Auto-Generated Messages, Part 2

In response to a question in last week’s column, I explained how to create a message, using Outlook Express, that will automatically be sent in response to email received while you’re out of the office or away on vacation. Before providing instructions, I mentioned that I don’t recommend the use of such auto-generated messages and that I would explain why in this week’s column. And here we are. Nice to see you again.

At one time, back when Mr. Modem and the Internet were young and innocent, autoresponders, also known as “vacation messages” were fine to use.  I used them years ago myself.  You’ve probably received them from time to time when you sent an email to somebody and received back an auto-generated, generic, “I’m out of the office until XYZ date,” or similar message.

As popular as these messages are, it’s really not a good idea to use them for a number of reasons, not the least of which is you generally cannot control who receives them. Those types of messages are “knee-jerk” responses and will be generated to any mail addressed to you, including spam, from every advertiser, x-rated product and service, goofy offer, and anything else that slithers into your inbox.

By replying, you will be confirming to spammers that your address is a valid email address, and that makes your address more valuable to other spammers. The amount of junk mail you’re likely to receive can increase exponentially as a result of churning out auto-generated messages.

Spammers live for a response that lets them know that any of the millions of junk messages they send out reached a valid, functional email address that somebody actually checks. As soon as your auto-generated response is received, your email address is elevated into a new “validated” category of email address that can then be sold to other spammers at a premium.

Also, keep in mind that you may receive messages that request a reply in order to sign you up for something or send you more junk. Those are called “opt-in” messages and any response from you may be sufficient to start the ball rolling on something you wouldn’t want to be part of.

In addition, using an auto-generated “I’m on vacation” or “I’m away from the office” message can, under certain circumstances, create an endless loop that can swamp your ISP’s mail server and cause it to cancel your account. For example, you might receive an email advertisement that your autoresponder replies to. If your auto-generated email triggers an acknowledgment response, the acknowledgment response sent back to your email address will, of course, trigger yet another one of your “I’m on vacation” messages, which will trigger yet another auto-generated acknowledgment, resulting in two auto-responders firing off messages to each other every couple of seconds and swamping the mail system.

There is also a safety factor to consider: I work with several law enforcement agencies helping to keep users safe online. One of the things we emphasize is that people should not let the world at large, and certainly not strangers, know they’re going to be away on vacation. Even an innocent “I’m out of the office” or “I’m away on vacation” message suggests that your house may be vacant. One doesn’t need to be paranoid to know that there are some pretty nasty people out there just waiting to seize upon that information and use it to their advantage.

I’m aware of a number of instances in which individuals using an autoresponder message to let others know they’re away have had their homes burglarized or been victimized in some other fashion. How? Because their auto-generated response got into the hands of somebody who then ran their email address through one or more databases and/or Google searches and managed to come up with a name or a home address. The rest is unfortunate history, which is all easily avoided by not using autoresponder messages in the first place.

The reality is that no matter who tries to contact you by email while you’re gone, if they don’t receive a response they will simply conclude that you’re away from your computer and it won’t be a big deal at all. If there are a few important people in your life who need to know you’ll be away, email them directly or give them a call to let them know. Those who don’t know will survive. Trust me.

Mr. Modem’s Sites of the Week:
Acronym Search Engine
This database contains more than 440,000 acronyms, searchable by word or acronym. Results are listed by relevance/importance or alphabetically. I searched for “YAHOO” and sure enough, up popped “Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle,” which is exactly right.
www.acronyma.com

Power of Attorneys
Love ‘em or loathe ‘em, lawyers are professionals who fight for our freedoms, protect our rights, and defend us in times of greed. Unfortunately, the legal system has been overrun with frivolous lawsuits filed by a minority of unscrupulous attorneys on behalf of equally shameless plaintiffs. This Web site’s mission is to bring honor and fairness back to the judicial system. No, seriously. Visitors to the site will find both serious and light-hearted material about the legal system, information about class-action lawsuits, personal injury cases, and stories about absurd litigation.
www.power-of-attorneys.com

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