Here’s a little something from Dave Brooks (popular guest author here and, the best computer Tech I know) – “Think I’ll give this (Tweak-SSD) a test drive! I would recommend a Google search and download it from someone other than the author, I’m not handing out my email address (which is required for download) for anyone’s free app, I get enough spam as it is.”
It used to be, that the problem Dave has described wasn’t much of a problem. Not so long ago, developer’s rarely required an email address as a requirement to download an application. How things have changed!
The cost of “free” on the Internet these days – amongst other things – is providing an email address which, far too often will trap users into a revolving game of “catch the spam”. The solution? Create a disposable email address and let someone else worry about the spam.
There are any number of services you can take advantage of – many of them free. For more on this you can checkout this Wikipedia page.
I recently came across something a little different – a Firefox/Chrome add-on – TrashMail. Using TrashMail you can create a disposable email address (or addresses for that matter), at Trashmail.net. All email to this address/s will be forwarded to your real email address for the number of times you have selected.
When that limit is reached, the Trashmail.net email address will be automatically deleted. Further emails to that address will be rejected at Trashmail.net.
Following installation – and, a Firefox restart, the first thing you’ll need to do is set up a new account (in other words, register) with TrashMail.net, at the site – as illustrated below.
Once you’ve successfully completed the registration process, look for a confirmation email in your inbox.
You will need to click on the link in the email to confirm that you are “you”.
Which, will generate the following notification.
You’re now good to go. Revisit the site – login – and set up your first alias email account. Pay particular attention to “Number of forwards”. You must select a number (other than unlimited), in order to prevent an error code.
The following notification will be generated.
Once you’ve set up your first alias address, setting up additional addresses becomes less complex. Signing in to the site brings up the following window in which a couple of clicks does the job.
You can change the default settings easily from the Firefox _ Tools – Add-ons – menu.
Additionally, clicking on the TrashMail icon (from the Firefox Add-on Bar) will give you access to Address Manager from which you can “Edit” or “Delete”, your alias email addresses.
By now, you may well be thinking that this is a complex process – and, to some extent, I suspect that it should be streamlined somewhat. But, here’s the real benefit.
From now on, anytime you’re asked to provide an email address – for whatever reason – you simple click in the email entry box – right click on “Paste disposable address”…….
which will bring up the selection window as shown below. Click on “Create email, and…..
…….your alias email address is automatically entered.
Fast facts:
Challenge response system – Filters incoming messages by a CAPTCHA system.
Send e-mails by web interface – You can send e-mails by a SSL secure web form with TrashMail Plus.
Address name reservation for 365 days – After a TrashMail address has been deleted, the TrashMail address name will be reserved for 365 days for the real e-mail address from which it was used last time before it will be released for other real e-mail addresses.
Multiple domain names – Currently there are 11 domain names available which can be used for TrashMail.
Address masking on reply – When someone replies to an TrashMail address, this option can mask the responders e-mail address by replacing the responders e-mail address by the TrashMail alias name (just as host name, domain name and IP addresses will also replaced by localhost, localdomain and the IP address 127.0.0.1).
Distinct e-mail source – Each user can define a key which is used in the TrashMail e-mail header to make sure the e-mail was actually sent by the TrashMail system.
Additional header information – To each e-mail forwarded to your real e-mail address, a few header lines will be added to provide some additional information for the TrashMail customer.
Backup mail server – If our main server smtp.trashmail.net would be offline, then our backup server mx1.trashmail.net will take over incoming e-mails. The backup server is located in a different datacenter for high-availability reasons.
Secure HTTPS requests – Web requests are handled by the encrypted HTTPS protocol.
Number of maximum active disposable email addresses – 300 for non Plus members. 2500 for Plus members.
Price – free with limited features. Alternatively, TrashMail Plus with all features for $12.99 USD per year.
Download the Firefox add-on at: Mozilla
A Chrome version is also available and can be downloaded at the Chrome Web Store.
The developer has provided an excellent video tutorial on how to install, configure, and use the TrashMail.net Firefox Add-On. Click on the graphic below to view.
Admittedly, there is some upfront work involved in setting up TrashMail, but once this one time task is completed – you’re cruising. There are a number of different ways to work with TrashMail, and in this review, I’ve described the method that worked best for me. With a little experimenting, you may well find a more appropriate method for your specific needs.
Reblogged this on Sunnyace Reblog Collections.
Thanks Sunnyace. 🙂
Bill
Hi Bill,
TrashMail looks like it could be useful. Personally I always keep a few email addresses for non-personal use. Anyway my first thought was that spammers could have a field day with TrashMail so the first thing that I did was to sign up then attempt to use the TrashMail account to spam one of the forums that I help to moderate (for test purposes). I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I got shown the message “you are attempting to perform a banned action” so I searched through the manually editable block lists; ip address, user name, screen name, domain name; (partial matches allowed) and there is no trace of TrashMail anywhere. I can only assume that it is blocked by default by the web hosting provider!
I can see that it could be very useful for signing up to sites where you wish to obscure your email address so I’ll be keeping it!
Regards,
Chris. A.
Hi Chris,
That’s good news. I very much like your testing procedure – very smart.
You have a great deal of knowledge so, you might consider writing a guest post here – that would be very cool.
Best,
Bill
Hi Bill,
Nice one, I shall certainly be looking into this very handy tool, that is when I finally work out why FF14 is crashing every few minutes?
Cheers,
John
Hey John,
Quick tip – backup Firefox using MozBackup. Remove Firefox using Advanced Uninstaller Pro 10. Reinstall Firefox and then run MozBackup to reinstall your Firefox bookmarks, add-ons, etc.
Best,
Bill
For the record..I have downloaded this and installed..No surprises but Sega Genesis fun. It is free untill 2012-07-2813:00 and DRM FREE Certified!
Download Ristar – PC Game
The evil tyrant Greedy holds the galaxy of Valdi under a reign of terror, spreading misery and darkness.
But from the depths of space comes Ristar, a shining shooting star who is destined for greatness. Only his special powers can restore happiness to the solar system once again.
Key Features:
> A game with original and zany situations
> A difficulty that increases progressively
> An inspired and original level design
> Action, puzzle and strategy are combined in Ristar
Hey Delenn13,
OKk, if you insist on beating yourself up, I can send over my whip. It’s a little worn, but it should do the job. 🙂
Thanks for the link – looks very interesting.
Best,
Bill
Sounds like you been reading “Mommy Porn”..:) Fifty Shades of Grey – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hey Delenn13,
What a strange world we live in. There actually is a classification of porn called – yep, “Mommy Porn”. Too much! 🙂
Best,
Bill
Reblogged this on Poch Peralta.
Hey Pochp,
Thanks!
Hope all is well with you.
Best,
Bill
Hi Bill,
Another one that I have used is Spamgourmet;
http://spamgourmet.com/
This also gives a fake email address and sends as many responses as you wish to your chosen email address. Once that number is reached, you never see another thing from that sender.
Again, after the initial setup it is simplicity itself to use.
Kind regards
John
Hi John,
Just took a quick peek. Very interesting. Thank you.
Best,
Bill