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July 25th, 2003

Mailinator

How many times have you gone to a web site looking for an information/a file/an article and it asks you to submit your e-mail address just so you can view the article. It’s a gigantic pain since you never know how they’re going to use your e-mail address and you really don’t want to hear from them again. Well, there’s an elegantly simple solution:

Mailinator

Next time you go to a site that asks for your e-mail address before you pass through, give them an address @mailinator.com. It doesn’t matter what it is… make it “buttmunch@mailinator.com” if you want. It’ll let you pass through and read your article and you can know you’ve given them a valid e-mail address and you’ll never have to worry about getting spam.

But what if you’re sent a registration code of some sort? Well, go to mailinator.com and in the “check your mail” box, just enter “buttmunch” and click GO. You will then see any e-mail that’s arrived for buttmunch@mailinator.com and you can get the info you need and be on your way. The mailbox is cleared out after a few hours, so while anyone can check anyone else’s temporary box, as long as no super-sensitive personal information is included in the e-mail, it’s no big deal. Since no sign up is required and any address @mailinator.com is valid, multiple people can use the same address without problems.

It’s a nice, simple answer to an everyday problem. Thumbs up to Mailinator.

Posted in Technology

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