JohnMasone.com - Comcast Blocks My Port 25 / Comcast Doesn't Care About It's Customers [Part 1]

JohnMasone.com

Comcast Blocks My Port 25 / Comcast Doesn't Care About It's Customers [Part 1]

Rants Comcast absolutely doesn't give a shit about it's customers. They couldn't care less about my problems.

Comcast stared blocking outgoing port 25 traffic. You can only send out mail on port 25 if you are sending to comcast's own mail servers. This is a pain in the ass for many customers because it makes it very difficult to use non-comcast email. So at home, I have a server that accepts incoming email for johnmasone.com. It doesn't send email directly, it relay's all mail through comcast's SMTP server. So I'm very much inline with their rules, though technically they don't differentiate between incoming and outgoing mail servers... an incoming only mail server doesn't send anything, so if these blocks are really about preventing spam like they say, they I am very much inline with the spirit of the rule.

So starting Friday March 28th, my port 25 became blocked almost completely. I could send out to comcast's mail serves (actually I assume this is the case. I don't use comcast email so i could have been completely blocked). I went online to comcast's tech support chat, and here is the hilarity that ensued:

[21:05] John > Can't send or receive email

[21:10] advanced_tool_log > user John_ has entered room

[21:10] advanced_tool_log > analyst David has entered room

[21:10] David > Hello John_, Thank you for contacting Comcast Live Chat Support. My name is David. Please give me one moment to review your information.

[21:10] John_ > hi

[21:10] David > I apologize and would be happy to assist you in correcting this.

[21:10] David > Are you getting an error message? If you are what does it say?

[21:10] John_ > as of this morning, i am no longer able to send mail or recieve it

[21:10] John_ > port 25 is blocked in both directions, except out going to comcast mail servers

[21:10] John_ > i am unable to send mail through any of my email addresses

[21:11] John_ > and i'm unable to recieve any mail at all

[21:11] David > what email program are you using?

[21:11] John_ > apple mail

[21:13] David > I have reviewed your account and determined that our Customer Security Assurance team has placed a block on your connection, preventing the use of Port 25. This block was put in place because we have received complaints that a PC connected to your modem has been compromised and is being used as a Spam zombie. In other words Spam is being generated from one or more of your computers without your knowledge. To restore mail service, we require that you reconfigure your application to use Port 587 and you enable authentication. This link has walk throughs for reconfiguring common email application:

http://www.comcast.net/help/faq/index.jsp?faq=EmailOutlook_Express18537

[21:14] David > For your incoming server you would want to use port 110

[21:14] John_ > oh WAAAAAIT a minute

[21:14] John_ > i have NO pc's at all on my network, only Macs

[21:14] John_ > there is ZERO chance that a computer on my network is a spam bot

[21:14] John_ > tell me how i can get this port 25 block lifted ASAP

[21:15] David > I apologize, we cannot lift this block but once you convert to port 587 you will be able to send and receive with no issues

[21:16] John_ > this is completely unacceptable, you have to remove the block

[21:16] John_ > i'm paying for internet service, and i can't even sent email.

[21:16] John_ > i don't use comcast email, i use email through my own websites

[21:16] John_ > this has to go over port 25

[21:16] John_ > that is how smtp works

[21:18] David > I apologize for the inconvenience if you are accessing a different smtp server you can contact them for an alternate secured port as port 25 is unsecured and has been blocked on your modem

[21:18] John_ > ok well how can we unblock it

[21:18] John_ > if i specifically have been blocked, then i can be unblocked

[21:19] John_ > if there really is spam coming from my network i will work with you in every way i can to identify and stop it, but in the end i need prot 25 opened up

[21:20] David > I apologize we are unable to do this. Like I said converting to a different secured port will resolve this and protect everyone from spam

[21:20] David > Is there anything else I can assist you with today?

[21:21] John_ > you have yet to help me with my first proble

[21:21] John_ > m

[21:21] John_ > why is my INCOMING port 25 blocked also?

[21:21] John_ > how could that possibly effect spam?

[21:21] David > Your incoming mail should be set to port 110

[21:21] John_ > undertand something

[21:21] John_ > i am NOT using COMCASTS mail servers

[21:22] John_ > i am not talking about pop

[21:22] John_ > i am talking about SMTP

[21:23] David > Again, I apologize but the port has been blocked and you will need to re configure for a different port.

[21:23] John_ > incmoing smtp mail can ONLY come in on port 25

[21:23] John_ > does comcast want me to continue being a customer?

[21:24] John_ > if so, then we need to figure out what needs to be done to get my port 25 opened again.

[21:24] David > Do you have a mail server set up at your home?

[21:24] John_ > yes for incoming email

[21:24] John_ > outgoing email all goes through comcast, or other mail

servers (until yesterday)

[21:27] David > Any personal email should come in on port 110. If you are running an online business or mail server at your home this wouldnot be allowed in our terms of service for residential high speed internet

[21:27] John_ > i don't run any outgoing mail servers at home, all my outgoing mail goes through YOUR mail server. i only recieve email

[21:30] David > what is the smtp server name?

