 | By Mark Joseph Edwards Spam is a major problem, so keeping your e-mail address private is paramount. This week, I tell you where you can get free, disposable e-mail addresses and how to automate the creation of those addresses. |
Use a different e-mail address for each Web form
Many Web sites require that you provide an e-mail address before you can download software or read content. Sometimes, it’s OK to enter your real address. In other cases, you should have a high level of suspicion as to how a site might really use your address. Any amount of spam is too much, so defending your personal inbox is undoubtedly very important to you. That’s where disposable e-mail addresses come in handy.
There are several services on the Net that let you create temporary or disposable e-mail addresses. Two of the services I recommend are TemporaryInbox.com and Mailinator.
Both services let you make up any inbox name you want on the fly. The sites automatically accept e-mail for your new address on a temporary basis. No sign-up is required and no configuration is needed.
For example, make up an email address (such as temp123 at temporaryinbox.com or temp123 at mailinator.com), enter it into whatever Web site happens to require your e-mail address, and then visit TemporaryInbox.com or Mailinator.com to check mail for that e-mail address.
Related posts:
