Posted by Josh Hubanks, Research Assistant

After a brief scare, Google claims its new ‘Wallet’ service—an app that turns smart phones into wave-and-go-style payment devices—is once again safe for use.

According to the company, a glitch was fixed that allowed for exploitation of Wallet’s pin system—the only authentication measure standing between users and their prepaid funds. Prior to the fix, encrypted pins could be easily cracked and associated Wallet funds thus accessed.

Independent security firm Zvelo first discovered the weakness last week. They reported it to Google, who in turn issued a public acknowledgement.

Today, though, tech blog Gizmodo reports that the problem has been fixed. The report comes courtesy of a post made on the official Google Wallet blog.

What does everyone think about this? Does the prospect of using your smart phone to buy a pack of gum at the local CVS get your blood pumping? Or does the evident risk outweigh the sort-of novelty?