Sometimes you need to register on a web site to get a software key, enter a competition, or complete a transaction but you’re wary of the possibility that your email address may be sold to a spammer. In cases like these I use a free mail redirection service to hide my real email address.

The way it works is that you sign up with the mail redirection service and give them your real email address (which could be a special “junk” address you’ve set up for this purpose anyway). Once signed up you create an alias using any name you like.

For example, if the mail redirection service is “reallygoodemailredirection.com” and you create a name “imnotreallyhere” then all your email addresses will be something@imnotreallyhere.reallygoodemailredirection.com

The something part can be created on the fly and doesn’t have to be set up before using it. If I’m registering for a local supermarket promotion or competition I can use cokecompetition@imnotreallyhere.reallygoodemailredirection.com and not have to worry about giving out my real email address. When the redirection service receives the first email to that address it adds the new address to your list and forwards the email to your real email address with a couple of lines at the top telling you where the original email came from.

Now here is the neat part.  If you start getting spam via that email address you simply delete the email alias using the instructions in the email header.

There are many email redirection services, free and paid for, and you should look around and see if you can find one that works well for you.

Now, shameless plug because I get something out of this if you use my referral link: http://www.33mail.com/twez21

I use 33mail as my throw-away email redirector. The free service has no ads and unlimited aliases but is limited to 10MB per month and 1 anonymous reply email per day . For $12/year you can upgrade to Premium which provides 50MB/month and 20 anonymous reply emails per day.

Since I don’t use the anonymous reply feature and only get a few redirected emails, I’ve never had to upgrade to the Premium. If you are expecting large attachments in the redirected emails you may want to upgrade to Premium or Pro ($50/year) .

So far, this service has worked well for me. Let me know your experience.