Using Optonline? They are plugging port 25

Alphawolf · 2004-08-19, 07:41 PM

I'm pretty sure some of you guys here use OptimumOnline.

Yesterday AM I started to get an error trying to send e-mail. Typical 'Cannot connect to SMTP' deal.

I didn't change anything on my end.

I just learned Optonline is not allowing people to use port 25 except with their shitty mail server.

Luckily, most web hosts will give you an alternate port number you can use as the outgoing SMTP server and you are good to go.

twintone · 2004-08-19, 09:50 PM

I hate lazy ISP's.. they don't know how to take control of their network, so they just take the easy way, and block port 25. If my ISP did that, I would be gone in a heartbeat..

Tommy · 2004-08-19, 10:28 PM

huh whats this I use Optonline
splain whats port 25 please

Alphawolf · 2004-08-19, 10:48 PM

Not a big deal as my web host had alternate ports and only other broadband competition is DSL.

Tommy,

In your e-mail program where you specify outgoing SMTP server: like this ...

It is most likely set to 25 by default.

Optonline doesn't want other e-mail going through that port. In order to reduce SPAM they and other ISP's are starting to limit the outgoing SMTP server to JUST the ISP's server.

Optonline Blocking port 25

http://www.broadbandreports.com/foru...7127~mode=flat

They are rolling it out, so the default port 25 may work for you for a bit, but may not tomorrow or who knows when...

You can contact your web host and tell them your ISP blocked port 25 and can they provide an alternate port for your to use. Just plug in the port number they give you and you should be fine.

If they cannot give you another port, you'd have to use your webhosts webmail (not realistic) or SEND mail from mail.optonline.net

That second option sucks because their server is shit and sometimes SPAM filters see the SMTP server from one host and your e-mail addy from another and flags it as spam.

The quick and dirty is just contact your web host and ask for an alternate outgoing SMTP port number as 25 was blocked by your ISP.

GunnCat · 2004-08-20, 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by twintone
I hate lazy ISP's.. they don't know how to take control of their network, so they just take the easy way, and block port 25. If my ISP did that, I would be gone in a heartbeat..

No you wouldn't. OOL smokes, nothing even comes close.

twintone · 2004-08-20, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by GunnCat
No you wouldn't. OOL smokes, nothing even comes close.

Oh.. forgot you know everything about me, and what I would do. I'm sure my local cable is just the same.

Why don't you enlighten me on why they are so wonderful, and the decisions I would make..

Alphawolf · 2004-08-20, 10:13 PM

It is a good thing to have competition.

Verizon DSL tries.

GunnCat · 2004-08-21, 02:08 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by twintone
Oh.. forgot you know everything about me, and what I would do. I'm sure my local cable is just the same.

Why don't you enlighten me on why they are so wonderful, and the decisions I would make..

Sorry man, didn't mean to insult you, just making a joke.

Basically OOL is a great ISP. I pay $80 a month for 10down 1 up plus my telephone which allows me to call anywhere in the country and canada. The speeds are really spectacular. I didn't realize that they were blocking certain ports, however I had heard ISPs have been capping smtp/pop3 recently to trim some costs. Not sure if this is related.

twintone · 2004-08-21, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by GunnCat
Sorry man, didn't mean to insult you, just making a joke.
Basically OOL is a great ISP. I pay $80 a month for 10down 1 up plus my telephone which allows me to call anywhere in the country and canada. The speeds are really spectacular. I didn't realize that they were blocking certain ports, however I had heard ISPs have been capping smtp/pop3 recently to trim some costs. Not sure if this is related.

Its all good.. post a few times on GFY and you start to look at everything as an attack..

That setup you have actually sounds very kickass.. we can get 10Mbps here now.. but at this time, I don't have a need for it.. 3Mbps is good for now.

The phone thing is cool though.. been looking into that myself actually.. how is it working for you?

GunnCat · 2004-08-21, 05:12 PM

It's awesome. The phone has saved me so much money it's a blessing really. The days of paying hundreds of dollars to the phone companies seem behind me

GunnCat · 2004-08-23, 03:52 AM

OOL. I got the same error message that Alpha got yesterday, and I don't even use their mail servers. We'll see how this turns out.
Reminds me of the time I was "throttled" (their way of saying capped) for uploading content to my server overnight.

Tommy · 2004-08-23, 10:01 AM

anybody get a phone line hooked up with their Optonline internet access ??

is it good , does it suck ????

Cleo · 2004-08-23, 10:05 AM

Tommy if you are looking for an ISP many of my accounts have switched over to www.Speakeasy.net and they are all very happy. Personally I switched over to a Comcast cable modem which is kind of ironic as I switched to DirecTV from cable.

RawAlex · 2004-08-23, 12:03 PM

Sympatico here in Canada did the port 25 thing about 8 months ago. Basically it makes it a little bit harder for spammers to operate in general, and makes it all but impossible for them to use open relays, which are mostly on port 25. You can get around it by getting your host to provide an alternate port, but that would ruin the advantage of spamming from someone else's server without permission.

I suspect they do it to cut down on the number of "spam from your network" complaints that they are getting. Spamcop complaints can be a pain the ass to deal with.

