Disposable email addresses galore

Filed in archive Anti-Spam Tools on March 29, 2007

I know we talked about disposable email addresses already, and all the benefits which come out of so handy services (no more giving your genuine email when signing up for saucy sites, for example :), but Bessed blog has put together a list of five best DEA providers available online.

So, if in need, browse to: Spaml, Emailias, 10 minute mail, Spamgourmet or Mailinator and get a new email address you can toss away whenever you feel like it.

Thinking about disposable email, one must also consider the downside of the concept, which is clear right from the start. Toss-away addresses can be used by normal users wishing to eradicate spam, but also by those who want to disguise themselves, often for all the bad reasons.

Wikipedia says:

"Many forum and wiki administrators dislike DEAs because they obfuscate the identity of the members and make maintaining member control harder. As an example, trolls and vandals like to use throwaway e-mail addresses to get around attempts to ban them. Using a DEA provider only makes this easier; the same convenience with which a person may create a DEA to filter spam also applies to trolls. For this reason, SMF and other forum software have functionality to make it easier to ban DEAs. As a result, forum, wiki administrators, blog owners, and indeed any public site requiring user names may have a compelling reason to ban DEAs."