New tools Scamwatch

READERS WARN READERS

When Mozilla launched Firefox Quantum in November, it radically changed how web extensions had to be built for the browser. Our fear that this would mean many popular extensions being abandoned by their developers has proved largely unfounded. Many excellent tools have been updated to work with Quantum, including Bloody Vikings (named after Monty Python’s famous ‘spam’ sketch), which gives you temporary email addresses to use when signing up for services. This is an

www.snipca.com/26717

effective way of avoiding spam.

Once you install it, right-click the email box on a website, select ‘Bloody Vikings!’, then pick an email address (see screenshot). This will be entered into the email box. All emails from the service you’re subscribing to will now be sent to this address, so you’ll never see them. Chrome users should install this temporary-email extension: www.snipca.com/26721.

If your favourite Firefox extension doesn’t work in Quantum, you should check Mozilla’s list of replacements. Click the top-right menu icon (three horizontal lines), Add-ons, Add-ons Manager, then ‘Show legacy extensions’ (those that don’t work). Click ‘Find a Replacement’ for alternatives that are Quantum-friendly. Read more on Mozilla’s blog: www.snipca.com/26722.

£179 for Amazon Prime?

I’ve recently signed up to Amazon Prime so a recent scam email caught my attention. It was from ‘autoconfirm@amzn.co.uk’ and said my Amazon Prime subscription was confirmed. It gave me a subscription and order number, a product name, a receipt date and a payment method. Payment was £179 (£100 more than the real price). No doubt a deliberate mistake to get people to click the link in the email to cancel their account. It didn’t fool me! Anyone wanting to sign up for Prime should do it through Amazon’s website ( www. snipca.com/26713).