We all seem to be choked with unwanted or SPAM email at times. Here is a tip to lessen, or avoid receiving these.

Many Web sites require you to sign up to access their services. Often, you need to provide a valid email address (that your password will be sent to, for example) during the sign-up process.

There's nothing wrong with that. But you never know what will happen to the email address you give to the site.

• Hackers may break into the network and steal the email address
• It may leak to the Web due to some mishap
• It might get sold to spammers

This is why it's a good idea not to use your primary email address when you sign up for something on a web site.

Use a disposable email address instead, such as an account at one of the free Web-based email services (Yahoo, Hotmail), or another secondary email address that is not critical.

Keep your primary email address for personal correspondence. Using this trick might help you from getting all that nasty junk email.

posted by GLR ITW  10:45 PM