Every week when I send out this tip, my email inbox usually receives at least a dozen or so auto-responder messages that say, "We will be away until 28th February, and won't be replying to our email until we get back."

[or something similar]

People who set their email programs to automatically send out these kinds of messages when they are travelling, think they are doing the smart thing, but in fact, they are making a very dangerous move.

Recently, it was discovered that spammers have been sending blank messages hoping to receive the 'I'm away on holiday" type of auto-replies set by holiday going computer users. Using some of the information the spammers could get from studying the email addresses, they were often able to locate the home or business address of the person who was out of town. This gave them (or their associates) the opportunity to drive up to an empty home or office and break in.

So.... If you are going to use auto-responders at all, keep them VERY generic. Indicate only that the incoming email has been received and that you will answer shortly. DO NOT indicate that you are on holiday or away from the computer for some time. The same holds true for telephone answering machines.

Telling the world that you are away from the home or office for a prolonged period of time is not a good thing to be doing.