Don't Use Your Real Email for Sign-Ups

Your email address is the master key to your online identity. Spreading it across hundreds of sites is a quiet but serious risk.

Three problems with using your real address everywhere

• Spam: one careless vendor selling your address poisons your inbox for years.
• Breaches: when a site is hacked, your address (and reused passwords) leak.
• Tracking: data brokers link the same address across services to build a profile.

The fix: compartmentalize

Use your real address only for people and critical accounts. For everything else — trials, downloads, forums — use a disposable address. If it leaks, you've lost nothing.

Learn how brokers harvest addresses in how spammers get your email.