Safari is quickly becoming a popular web browser thanks to the increased popularity of Apple computers, iPod Touch, and iPhone. Even a Windows version of the browser was released last year as a public beta, which may be boosting its popularity as well. But if you're a PayPal user, the company says you need to switch browsers.

Macworld says Safari didn't make PayPal's list of recommended browsers because the web browser didn't have two important anti-phising security features. One feature Safari lacks is a built-in phishing filter that warns users of suspicious websites. The other security feature missing is the lack of support for Extended Validation (EV) certificates. In IE 7, this feature turns the address bar green when the browser visits a legitimate site.

PayPal's chief information security officer, Michael Barrett, said Safari has no security support at this time other than SSL (Secure Sockets Layer encryption), so the average consumer would be better off using Internet Explorer 7 (or 8 when it comes out), Firefox 2, Firefox 3, or Opera.

Whether your browser has good phising filters or not, there are a number of things you can do to prevent identity theft. Here are some phishing articles you might find helpful:

• The Attack of the Big Phish
• How to Protect Your System Against Phishers
• How to Spot a Phishing Scam

Related:

Safari 3 For Windows
Should You Make The Switch to Safari 3.0?