This may be a well-known fact, but I just realized it, so I thought I'd write about it. I was used to a catch-all email address for my domain both from my domain registrar (when I was purely forwarding my domain email) and from Google Apps (when I started using them for managing my email directly).

 

So it was a bummer when I realized Office 365 actually discouraged the use of catch-all email address. My main purpose of using a catch-all email address was to allow for throwaway email addresses which hotmail (and maybe others) introduced in the past few months. I could sign up for some service with a random email address belonging to my domain and let all unsolicited email from those companies go to this catch-all email address.

 

So I happened to stumble upon my solution for Office 365. Each mailbox ("license") allows you to specify additional email addresses for which you can receive email at that mailbox. So I could set up abc@mydomain.com, xyz@mydomain.com as additional addresses on my main email mailbox of romit@mydomain.com. That way I can receive emails to those addresses at my primary email address and yet, I don't end up giving out my primary email address to the sites.

 

The way I did it was by going to Details under Mailbox when you go to "Manage My Organization". Select the E-Mail Options section and enter as many (?) alternate email addresses as you want. That's it!

 

What I don't know yet: a) Can I reply from those email addresses? I cannot, but I understand there is a way but I don't know it yet. b) Can I set up a rule so that I can automatically move emails addressed to those temporary email addresses to different folders?

 

Once these are resolved, I will be all set with (virtually?) unlimited throw away addresses on my domain account on Exchange!