[21:31] John_ > that i send through or recieve through?

[21:31] David > that you receive through

[21:31] John_ > johnmasone.com

[21:33] David > I apologize. You would need to contact your webhost for an alternative port

[21:34] John_ > you clearly do not understand what i am saying to you because none of your answers are relevant

[21:34] John_ > i'm going to start over

[21:34] John_ > i am having two problems

[21:34] John_ > first problem is

[21:36] John_ > my port 25 is being blocked for inbound traffic. This means that i can't recieve mail on johnmasone.com, which points to my comcast IP. This is not buisness traffic, this is not an outgoing mail server, this is a computer that JUST recieve mail and thats it. This block has NOTHING to do with spam because it is blockign INBOUND connections which could not possibly be used to send anything at all.

[21:36] John_ > my SECOND problem is...

[21:36] John_ > i can no longer connect to any outbound SMTP servers except comcast's

[21:36] John_ > so i cannot send email from any of my email addresses which are hosted on 3rd party servers, LIKE my business email address, which is hosted on a server in a data center in michigan

[21:38] John_ > And note that both of these problems started TODAY. Yesterday, and for years and years previous, i had no problems at all.

[21:40] David > Your other outbound SMTP servers would be able to provide you with an alternative to the unsecured port 25 as we provide port 587 you could contact them for this. Our user agreement also bars the use of mailservers on the account

[21:41] John_ > First of all, you understand that either port 25 or 587 can be secure or insecure. Second, i am not running an outbound mail server, i'm just recieving mail. Third, you said that I am blocked because spam was detected coming from me. I'm telling you that is impossible, so lets talk to the security team, go over their logs, get this settled and have them unblock me

[21:42] David > I am sorry once you are blocked this cannot be unblocked.

[21:42] John_ > i'm sorry that is simply untrue. you are lying to me

[21:42] John_ > i am a systems administrator myself, i know this is not true

[21:43] David > Our security department will not unblock you.

[21:44] John_ > this is not acceptable. i am willing to work with your security department to make CERTAIN that no spam is coming from my network. But telling me 'once your blocked you can't be unblocked' is completely bullshit and you know it

[21:45] David > They determined there was too much traffic and closed the port. You can call 1-856-324-2025 to speak to our security assurance group if you has additional questions

[21:46] John_ > is there a specific person i should talk to? an extension?

[21:47] John_ > also is there some sort of reference number?

[21:47] John_ > trouble ticket?

[21:47] John_ > etc?

[21:47] David > That number will get you right to the security group

[21:48] John_ > ticket number, anything like that?

[21:48] David > There is no trouble ticket for this

[21:48] John_ > can you make one?

[21:49] John_ > i want record of ALL OF THIS

[21:49] John_ > because i do not trust comcast

[21:49] David > I apologize I cannot

[21:49] David > I will note your account for you

[21:50] David > Again for your residential comcast email you can easily convert to port 587 with the instructions on the link I gave you

[21:50] John_ > i am nost sending comcast email, the link you gave me is of no use to me

[21:51] David > You can contact the security assurance and your other email providers for alternatives

[21:51] John_ > ok

[21:51] John_ > i will do that

[21:52] John_ > i am unable to copy text from this chat window, is there a way i can get a transcript of it?

[21:53] David > You can always highlight the text of this chat, and then Copy and Paste it into a document such as Microsoft Word, or Notepad etc. You will also be given an opportunity to either Print or Copy the entire transcript at the end of the session after you are given a chance to fill out a survey.

[21:54] John_ > thats what i mean, i cannot highlight the text. it doesn't let me select any text in the chat window. but as long as i can print it that will suffice.

[21:54] John_ > ok i beleive we are done here. I'd say things but you really haven't solved my problem. Hopefully the security people can.

Note how he absolutely doesn't give a shit. Also note how he seems to have no idea that SMTP both sends and receives email. All he understands is basic "send through smtp, check through pop" client side stuff. Also note that at first he says I'm blocked because of SPAM complains, THEN later on he says I'm blocked because of too much activity.

Another fun part is the end. So this online survey, once you fill it out, there is a submit and a view transcript button. If you submit the survey, the transcript is gone forever. I guess thats their sneaky way of making sure people don't post this crap in their blogs. I had to contact them again Monday, talk to a supervisor, and have him look up this transcript in the big comcast database of unsatisfied customers.

Stay turned for Part 2 of the story, which is when I actually called the Comcast Customer Security Assurance Department. I was actually foolish enough to think "OK let me call these people, they'll straighten this mess out" HAHA ...

Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008 12:17 AM ♦ 49 Comments ♦ Add A Comment

Comments

Mike Bartlett
I have a very similar problem with those assholes. I have never despised and hated a company more than comcast. Their customer service and business ethics in general absolutely suck. There is ALWAYS an ongoing issue with them. I dont even use comcast email any more because of all the hassle in the past and i am still affected from their crap. I use the email from my website mydirectquotes.com. I use an email verification program that only works on port 25. All the sudden it stops working. After confirming it had nothing to do with the software, I contacted comcast for an explanation and to have them unblock port 25. They told me they are unable to block or unblock any port. "all they do is supply a port for email" So I ask why would my verification program work perfectly fine at the office (at&t service) and then when I take the same 2 laptops home, they dont work (comcast service) They claim ignorance and blame it on the software. It is ridiculous. I have many more of these type of stories with comcast. I would strongly suggest putting a bullet in your brain before I would suggest comcast service to anyone.
August 31st, 2010 12:35 PM

Boycott Comcast
I have had comcast.net block my port 25 7 times now. I have a $2400 Kyocera all in one machine that will not work on any other port than 25!!! Kyocera says that they don't have a fix to change the port off #25. So I either have to throw away a two year old machine that cost me over $2,000. Or change my ISP. Each time I've called comcast.net they say it is that we spammed people and we have never even sent an email to more than four people at a time. Comcast is lying and cheating us out of our service. Bottom line is when you call their "security" department they are lying too. They just want to get anybody who occasionally works from home onto a business account. Anyone that works from a home office - like a salesperson is screwed by comcast.net Every day that you call they unblock it and then block it a day later. They want to meter us and our use. Forget about the kid that downloads pics, music and watches videos online using tons of bandwidth.... and coming after worker bees with a home office. BOYCOTT COMCAST they are not customer friendly.
June 3rd, 2010 6:10 PM

ITechGeek
Oh, and I forgot to mention-The reason why Comcast support couldn't help you is cause your problem is beyond the scope of their 1-2 pages of support Q&A material. You would need at least a tier II person who is paid above min wage and understands the difference between a Mac & Windows. Also I've never heard of Comcast doing trouble tickets for tier I support, they only note in the account.
May 23rd, 2010 5:02 PM

ITechGeek
It appears I'm a little late in the game (I just ran across this). It also appears you've switched over to FIOS so most of this post is kind of mute for you. First, not that I agree w/ Comcast's policies, but they're TOS for residential accounts does say no servers of any kind meaning no servers that people (or computers) out on the Internet would be connecting to (such as web servers, SMTP servers, irc servers, etc). Luckily the blocking of the common ports for various types of servers is done regionally (my area I don't think they have any incoming blocks, but other people have told me ports such as 80 & 443 are blocked). Second, as far as blocking outgoing SMTP, most broadband providers are doing that to cut down the amount of spam from spambots (just cause most computer users will click any link that arrives in their mailbox while running IE6 in 2010-Yes that web browser is still alive and while contrary to what Google & M$ say). Third, as far as I think it was your business domain that was hosted elsewhere-Most commercial web providers accept connections on port 465 (smtp over ssl, not on IANA's list, but is common enough that it is listed in the /etc/services file for most Linux distros). & finally, the connection between myself and my mail server, I wouldn't use anything but ports 465 (smtp over ssl) & 993 (imap over ssl), and once in a while I'll use 995 (pop3 over ssl). Anything else (Ports 25, 110, & 143) would allow my email password to be sniffed in transit.
May 23rd, 2010 4:59 PM

Homer
I use a 3rd party email server that is SSL. If using SSL for sending and reciving your ISP Comcast ot work cant see what your doing! Fuck em. Well now on comcast I cant use 25 SSL anymore. Port 587 works but without any SSL so its not secure and comcast will have a record of it. Im looking for any other port to use to send using SSL
April 29th, 2010 11:26 PM

I received the notice a week after I got online
April 4th, 2010 1:06 AM

DA
They blocked my port 25. I am working on a notebook computer that is infected I connected it to my network and comcast blocked my port 25. This is BS the computer is connected wirelessly and its was never left connected to the network for a long period of time (it keeps restarting). If they would of sent a dam warning I would of disconected the infected computer but they didnt they just blocked me. I dont use comcast or outlook I dont think this will effect my gmail but I know this will cause some sort of unforeseen problem in the future.
March 24th, 2010 11:20 PM

MomLena
I am so very unhappy with Comcast at this point that I am going to shop around. Also don't they know that bad news travels faster than good news? If someone is happy with something they might tell a person or two, but if they are angry & very unhappy they will tell every one they know & anyone who will listen. It's bad enough that they did this but the fact they did not inform customers is wrong. Most customers may not know what to do or even understand it.
February 20th, 2010 1:15 PM

SMTP2525
If you're interested, check out Unified eMail. They provide secure SMTP Relay service over alternate port 2525. http://www.unifiedemail.net/Service/SMTP-Relay/
September 7th, 2009 8:52 PM

