DuckDuckGo Announces Cross Platform Alternative to Apple's Hide My Email

[mansplains]

Register a business, your corporate contact number is public searchable by whatever name you've registered your business under.

A phone call can:
allow confirmation of your number, which could be spoofed from a corporarate Cisco phone line with Caller Display for

These two together are a nightmare for small businesses. Not only is it possible to spearphish with an email address that appears legitimate, but calls posing as a business can cause a lot of damage. I work in multiple sectors involving DoD and Infosec is a major player in our industry. A couple of months ago we received correspondence on behalf of a company via LinkedIn and the accounts attempting to establish contact were completely fake. If someone in my position didn't know what they were doing, a lot of confidential information could be shared, and for a small business who is ignorant to these risks, could end the business entirely.

 

[MrENGLISH]

You're assuming someone with constant spam calls 'gave out' their mobile number.

I'm not assuming that. I only spoke about myself and shared what has worked for me personally. It is definitely not full proof as anyone (or bot) can just dial my personal number randomly. But the majority of the spam calls that I receive are typically to my Google Voice number. So all I'm saying is that it has really made a difference for me. Everyone else's milage may vary based on individual factors.

 

[KaliYoni]

DuckDuckGo is not owned or controlled by Microsoft. Microsoft isn't even an investor in DDG. DDG uses Microsoft search and ad network services, receiving compensation in the same way that many websites and individuals, including MacRumors, do from companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google as affiliate partners. That doesn't mean DDG is controlled from Redmond.

Aside from the fact that ownership or control by a company is very different from being a client or customer of a company, it is easy to look at MSFT's quarterly and annual financial reporting and see that DDG is not part of MSFT's corporate structure. As an extremely high visibility global company with a widely held stock, pretty much everything MSFT does that is of any consequence becomes publicly known, either from MSFT itself or from stock analysts and media outlets. Plus in the political environment that has been in place since DDG's launch, any move by MSFT to acquire DDG would create a lot of antitrust publicity.

 

[theapplehead]

Good alternative to Apple’s Hide my Email in my opinion. I’ve always been a fan of Duck Duck Go thanks to its open source nature and that it is free to use.

 

[wanha]

I'm more bothered by the amount of spam calls I get on my phone number.

No existing laws, no fines on telcos, no third-party apps have alleviated the problem. It's only getting worse and worse every year.

How come we can land a rover on Mars but we can't stop spam calls???

We don't have spam calls in Europe - I don't know anyone who has ever received one here.

Seems to me this is an American legislation problem - the ones doing the legislating are being lobbied (paid) by the ones doing the spam calling, so nothing happens.

 

[SurferPup]

I’m on their wait list for the beta e-mail. I use Yahoo for Spam and what I give to my state Government for Covid tracking as all the sign up details are bogus and I rarely check it. Hilarious content like: how to enlarge my muscle, blue pills availavle script free and desperate bustie Lena is waiting to connect with me in some other far off place. Also great to have a few disconnected mobile phone numbers to give out to Government departments and people that insist on my number but I have no intention of maintaining contact with them.

 

[TheMacDaddy1]

I never give out my person number to anyone except friends and family. Everyone else gets my 10+ year old Google Voice number. And if I need to make a call to someone outside my core group, I use the Google Voice number. It has done a great job of filtering out unwanted calls for years.

As long your friends and family don’t download some app that wants access to their contacts and they think about it for .25 seconds before saying ok……you should be fine.

 

[TheMacDaddy1]

I’m on their wait list for the beta e-mail. I use Yahoo for Spam and what I give to my state Government for Covid tracking as all the sign up details are bogus and I rarely check it. Hilarious content like: how to enlarge my muscle, blue pills availavle script free and desperate bustie Lena is waiting to connect with me in some other far off place. Also great to have a few disconnected mobile phone numbers to give out to Government departments and people that insist on my number but I have no intention of maintaining contact with them.

Yahoo for Spam??????

 

[MisterSavage]

We don't have spam calls in Europe - I don't know anyone who has ever received one here.

Seems to me this is an American legislation problem - the ones doing the legislating are being lobbied (paid) by the ones doing the spam calling, so nothing happens.

I get at least 3-4 a day.

 

[NoImDirtyDan]

We've been trying to reach you about your car's extended warranty

 

[BadgerBoyz]

Another cross-platform service in the email forwarding space is ManyMe.com, which appears to put more focus on security, inbox control and usability. I've been using their free service for a couple of years and it has been solid.

 

[MacBH928]

I think I’d rather have the false (erroneous?) data sent back than nothing at all. That way they know it was blocked. Similar to the downfalls of PiHole sadly.

i don't see a problem with any method chosen, with both, you are better off?!

On the PiHole thing, there are 2 new services that offer "in cloud" PiHole and that is NextDNS and ControlD . Putting it here for any one interested.

 

[SurferPup]

Yahoo for Spam??????

Dodgy websites, suspicious ones and people who I just don’t want to have my e-mail but they insist on one.