory at the location specified by this File object to the location specified by the newLocation parameter.
File

moveToTrash():void
Moves a file or directory to the trash.
File

moveToTrashAsync():void
Asynchronously moves a file or directory to the trash.
File

openWithDefaultApplication():void
Opens the file in the application registered by the operating system to open this file type.
File

resolvePath(path:String):File
Creates a new File object with a path relative to this File object's path, based on the path parameter (a string).

And the directories they can easily read (They can read any using the above methods):

File.applicationStorageDirectory—a storage directory unique to each installed AIR application
File.applicationDirectory—the read-only directory where the application is installed (along with any installed assets)
File.desktopDirectory—the user's desktop directory
File.documentsDirectory—the user's documents directory
File.userDirectory—the user directory

I don't think they can OPEN files without your permission, but it seems flash certainly allows them to tell what files you have on your system. Personally, I block flash.

If you /must/ run flash and you're dealing with Amazon, I'd suggest a separate VM for each user. With ebay... you might be able to get away with separate user accounts.

[ovidiu]

The only way to physically identify that hard drive, its hardware ID, is never available to eBay, much less automatically through a un-prompted plugin run. Don't worry.

[swbluto]

Originally Posted by ovidiu

The only way to physically identify that hard drive, its hardware ID, is never available to eBay, much less automatically through a un-prompted plugin run. Don't worry.

You realize they don't need to the hard-drive serial to recognize your drive, right? Unique filenames on one's documents are a give away.

I'd write a demo flash app to prove my point, but I'm making too much money with my other software to bother.

[MM78]

Originally Posted by swbluto

I'd write a demo flash app to prove my point, but I'm making too much money with my other software to bother.

LOL, You are one funny dude....I like that.....I like that a lot.

[rsot]

Originally Posted by ovidiu

The only way to physically identify that hard drive, its hardware ID, is never available to eBay, much less automatically through a un-prompted plugin run. Don't worry.

ovidiu is right on.

[swbluto]

Originally Posted by rsot

ovidiu is right on.

Recognizing the hard drive doesn't take the hard drive serial. eBay isn't hardware locking a software license, it's simply using what it can to link users.