Turgut Kalfaoglu
Just because of such problems, I have configured our content provider's servers to accept mail on 25,587,1025 and 2525 from our customers. If you need a flexible and personalized mail/web server hosting, please contact me. that's info (at) zenitbilisim.net Regards, turgut
July 27th, 2009 7:54 AM

george marshall
I had the exact same problem. What a pain in the ass this was. My solution was to use TZO's store and forward solution ($89/year - thank you comcast) to redirect from port 25 to 2525. In additon I had to relay host for messages leaving my local domain via smtp.g.comcast.net and set up authenication. That's the only solution I have found so far.
June 30th, 2009 3:08 PM

chkno
I had a more pleasant experience. I overloaded my machine (swap-trashing for a few hours), which caused local mail delivery (of spam) to timeout, causing those (spam) messages to be bounced (to addresses in forged From: fields). That is, it looked like I was sending spammy email (the bounce messages). Several hours later, Comcast's filter cut in at 1:00am and blocked my port 25. I noticed at 2:45am. I contacted Comcast Support via their online chat service, explained what happened, and requested that my port 25 be unblocked. By 3:30am, it was unblocked and I had working email service again. (It took about five minutes for the change to propigate from their interface to actually unblocking the port. They were not aware that there would be a delay, and this caused some slight confusion.)
June 25th, 2009 6:42 AM

jdh
Configure outbound email to smtp.comcast.net, but on port 587, not the default port 25. Do not use SSL. Use password authentication.
May 27th, 2009 4:01 PM

Chuck Carner
OMG! I have just gone through the very same thing! I was told that I was sending large volumes of SPAM. I checked my logs for the say they claimed this happened and there was zero! Zip, Zilch none! (I am also a Sys. Admin and keep detailed log files) I asked comcast to provide me with a log file and they said its against their policy. I play in a band, and host a web page and email because it looks more professional. We play many benefits, and non-profit functions. there is on average 6 emails a week sent out and about the same coming in. I wonder how much I missed because if this lame SPAM excuse. We were to play a benefit to help out local womens shelters, and it was cancelled because they could not contact me. I am livid! they also told me that they could not open port 25 up again for me. I said to shut off my phone, internet, and Cable TV because I was not paying the bill.....suddenly they were able to open the port again. I just wonder for how long
April 21st, 2009 4:45 PM

Kevin
Hello all, I just wanted to chime in here as well. I had the same problem - suddenly not being able to hit the SMTP server using Comcast. So, I've been sitting here for a couple hours trying to figure it out, and what I read here and on some other sites did get me squared away - changing the outgoing SMTP port from 25 to 587 solved everything. And I'm all for any effort that's being made by ISPs to limit spam, but blocking port 25 WITHOUT INFORMING THE CUSTOMERS is just really lousy business. But complaining about it to Comcast won't help - they could care less about you. Face it, you're not gonna leave. As much as people complain and threaten, I think we all know that fundamentally, the companies like Comcast have us right where they want us - and they're probably getting a good laugh out of the grief they cause us, while their counting our money. They don't care about anything but their own bank accounts, and that will never change. So, yeah, Comcast absolutely sucks, just about like every other big corporation out there. But we're stuck with them. And they know it.
April 11th, 2009 2:57 PM

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.After hours of searching online for solution this site led me to the solution. I truly have to find a way to voice my opinion now to comcast, thier lower level customer service reps should have definetly known how this problem could be resolved. Instead all they could say is we can oly support comcast accounts. How idiotic is that.
April 6th, 2009 11:02 PM

Chris Anzalone
I'm not siding with Comcast, but your using a RESIDENTIAL account to host a "incoming" mail server (Whether its only used for incoming or not is irrelevant) Residential accounts clearly state hosting servers is against the terms of use. I deal with this with customers all the time, because our business customer's like to pay for the cheaper residential account. If you have a legit server, and want to use incoming port 25, purchase the business acct for $100 a month. Also - blocking port 25 OUTGOING is being blocked for a separate reason, spam... simple... Reconfigure your mail server to relay mail through comcast's servers using authentication on port 587 (Then you can send mail through comcast's servers like you used to) In terms of fixing incoming mail, well... Buy a business account, or pay a yearly fee for what's called incoming mailhop (Dyndns.com provides it) Again - what comcast is doing is completely legit and makes sense and I would not bash them for doing this... On the other hand - I would bash them for not notifying the customer of this critical change. My two cents.
April 2nd, 2009 11:23 AM

Ernest Logan
Just today this happened to me.
March 4th, 2009 5:43 PM

r4ndy
Thanks for the info. I found this site after getting the email this morning. I called the 856-317-7272 number suggested and spoke to a tech. I told him I changed the email client on all my computers to use 587 and everything was working fine. I explained that I did not want to spend my day reloading OS's to ensure there was no cr*p on my network, so could he please tell me what was in their logs. He took a quick look and said that 1 person reported 1 email I sent as spam. An hour long adventure could have been 2 minutes to change Outlook setting on three computers if Comcast had better customer orientation and explained their actions in more detail. If only there was a viable alternative in my neighborhood.
February 28th, 2009 11:38 AM

