No one thinks much about cybersecurity while traveling. However, email security company Tessian warns the out of office message actually plays right into the hands of threat actors and cybercriminals. It’s a social engineering attack vector that no one thinks about. The out of office message is ubiquitous and handy. But if it includes any personal information at all — such as attending a funeral or going out of the country — attackers have all the information they need to impersonate the person who is out of the office, without the attacker having to do any real work.
That’s also annoying because if it’s not someone I interact with regularly I will wonder if it’s been left on by accident.
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Oh hey, It’s Christmas, what are you doing emailing me? I’m extremely busy watching Home Alone, Die Hard, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Christmas Special on repeat until the new year. I might stop for food and toilet breaks, I also might now. Regardless of my general health and hygiene over the silly season, I’ll be back in office on January nd. Catch ya then, don’t forget to buy a pepperoni pizza for Splinter.
“Hi, I’m Troy McClure!” We’re not sure who wrote the original Troy McClure out of office message, but this version by Paul Sokol of Infusionsoft is a real gem.
My mom works part time at a library in archives, where her personal work email is also the general archives email (ie LibraryNameArchives @ email . com). She has an out of office response that replies with her work hours (since she’s the only employee in the archives) so people know when she’s in the library and can respond or when they can come in and visit her. The only frustrating thing is that her email either isn’t capable of, or she doesn’t know how to, turn off the OOO email when she’s actually in the office, or doesn’t trust that she’ll remember to turn it back on. She’ll send me an email about something, I’ll respond, I’ll get an OOO response, she’ll respond, I’ll reply, I get an OOO reply, etc etc.
In the Settings panel, select “Automatic replies,” then click “Turn on automatic replies.”
Same. All you need to know is I am not available and you are not going to hear from me until such and such date and contact so and so if you need something sooner.
Thank you for your message, which has been added to a queuing system. You are currently in 352nd place and can expect to receive a reply in approximately 19 weeks.
Have you ever had one of those most amazing kind of days; the kind of day that you will remember when you are old and gray and telling your grandchildren stories? Well, I seem to have those days quite often. In fact, if you’re seeing this message, it’s probably because I’m having one of those kinds of days today, and I’m not going to respond to your message.
I'm out of the office enjoying the holidays until [date]. I'll respond as quickly as I can when the festivities are over and I'm back at my desk. If your request is urgent, please reach out to my colleague, [name], at [email], for assistance.
I’ll get back to you when I return to civilization. Or to an area with WiFi. Or to the office on May 10th. Whichever comes first.
I once had a coworker who would put up OOOs for absolutely everything, and it irked me to an unreasonable level. Spending the afternoon working with a colleague on a project? OOO. Just returned from vacation and trying to catch up? OOO. A lot of meetings that day? OOO.
Hello! Our office will remain closed from [date] to [date] for [holiday]. We promise to answer all emails as soon as we return to the office. Thank you!
Three years ago, my daughter and I went on a 3 week tour of Europe. Below is my OOO. I had a lot of emails – ‘I was told to email you to get your OOO.’ I am out of the office, July 18th – August 6th. I do not plan to read any emails during that time. No need to despair, though! Assistant and Intern (5654, she’ll be answering my phone and checking voicemail) will be around to help. If your request for laminating or a folder delivery is urgent, there’s no use letting it sit idly in my inbox. Please call a volunteer at the ** and they will gladly help you.
If you're anything like I am, you probably fall into team two. That doesn't leave a lot of time to get creative. But if you plan ahead, you might be able to craft some hilarity.
And just like that, you covered the essentials. You don’t always need to have a Shakespeare-like auto-responder. If you, however, prefer a little creativity, continue reading- it gets more interesting.
The holiday benefit is available to U.S. regular, full-time staff members. Staff members whose employment terms are for four months or less are not regular full-time staff members.