in reply to Status of Recent User Information Leak

I've come to realize the true damage of this security breach was not caused by leaking passwords - those can easily be changed - but by leaking emails. Since the leak I have been subject to a steadily increasing amount of spam email. Changing an email that you've had a long time is much more difficult and inconvenient. But the spam is slowly rendering it useless. Bummer!

  • Comment on Re: Status of Recent User Information Leak

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Re^2: Status of Recent User Information Leak
by BrowserUk (Patriarch) on Aug 11, 2009 at 15:01 UTC

    Suggestion: Use sneakemail.com or similar redirector addresses when signing up. If the address you give starts garnering spam, discard it and generate another one. Your real email remains intact and spam free.

    Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error.
    "Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority".
    In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.
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Re^2: Status of Recent User Information Leak
by jdporter (Paladin) on Aug 11, 2009 at 15:37 UTC

    The answer to spam (as long as spam exists) is not to run from it, but to put it in its place. Email addresses are nearly useless if they're not public. But you need a good spam filter. This is one of the reasons why I'm still using a Yahoo email address after well over a decade. Its spam filtering is quite good. I have no qualms about using my Yahoo address for all my ordinary public needs. (yes, I also have an account on a different email server which I only give to my most trusted contacts.) It is quite liberating to not have to worry about whose hands your email address will fall into.

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      Email addresses are nearly useless if they're not public.
      That I disagree with. Email addresses are nearly useless if noone knows them, but addresses known to a proper subset of the world population can be quite handy. I've various public email addresses. I've also tons of email addresses only a few number of people know. I even have email addresses only one person beside myself knows. Except for some of the public addresses (which only get spam), all of them are useful.

      Email addresses aren't that different from phone numbers. Just because a number is unlisted doesn't mean it carries no use.

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Re^2: Status of Recent User Information Leak
by marto (Cardinal) on Aug 11, 2009 at 14:43 UTC
[reply]

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