John W
Thanks Humberto, you were right. The only way to fix this problem is to talk to the security group, who will (probably falsely) argue that you brought this punishment on yourself. Eventually, they relented and re-activated my port. I told them that I have to email big files through my corporate server; that nugget of truth made them relent. I can't believe I pay $50/month to put up with this kind of crap! Here is a toll-free number for the security group: 888-565-4329. The opening message sounds ominous, but stick with it. In my experience, it is not worth it to call customer support. The first guy I spoke with had no idea what port 25 was. The second time I called, the guy was much more knowledgeable,and verified the problem, but referred me to the security group. Thanks to all. WIthout this thread, I'd still be wondering what had happened to me.
February 12th, 2009 7:43 PM

Rick
I had tge same problem with Comcast (port 25) blocked :-(. The Security Group have an huge attitude problem. I am moving my account to much nicer guy's. With the rate cable companies are losing accounts due to bad economy and home closures. You think they'll play nice. Well lough in you COMCAST.
February 11th, 2009 1:24 AM

Humberto
I don't usually post to these comment boards, but this where I found the solution so I want to pay it forward. The secret is 856-317-7272. After four frustrating days, it was over in a matter of seconds. They unblocked me. I am not a tech geek, but I'm smart enough to know that once you get to the right person, it's a breeze. IMHO, the worst part of my experience is the no notification. That is unbelievable. Remember, 856-317-7272. I'll close by offering you a transcript of my chat session: Chat conversation on Feb 1, 2009. Humberto> Suddenly, I can no longer send email from my lMAP client. Are you blocking port 25? (( Analyst Joan i'm here to assist you. )) Joan> Hello Humberto_, Thank you for contacting Comcast Live Chat Support My name is Joan Please give me one moment to review your information Joan> Hello. I will be glad to assist you tonight Joan> I can help you with your issue today but before that I am going to run a health check on your account today to make sure everything is performing a, it should « Analyst Joan has left the room» «Analyst Joan has reentered the room» Joan> I have checked your account and your connection, I found out that you do not have any trouble with your modem’s connection. Everything is good and the signal, are all in the right track Joan> Do you mean that you are not able to send email Humberto? Humberto_> I can receive email, but I suddenly cannot send Joan> I see Joan> You stated that you are using lMAP instead ofPOP3 right? HumbertoJ This started on Sat. I can go to Panera and it works fine with lMAP (Eudora) Joan> I do apologize Humberto but Comcast is now not supporting lMAP. We only support POP3 and yes we are blocking port 25 and we are now currently using port 587 for outgoing with server authentication HumbertoJ So, suddenly, I cannot send email from my house? Joan> Yes because we are now blocking port 25 due to traffic and spam messages from other providers. HumbertoJ But I just want to send email. I'm not a spammer « Analyst Joan has left the room» « Analyst Joan has reentered the room» HumbertoJ Can you open the port for me? Joan> You will need to switch to port 587 and use a server authentication to be able to send email Humberto. Joan> I am sorry but we are not authorized to do so Humberto > I tried it and it doesn't work I tried 587 and it doesn't send I tried checking with server authentication but it times out Joan> Have you tried switching to pop3 instead of lMAP? Humberto_> 1MAP is better because I leave messages on the server Joan> You can also leave the messages on the server when using POP3 Humberto_> I am very frustrated that this used to work fine and suddenly it does not I was not notified at all and had to figure it out This is ridiculous Joan> I really do apologize for the inconvenience Humberto but we were informing, notifying all our customers with this settings Humberto_> I'm curious. How could I have known of this change? Joan> It was posted on our help section as well Humberto in Comcastnet Humberto_> Can you tell me why using 587 and checking server authentication does not work? Is there a solution? Joan> No, because you are using 1MAP Humberto Comcast is using only POP3 not 1MAP. We are not supporting that Humberto_> OK, thanks Joan> Not a problem Humberto Joan> Would there be anything else that you need assistance with? Humberto > Not unless you can switch me to ATT Joan> It has been my pleasure assisting you today Thank you for choosing Comcast and we value your business Joan> Have a great evening Joan> Analyst has closed chat and left the room
February 4th, 2009 10:22 AM

One Pissed of Sone o
Got to be an easier way to just hack the Comcast modem and reset the port back to 25 than fucking around with that Comhell tech support!
January 14th, 2009 12:53 AM

Mrafrohead
Man, that was pretty funny. Reading what you posted compared to what happened to me is damn near verbatim. It is ridiculous. I can not believe that they would treat their customers this way. I filed a report with the Better Business Bureau demanding an apology. They told me that I was turned off due to spam or virus activity, then admitted that I was not actually guilty of those things, that I was turned off as they are doing it to everyone. After I get it, I am changing to FIOS. I am also notifying the Attorney General in my state, as how they decided to pull this off can not be legal. They are lying to their customers and forcing changes upon us that we did not agree to before hand. I am waiting for the class action to start. I want in on that. Which is funny, I hate lawsuits, but these asshats deserve one.
January 8th, 2009 11:27 PM

