My current email is drowning in SPAM. Where should I get a new account?

**GreatKingRat** · 17th March 2005, 9:48pm

If your account is full with SPAM, it doesn't necessarily mean you need to go elsewhere for a new account. You could always just sign up for a new account with the provider you already use, and be more careful when publishing or submitting your e-mail address.

Here's a list of a few free web-based providers:

http://www.hotmail.co.uk (yourname@hotmail.co.uk - 250Mb storage space & 10Mb attachments)
The most popular free e-mail service, Microsoft's Passport accounts can be used with MSN

http://www.yahoo.co.uk/mail (yourname@yahoo.co.uk - 1GB storage space & 10Mb attachments)
Easy-to-use service which includes a handy SMS mail alert service.

http:///www.gmail.com (yourname@gmail.com - 2Gb storage space & 10Mb attachments)
Google's *special* e-mail service. A massive 1Gb of storage space makes it somewhat appealing, but these accounts can only be given to you by another Gmail user. Feel free to request an account in this thread, there's a few Gmail users here.

**GreatKingRat adds:

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreatKingRat

I'd like to add to this by recommending www.temporaryinbox.com

Insall the Firefox/IE toolbar, which generates a random e-mail address for signing up to sites you may not particularly trust or want to hear from again.

If you don't wanna install the toolbar, simply make up an address (example: randomword@temporaryinbox.com) then visit the site and enter your random word to check the inbox. Fantastic.

**ZeroSignal adds:

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZeroSignal

Ideally, everyone should register their own domain (£2/year or something for .co.uk). Then you can switch provider as often as you need to, without changing address.

This allows you to give out a different alias something@yourdomain.co.uk to every site, and block that particular address if you receive spam on it.

**GreatKingRat** · 21st July 2006, 4:03pm

I'd like to add to this by recommending www.temporaryinbox.com

Insall the Firefox/IE toolbar, which generates a random e-mail address for signing up to sites you may not particularly trust or want to hear from again.

If you don't wanna install the toolbar, simply make up an address (example: randomword@temporaryinbox.com) then visit the site and enter your random word to check the inbox. Fantastic.

Scellanis · 21st July 2006, 4:10pm

That sounds like a wonderful idea...pity I didn't know about it years ago when I clogged my main email up with countless subscriptions I'm not remotely interested in now....

**GreatKingRat** · 21st July 2006, 4:24pm

I know, I got 4 spam e-mails this morning for the first time (with this account) and another 3 this afternoon.. I'm getting a little worried..

linz · 21st July 2006, 4:29pm

You now get 1GB with yahoomail

I have a separate address that I only use for filling out unimportant forms online, and unsurprisingly, its only that one that gets filled up with spam.

Fenntastic · 21st July 2006, 4:40pm

i constantly get porn spam

**GreatKingRat** · 21st July 2006, 10:32pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by linz

You now get 1GB with yahoomail

and 2Gb with GMail. I posted this ages ago, needs updated.

Scellanis · 21st July 2006, 10:33pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreatKingRat

and 2Gb with GMail. I posted this ages ago, needs updated.

Gmail is way better than yahoo, it refreshes itself constaly so you always know when you have new mail without a toolbar or loud noisy crash sound from mail alert....

Zero · 21st July 2006, 10:45pm

Quote:

If your account is full with SPAM, it doesn't necessarily mean you need to go elsewhere for a new account. You could always just sign up for a new account with the provider you already use

What? This is awful advice. If your currently provider has shite spam controls then go elsewhere! I'm pretty sure there are far better choices than Hotmail.

**GreatKingRat** · 21st July 2006, 10:48pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZeroSignal

What? This is awful advice. If your currently provider has shite spam controls then go elsewhere! I'm pretty sure there are far better choices than Hotmail.

You're right. But I disagree about changing providers and I should've focused more on saying 'be careful with your address'.

Which is why, since I just re-visited this thread after about a year, I posted the link to temporaryinbox.com

Zero · 21st July 2006, 10:50pm

Ideally, everyone should register their own domain (£2/year or something for .co.uk). Then you can switch provider as often as you need to, without changing address.

This allows you to give out a different alias something@yourdomain.co.uk to every site, and block that particular address if you receive spam on it.

**GreatKingRat** · 21st July 2006, 10:56pm

Yeah, but we both know that not everyone is clued up on registering domain names. Plus it means there's more for us..

I recently had to register a friend to hotmail and text her the login details.

Scellanis · 21st July 2006, 11:07pm

I had an email on my own domain name once, it got so bogged up with spam the server couldn't cope, I could never succeed in logging in due to the amount of spam in it so I no longer get emails with my domain name...stick to google...

plus somebody also stole the email as a fake from address to send viruses and scams to friends and neopet users....having an email the same as my website never seems like a good idea now....

Zero · 21st July 2006, 11:53pm

Having your mail and web on the same machine is a bad idea - the MX record should point elsewhere.

nevali · 25th July 2006, 11:39am

Most of the spam I doesn't come from my personal mailboxes, and those that do are obvious dictionary attacks.

There's only so many times you can change your e-mail address before it becomes a severe pain in the rear end to everybody that knows you.

In an ideal world, nobody would use web-based e-mail except as a semi-emergency remote access solution: this would then allow everybody to pick a client with suitable spam filtering capabilities (and other features) without having to mess around with changing providers when things become an issue.

That said, in an ideal world, Outlook Express would never have existed, and having used it more than once it's no surprise people opt for something that trades being web-based off against having some sanity.