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Your dream Yahoo ID may just be a little patience and $1.99 away

by Mark Tyson on 27 August 2013, 10:30

Tags: Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO)

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Yahoo has started reallocating old abandoned user account names. The resurgent web company began the scheme last month, deactivating dormant unused accounts and freeing up the many shorter more memorable names in the process. Users who had compiled a wishlist of IDs they were interested in before 7th August should have already heard from Yahoo if one of them became available.

Now Yahoo has implemented a $1.99 watchlist service for people to monitor availability of, up to five, IDs they are interested in for a period of three years. People who signed up for the original free wishlist have their wished-for Ids placed on this three year watchlist for free. If one of your watched names becomes available you will be notified and you can claim it within 14 days of being alerted.

Security concerns about this ID reallocation have been raised by various commentators but Yahoo says many of the deactivated accounts didn't even have email accounts associated with them. Yahoo details a new measure it is implementing to prevent new users being able to get password reset emails intended for the previous ID users. A new published standard called a Require-Recipient-Valid-Since header will be used with Facebook account reset emails, for example.

Yahoo shared some ID trivia with us, listing the most popular names which people are looking for; the most popular IDs contain the names David, Michael, Alex, Maria, Jennifer and Jessica. We are also informed there are lots of people wishing for 'Batman' and 'Superman' names.



HEXUS Forums :: 6 Comments

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Is it just myself who thinks that this is probably about ten years too late? I just can't see why anybody would be interested in any Yahoo ID these days.
It's not just the ID its the email address.

I don't even bother using email address provided by my ISP because I change ISP's every now and again and generally they stop access to your “free” email address after a while so makes sense to use an address you can take everywhere.
Jonj1611
It's not just the ID its the email address. I don't even bother using email address provided by my ISP because I change ISP's every now and again and generally they stop access to your “free” email address after a while so makes sense to use an address you can take everywhere.
Easier (although more expensive - granted) idea would be to get your own domain, then you can have what the heck you want, and if you take umbrage at your ISP then you can just move your domain. I took a look recently and it's surprising the number of companies out there who are quite happy to tout for mail hosting business.

And best of all you don't have to put up with Yahoo's … “interesting” … approach to spamming.
What approach is that? I have had one account for 3 years that I have given out to 5 business's which has had zero spam

The other account I use to sign up to forums has a fair bit.
Jonj1611
It's not just the ID its the email address.
Just think how many old ebay accounts are now going to be up for grabs!