Paul
Your transcript reads exactly like the chat I just had, almost word for word. I am very frustrated. I do have a small business, and need access to my web host's email for my domain. This is really crap. Thanks for the info, and glad to see it's not just ME, if that is any consolation...
January 6th, 2009 12:17 AM

Chris
I have been unable to send out email for about two months (on Mac Mail and another desktop email program), but I could receive email. I kept changing ports and trying to find answers all this time. Yesterday (Dec 24th, 2008), I finally called Comcast about the problem and was told my ougoing email was blocked because of excessive emails. The guy asked if I had been sending tons of emails (like 1,000 or more SPAM eamils) out every day. I said, no way! He said my incoming email was ok, that's why it wasn't blocked (?). He told me he did not have the authority to unblock it, but that a supervisor or security person or whatever WOULD be calling me. I told him I needed to know why this had happened, needed to know if there was a problem and asked if that meant someone had access to my email or my computer (sorry, I'm a dummy). He said it could be either one (?). He again said someone WOULD definitely be contacting me. However, at one point, he told me to try switching to port 587 and try sending an email. It didn't work and I said, but doesn't that need to checked as a secure port - he said no.
December 26th, 2008 12:33 AM

John
There are two different problems here. If you are having trouble sending email, like if you are on Comcast, but send through whatever.com, and you can't send mail, thats an outgoing port 25 problem. If you run your own incoming mail server and you've stopped receiving all mail, thats an incoming port 25 problem. I was already relaying all my mail through comcast's mail servers. And it worked out great because there is no way INCOMING port 25 could every be a SOURCE of spam. Mail coming in to my house is received mail, not sent mail. They're just doing it to either be dicks, or to try to sell more business accounts just because someone wants to run their own incoming mail server. The ironic part is that I'm saving them money by putting less load on their mail servers. But they are complete assholes and treated me like shit so like I said, I've dumped Comcast and I couldn't be happier
December 16th, 2008 3:29 PM

Rick
I had the same problem, called 856-317-7272. They can re-enable port 25, but I was told it may get disabled again at any time. I had 2 choices (1) Enable port 25, and call again if(when) it gets blocked, or (2) change my outgoing smtp server to comcast and fix it permanently. I use an external mail server, and my email looks the same (even though I am using the comcast smtp server, all replies go to my external account). The word "comcast" does not appear anywhere in the email. Talk to the tech at 856-317-7272 and he will walk you through the change. Don't call the Comcast 1-800-266-2278 number, they know nothing. It is disappointing that Comcast had decided to treat their customers like this. It looks like another class action suit on the horizon...
December 16th, 2008 3:20 PM

Tom
"I have reviewed your account and determined that our Customer Security Assurance team has placed a block on your connection, preventing the use of Port 25. This block was put in place because we have received complaints that a PC connected to your modem has been compromised and is being used as a Spam zombie. In other words Spam is being generated from one or more of your computers without your knowledge. To restore mail service, we require that you reconfigure your application to use Port 587 and you enable authentication. This link has walk throughs for reconfiguring common email application:" This is total BS. Comcast sent me an e-mail stating the same thing. A spam zombie on my equipment? Bull - especially since receiving the same statement, it's obvious this is boilerplate that they are using to send/tell lies to all their customers. At any rate, I thought, OK - change to port 587 ... big deal. Unfortunately, that blocked any way of sending e-mail from any of my other hosting services because as many of you have discovered, Comcast is blocking this port at the source - our Internet connection. They have the right to block this port, to tell us to change, etc. ... but the idea of sending such an outright fabricated lie ... telling everyone that they have a spam zombie in their home ... is beyond unethical.
December 3rd, 2008 8:56 PM

Tom
"I have reviewed your account and determined that our Customer Security Assurance team has placed a block on your connection, preventing the use of Port 25. This block was put in place because we have received complaints that a PC connected to your modem has been compromised and is being used as a Spam zombie. In other words Spam is being generated from one or more of your computers without your knowledge. To restore mail service, we require that you reconfigure your application to use Port 587 and you enable authentication. This link has walk throughs for reconfiguring common email application:" This is total BS. Comcast sent me an e-mail stating the same thing. A spam zombie on my equipment? Bull - especially since receiving the same statement, it's obvious this is boilerplate that they are sending/telling lies to all their customers. At any rate, I thought, OK - change to port 587 ... big deal. Unfortunately, that blocked any way of sending e-mail from any of my other hosting services because as many of you have discovered, Comcast is blocking this port at the source - our Internet connection. They have the right to block this port, to tell us to change, etc. ... but the idea of sending such an outright fabricated lie ... telling everyone that they have a spam zombie in their home ... is beyond unethical.
December 3rd, 2008 8:54 PM

