This is simply brilliant
2003-08-21 08:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mdlbearReferred to in I, Cringely, a particularly brilliant solution to some of the spam problem: single-use email addresses, at mailinator.com
The idea is blindingly simple: make up an address, say
That's it. No security other than the non-obviousness of the address you pick. If the web site spams it later, who cares? You only check it when you're expecting something. If somebody else picks the same address, well, that happens.
I just tried it -- works fine. (If you hurry, my test message might still be at
The idea is blindingly simple: make up an address, say
testing123@mailinator.com. Put it on a web form so the site can send you a confirmation. A minute or so later, visit www.mailinator.com and retrieve your mail. Whether you read it or not, it will go away in a couple of hours.That's it. No security other than the non-obviousness of the address you pick. If the web site spams it later, who cares? You only check it when you're expecting something. If somebody else picks the same address, well, that happens.
I just tried it -- works fine. (If you hurry, my test message might still be at
testing123.)