being tracked by email

[Pearl]

hi everyone, i was wondering if opening emails from paypal using my old IP would link my new ebay account to my old suspended one following clearing cookies etc? i will not be clicking on any links - jst opening the email on hotmail.

Also by mistake i logged into my old paypal which is not suspended today then logged into my paypal . is this likely to cause me any problems :>

thank you!

[jeffweico]

Yes, they can use beacons to track you via email. Beacons are small images (they could be 1 pixel in size) embedded in the message. When you open the email (and the image) the request to retrieve the image is made from the IP address of the computer you are viewing it on.

The logging in issue MAY cause you problems, time will tell. People have done this before and been OK, but others have lost accounts.

[rsot]

1 time may not likely causing you problems regarding accidental login but do NOT repeat.

Agree with jeffweico about the beacon to retrieve the image - do not tie up old e-mails to new account in ANY fashion.

[johnnyleeds]

This is all pretty basic stuff Pearl, you need to get rid of your old account details from the PC you currently use. If for whatever reason you do need to check out something to do with a restricted account then I'd do it from a different computer, preferably in an internet cafe / at work / university / library etc.

You also need to remove any things which automatically fill in your username / password for old accounts so you cant accidentally login to your old account. Plus things like Turbolister need to be removed completely. I have reinstalled them before, but you need to be sure than any stored user files are also deleted which running the usual uninstall process doesnt do.

Also another thing that I was absolutely hopping mad about was a friend of mine came to my house and tried to log into his banned Ebay account using MY COMPUTER! I couldnt believe he'd done it, but he didnt know I used eBay Stealth techniques, touch wood, its not affected me as I hadnt logged in myself yet that day, and I quickly changed my IP address and cleared cookies etc. Just make sure you dont have anyone else logging in to their EBay account on your computer!