Betty Glazebrook
I have been without email for two months now and can't get any results from comcast. My daughter lost a good employment position because they weren't able to reach her via email and i also spent $250.00 on the computer thinking maybe something was wrong with it and still can't get into the email. I was told by a tech in one of the computer stores that it s definetely a comcast issue. I am at my wits end because we can't get into any of the email addresses. I don't comcast is really being honest with customers because I have been told they are blocking ports to users the are using more than other customers and also
November 8th, 2008 4:44 PM

Steve
I'm on the phone with Comcast right now, it's been over 30 minutes and the guy I reached (Delfino in Utah, I'm in Denver Colorado) seems to want to help, but keeps giving me the same non-answer reply. Then he said I needed to contact Apple, then I need to reinstall my program, then I need to "wait a while" for port 25 to magically open up on its own. I pointed out to him that these are all answers that sound like Comcast WILL NOT help me: 1. It's Apple's problem, which is B.S. 2. It's my program's problem, which is B.S. I got his name and city, and now he seems more interested in helping, but let's see if that turns into real help. It is not a MacMail or Apple Computer problem, because I hooked up my Macbook, that has all the same accounts, and it wouldn't send, either: Port 25 timed out. I don't run a server, I'm a home user. I'm sick of this. I gave him this website address and told him that Comcast is losing a lot of customers over this and I'm next in line.
November 6th, 2008 10:58 AM

Ron Minnich
Same trouble here. They just did this to me a few days ago. Hours and hours of chat sessions and I finally got them to tell me they had put a block on and then I get the 8xx number to call their 'customer security assurance', with its very encouraging 'are you calling from the FBI' voicemail. It's clear they're working from a script, and they are told to repeat the same useless advice over and over again until you push; then they help. The responses in this log and the ones I got on chat are the same, in some cases word for word. I've received, on average, 10 emails a day on this connection, and sent fewer; it's a convenience and privacy issue to have it. They can't claim I'm eating bandwidth. The new president of comcast claims he wants to make customers happier. Maybe he could start by being honest with his customers.
November 6th, 2008 1:11 AM

Dan (followup)
now I am call their "abuse" dept. well, this guy was very helpful although he's wrong about several things first, he said they put a block on my acct 2 months ago...yet I received e-mail as recently as 10/8 on port 25 second, he said it is *always* a block in both directions whenever they block port 25 even though, they have been blocking outgoing port 25 for 3 years! but I have been receiving all that time finally, he tells me, well I could remove the block, but it's a violation of our policy to have that server anyway I was like, "ok, but can you still remove it?" - "yes" so hopefully that fixes it it can take 2 hours, apparently
October 20th, 2008 5:55 PM

jones
Comcast port 25 dead Oct 6 in Richmond, VA 587 465/ssl seem to work looks like tunneling to that offshore shell account from now on
October 9th, 2008 10:57 AM

Not a spammer
Call Comcast Customer Service Assurance at 856-317-7272. The 'analyst' who first chatted with me on-line told me 7 times that there's no way to have port 25 unblocked. I asked her who else I could call with more authority and she gave me the number above. I got right through to a helpful and knowledgeable tech, and within 5 minutes port 25 traffic was enabled again. I can't believe they're pulling this garbage, especially after the spanking they got for throttling P2P traffic. With the exception of the one guy who actually helped me, everyone I've dealt with at Comcast has been a clown.
October 2nd, 2008 2:14 PM

Gene
I recently created my own domain with email accounts and when I tried to use Outlook 2003, I ran into the same problem with the error message about the SMTP port setting 25. After reading through the emails posted here, I changed my port setting to 587 and everything is working fine now.
September 13th, 2008 10:11 AM

erp lee
I am uneducated with respect to much of this discussion. Nonetheless, I found I couldn't send email today and called Comcast support. They said my Port 25 was blocked and needed to switch to 587. I did so and everything works fine now. Obviously there is a reason many of you require Port 25 and I assume it has to do with your own email servers. Will someone please explain the differences in the ports and why it matters which one people use? I want to ensure I didn't make a mistake by changing to Port 587. As an aside, I heard a rumor that Comcast intentionally blocks the port so they can get you to call and, upon solving your problem, makes a sales pitch for phone service, which they did (I declined and they didn't push it.) Is there any truth to this rumor? Thank you.
June 10th, 2008 12:30 AM

stealthvader
Bought my own modem, called comcast to provision it, port 25 works again.
June 4th, 2008 4:03 PM

stealthvader
couldn't you just buy your own cable modem? Wouldn't that stop comcast from logging in and blocking ports? Altho they could still block port 25 from their routers if they choose. But that doesn't seem to be the place they block from. -s
June 4th, 2008 11:49 AM

Tom
I hate those comcast assholes. I would love to switch to Direct TV and another ISP and never have to deal with them again
May 29th, 2008 1:04 AM

