One way to tame your email inbox is to get in the habit of using
unique email aliases when signing up for new accounts online. Adding a
"+" character after the username portion of your email address —
followed by a notation specific to the site you’re signing up at —
lets you create an infinite number of unique email addresses tied to
the same account. Aliases can help users detect breaches and fight
spam. But not all websites allow aliases, and they can complicate
account recovery. Here’s a look at the pros and cons of adopting a
unique alias for each website.

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2022/08/the-security-pros-and-cons-of-using-email-aliases/


****************************** Moderator's Note ******************************

Adding an "alias" to your email user name is an old idea, but as the
story says, it comes with problems that not all users are prepared
for.

The root cause of email spam - and of thefts of username databases -
is that the Internet and the computers that connect to it were
designed by techies. The problem with technical people (I am one) is
that when we're given a problem to solve, we put on an imaginary set
of horse blinkers and lose sight of everything between the problem and
the solution.

That's usually a good thing: it has made the United States one of the
most productive places for new ideas, and new ways to implement them,
in the world. But, it's a double-edged sword, and this self-imposed
tunnel vision has made it possible for bad actors to exploit the
Internet, and the phone network, for commercial gain: the simple fact
is that those whom designed the Internet and the telephone network did
not anticipate that outsiders would break their rules to make money.

That's where Blue Boxes came from, and spam, and database thefts, and
the "top 100" list of most-often-used passwords, and the myriad other
problems of the modern online world: it was designed by people whose
world-view litterally didn't include the notion of protecting their
work from attacks and manipulation by those seeking easy money and
easy influence and easier ammunition for blackmail and bribery.

Email aliases are too little, and too late, and too complicated.
Instead of playing whack-a-mole, we need to go back to first
principles: get mad, get together, and demand real laws with real
teeth in them that will bite those whom are taking advantage of the
innocense of the Internet's early years.

Bill Horne

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)