Patent ID: 7386595

Claim:
A system for remotely configuring settings for automatic reply messages, the system comprising: an email server, the email server being configured to permit a user to define an autoreply configuration rule according to one or more specified conditions and one or more specified actions configuring automatic reply message settings for a first email address allocated for the user, to permit the user to generate an autoreply configuration email message including a set of configuration instructions using a second email address allocated for the user, to receive the autoreply configuration email message addressed to the first email address sent from the second email address by the user, to examine the received autoreply configuration email message for the one or more specified conditions, to execute the one or more specified actions configuring the automatic reply message settings for the first email address if the one or more specified conditions are met by the received autoreply configuration email message, and to generate an automatic reply message in response to receiving email messages addressed to the first email address in accordance with the configured automatic reply message settings, wherein at least one of the one or more specified actions is determined according to the set of instructions included in the autoreply configuration email message and retrieved by the email server, and wherein the one or more specified conditions are selected from being sent from one or more specified email addresses, containing one or more specified strings of text in a specified format, containing a particular digital signature, and combinations thereof, and wherein the one or more specified actions are selected from enabling the automatic reply message, disabling the automatic reply message, setting a time period during which the automatic reply message is to be generated, creating a block of text to be included in the automatic reply message, editing a block of text to be included in the automatic reply message, setting a list of email addresses to which the automatic reply is to be sent, and combinations thereof.