If you're itching to shed that old, embarrassing Yahoo username in favor of something a little more age appropriate, we've got good news. Mayer and Co. have just opened up a wish list to request inactive usernames. Plug in your five moniker requests (in order of preference) by August 7th, and if you're first in line for an account that hasn't been used in over a year, it'll be yours by the middle of the month. Once the search giant sends a message to your inbox, simply click the included link within 48 hours and the re-purposed account will be yours. After the initial period, folks will be able to add usernames to a watch list, and will be alerted when they become available.

Worried that password recovery messages sent from other services to reused addresses could be a security issue? Yahoo is too. The firm's leaning on an email header dubbed "Require-Recipient-Valid-Since" that will only allow missives to be delivered if the recipient has confirmed that email with the sender after the date of the account transfer. While Facebook's already onboard with the solution, other parties will need to bake it into their existing systems. Click the second source link to toss your hat in the ring for the perfect email address.

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Source: Yahoo (1), (2)