# Suggestion for changing email address **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [February 23, 2006, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestion-for-changing-email-address/345840 "2006-02-23T20:12:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2006, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestion-for-changing-email-address/345840/1 "2006-02-23T20:12:47Z")
Recently I changed my SDMB email address for reasons which are not relevant here. It occurs to me that someone with a malicious bent might take advantage of someone leaving themselves logged in. We all remember what happenned to **Hal Briston** , right? So my suggestion is that in addition to a confirmation email being sent to the new email address, a notification email, delayed by half an hour or so, should be sent to the old email address. Just in case. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestion-for-changing-email-address/345840/2 "2006-02-26T08:48:01Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > We all remember what happenned to **Hal Briston** , right? [Hijack] Um, I don’t. What happened? Did he leave his login ‘logged in’ and it got RL hijacked by a third party? [/Hijack] If so, this is why I always log out of the SDMB, lock my computer, clear my cookies, and delete my history _every night_. Then I take a shower, brush my teeth, and wipe everything for fingerprints, too. Oh, and I ‘duct tape mop’ every horizontal surface to pick up fallen strands of my hair. Tripler Can’t be too careful with that DNA, ya know. ---
**Author:** ![Feydeau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Feydeau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feydeau)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestion-for-changing-email-address/345840/3 "2006-02-26T09:15:58Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > [Hijack] > > Um, I don’t. What happened? Did he leave his login ‘logged in’ and it got RL hijacked by a third party? > > [/Hijack] > > If so, this is why I always log out of the SDMB, lock my computer, clear my cookies, and delete my history _every night_. Then I take a shower, brush my teeth, and wipe everything for fingerprints, too. Oh, and I ‘duct tape mop’ every horizontal surface to pick up fallen strands of my hair. > > Tripler > Can’t be too careful with that DNA, ya know. That’s [exactly](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=333640) what happened. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestion-for-changing-email-address/345840/4 "2006-02-26T11:40:12Z")
The poor lamb. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tevildo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Tevildo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tevildo)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestion-for-changing-email-address/345840/5 "2006-02-26T14:29:57Z")
LiveJournal does this - I think it’s a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestion-for-changing-email-address/345840/6 "2006-02-26T21:31:17Z")
There’s no need for this. Even if you are logged in, to change either your email address or your password in the User CP, you must still type in your current password in order to do it, or the board software rejects the changes. Unless you have it on a piece of paper taped to your monitor (bad idea), there’s no way a third party can change this information. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestion-for-changing-email-address/345840/7 "2006-02-27T11:17:05Z")
What he said. Thanks. TubaDiva