Evaughn
I guess a little notice would have been nice. If my home PC WAS sending spam, and I seriously doubt that, a warning from Comcast, and maybe some help to resolve the issue, would have helpful. What in the hell am I paying these azzholes for? Took me friggin hours to figure this out, and don’t get me started on the CHAT session I had with this ignorant pea brain at Comcast. I did set up port 587 out the SMTP, through Comcast, and can still use 110 for receiving emails from my hosting service. That seems to work, sometimes. I also downloaded Spybot to see if it can pick up any bot-emailer configs in my computer. I even asked my hosting service which port they will except and was told only port 25. BIG SURPRISE THERE! I will try the modem thing. That sounds like a winner. Might take a little time out of my day but what the hell!
May 19th, 2008 10:22 AM

Hench
Up until the early am hours of today, my port 25 access had been working fine for over a year. I recently (3 days ago) got back into newsgroups and have been doing some heavy downloads. I have a suspicion that once you exceed a certain traffic level they automagically start locking down access to ensure it isn't some bot or something throwing the traffic. If you run a linux mail server on an outside host, and have a firewall that can do iptables or similar, a quick fix until finding a new ISP or better workaround is to simply do some port redirection. Tell your firewall that if it sees anything going to a port 25 on your mail server, to redirect to port X on your mail server. Tell iptables on your mail server that if it sees anything coming in port X to redirect to port 25.
May 2nd, 2008 3:33 AM

Rather not say could
Port 25 is being blocked on your modem. The way it works is as follows: When you sign up for comcast internet service the modem is either pre provisioned or you had to go through it yourself with your account number? Once this is completed you have a "BOOT" file on the modem that allows the level of access you signed up for. What all dont know is that the "BOOT" file can be accessed? How does this play into your situation?? Once Comcast blocks a port it (they send you a new BOOT FILE)(like you said) it can be unblocked otherwise once you returned your modem to comcast how would they send it back out to another customer?? What needs to be done is you need to access your modem and REMOVE the boot file. Once you do this your internet WILL NOT WORK! call tech support and tell them you are having internet problems and they will troubleshoot with you, etc. Finally telling you to send in or go to a local store and get a new modem. Once you get the new modem it will need to be provisioned again! this is where you will get your NEW BOOT FILE and all port blocks will be set back to default. DONT ASK ME HOW TO ACCESS MODEM I WILL NOT TELL YOU! (google it :-) its out there) PS. the reason you want to get the modem swapped is because if they re-provision the one you just did all that work to it will pull the BOOT FILE you had b4, it recognizes your modem MAC and your account number being flagged with that Security Flag.
April 22nd, 2008 11:16 AM

B
hey, heres what i understand with comcast home internet. I have heard this and others related to this and heard from ex comcast employees. High speed cable internet no bandwidth limits, etc. not true, you are on a shared line sharing the bandwidth with many people. The people hogging bandwidth (which they imply you cannot possibly do this because you have "unlimited bandwidth" they solve the problem by blocking you from things you use many times, or they threaten you to have your contract cut and banned for 1 year if you do not stop using the internet so much they then come up with a ridiculous reason and hope you're not technical enough to understand it to stop you from realising they're using an illegal tactic known as "false advertising."
April 21st, 2008 8:18 PM

Robski
Called security today, spoke to Wes. What an attitude he had right off the bat. Said no way they will unblock it and they will shut me totaly down in 30 days if I do not remove my servers or upgrade. I tiold him for $95 per month, no way. I am going back to Verizon DSL for $35 a month. Hadthem for the past 10 years and wish I never left.
April 14th, 2008 3:27 PM

John Masone
FYI: RCN cable has a $20 option you can 'tack' on to any existing internet connection through them, that gives you a static IP and NO port blocks. RCN is coming tomorrow to install my new service. I can't wait to move my email back to my home server.
April 10th, 2008 2:15 AM

Aaron Bockelie
I just ran across your post, and it looks like the exact conversation that I would have held with comcast "support", except I didn't need to waste my time. I, too am in the exact same position where I RECEIVE (or used to) mail on port 25 all the time, and send through comcast mail servers. I guess I'll need to set up my own mail server at work...or something. Not sure what to do yet (since 25 is blocked both ways!) Blah.
April 10th, 2008 1:24 AM

Hoamer
i have the EXACT same problem you do. near the end of march 2008, i noticed that not only was i no longer able to relay my mail server's mail thru a comcast smtp server, but my INCOMING mail was blocked as well. i had been running a mail server for my family and small biz for YEARS- at least 7 or 8 years now. all of a sudden, POOF! port 25 is blocked in BOTH goddamn directions. it took me all day to actually prove that it was action taken by comcast, and once i did i was so pissed. i had to actually sign up for an email hosting provider, because there was no way i could keep the comcast connection and still run my mail server at home. there is distressingly little written on the web about this new, customer-specific, selective port 25 blocking. it had always been blocked outbound- but now that the block goes both ways i cant run my mail server anymore. i wish the person at comcast who implemented this block gets cancer of the dick and dies a slow painful death.
April 3rd, 2008 10:44 AM