Getting a new email address

If you're like most people, then you spend a majority of your time on the Internet sending and receiving electronic mail messages for both personal and professional purposes. Although it is infinitely more convenient to maintain the same online ID for as long as possible, there are times when it is necessary to get a new email address. For example, if you end up on a spammer's mailing list despite your best efforts at protecting your ID, it might be easier to get a new email address than to have to wade through the mountains of junk mail that show up in your Inbox every single day.

In most cases, getting a new email address is a very simple procedure. There are several web-based providers, including Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, and Gmail, which will allow you to open an account after filling in a short registration form. You don't have to divulge any personal information or even use your real name to open one of these accounts. In fact, these are often called "disposable accounts" because they are so easy to set up, use, and eventually abandon.

Disposable accounts are suitable for most of your electronic mailing needs. But you might find yourself in a situation where you need to provide something other than a free email account in order to process a membership or receive a service. In these cases, you'll usually have to sign up with an account from work, from school, or from your ISP. The reason behind this requirement is to verify your real identity to a certain extent. Whereas you can register for a Hotmail account as John Doe, you can't do the same thing with work, school, or ISP accounts. There are extra steps in the registration process that essentially eliminate the anonymity that you enjoy from disposable accounts. For example, you might be asked to confirm your employee or student ID number before getting access to your account.

So what do you do if you need a new email address from one of these places? More likely than not, you can get a new email address from your ISP by simply calling or writing in to request one. While many service providers limit the number of accounts available to each customer, you can usually get a new email address if you explain the reason that you need it and if you agree to close down your old addresses for good. In order to get a new account at work or school, you will have to talk to the appropriate department and submit any documentation that might be required of you.

All in all, getting a new email address is not an overly difficult or time-consuming process, and can definitely remove the headaches involved with getting hundreds of spam messages per day. Just remember to notify everyone in your contacts list about the change so they'll be able to keep in touch with you!