Alex

Alphawolf · 2004-08-23, 01:58 PM

Optonline has a Yahoo group here:

http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/lioptonline/

amber438 · 2004-08-23, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tommy
anybody get a phone line hooked up with their Optonline internet access ??

is it good , does it suck ????

My boyfriends boss has it in rockland county..he loves it..says it's great
I'm looking for a new webhost for my personal site as blue domino will not give me another port for smtp (we have optonline) but the internet speeds of optonline can not be beat

Tommy · 2004-08-23, 07:14 PM

optonline rules
I use to have a full t1 coming in to the house and Barbara had the cable access after seeing how nice cable was I got rid of the t1

My block was the first in the neighborhood to get cable access only because the vice president of the cable company lives next door

Alphawolf · 2004-08-23, 07:29 PM

Tommy,

Then you can get the phone and bitch to him if you have probs.

BTW, I heard from someone that Optonline is worried about Vonage

I'm thinking of getting one of those too. Just got my phone bill and LD was $20 something alone even on the best AT&T plan.

PS- Tommy's is sending me good traffic as of this AM.

amber438 · 2004-08-23, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tommy
My block was the first in the neighborhood to get cable access only because the vice president of the cable company lives next door

well.......whydoncha just mozey on down there with a nice chocolate entenmann's cake and ask nicely to not block port 25 on my account???

lol..

Tommy · 2004-08-23, 08:22 PM

thats funny

amber438 · 2004-08-23, 09:02 PM

hehe..was just kidding..
now to watch that HOT< HOT Kurt Russell in Escape from NY..
Damn but he be a fine specimin of male pulchritude!!!!

SirMoby · 2004-08-23, 11:22 PM

I've always used my ISPs SMTP server for out going mail. I've done that for 4 different ISPs and I have plenty of email accounts. I don't really need to use my hosting companies out going email servers as long as I can pop.

We're going to see more ISPs shutting down port 25 to keep spam from originating on thier networks. I'm not sure why it's a problem for most users.

GunnCat · 2004-08-24, 02:02 AM

Ok I have talked to a few techs over there and if you don't use their servers for mail, you're shit out of luck. Fortunatly though if you spend more money you can get a business account and have port 25 unblocked

This kind of stinks like a DoS attack from my own isp. I have to wait for my partner to get back from vacation to see if I can have him change the ports for the smtp server.
IMO this is a big thumbsdown from an ISP who has always done everything right.

GunnCat · 2004-08-25, 08:28 PM

OK this should be the final update on this matter.
I spoke to a tech over there who said to just use their mail servers for outgoing using the accounts I have on my server, so I am happy to say, case closed and mail is working fine again.
So if you are using OOL and lost SMTP, just switch mail servers to mail.optonline.net
use no authentication and you should be set.

Alphawolf · 2004-08-25, 08:48 PM

Thing is that OOL's mail server isn't known for it's speed and reliability.

When you consider how many users *haven't* been using their mail server who will be- I'm sure there will be delays.

There may also be issues of being caught in a spam filter where your return domain doesn't match your outgoing server.

Not much choice though and a lot of ISP's are going this route.

2004-08-19, 07:41 PM	#1
Alphawolf Don't come to Florida for vacation. We're closed. Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Orlando, Florida Posts: 1,874	Using Optonline? They are plugging port 25 I'm pretty sure some of you guys here use OptimumOnline. Yesterday AM I started to get an error trying to send e-mail. Typical 'Cannot connect to SMTP' deal. I didn't change anything on my end. I just learned Optonline is not allowing people to use port 25 except with their shitty mail server. Luckily, most web hosts will give you an alternate port number you can use as the outgoing SMTP server and you are good to go. __________________ Regards, AW Weekly Pay. Sites That Convert. Start Pimpin' Today!

2004-08-19, 10:48 PM	#4
Alphawolf Don't come to Florida for vacation. We're closed. Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Orlando, Florida Posts: 1,874	Not a big deal as my web host had alternate ports and only other broadband competition is DSL. Tommy, In your e-mail program where you specify outgoing SMTP server: like this ... It is most likely set to 25 by default. Optonline doesn't want other e-mail going through that port. In order to reduce SPAM they and other ISP's are starting to limit the outgoing SMTP server to JUST the ISP's server. Optonline Blocking port 25 http://www.broadbandreports.com/foru...7127~mode=flat They are rolling it out, so the default port 25 may work for you for a bit, but may not tomorrow or who knows when... You can contact your web host and tell them your ISP blocked port 25 and can they provide an alternate port for your to use. Just plug in the port number they give you and you should be fine. If they cannot give you another port, you'd have to use your webhosts webmail (not realistic) or SEND mail from mail.optonline.net That second option sucks because their server is shit and sometimes SPAM filters see the SMTP server from one host and your e-mail addy from another and flags it as spam. The quick and dirty is just contact your web host and ask for an alternate outgoing SMTP port number as 25 was blocked by your ISP. __________________ Regards, AW Weekly Pay. Sites That Convert. Start Pimpin' Today! Last edited by Alphawolf; 2004-08-19 at 10:54 PM..

2004-08-20, 10:13 PM	#7
Alphawolf Don't come to Florida for vacation. We're closed. Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Orlando, Florida Posts: 1,874	It is a good thing to have competition. Verizon DSL tries. __________________ Regards, AW Weekly Pay. Sites That Convert. Start Pimpin' Today!

2004-08-23, 03:52 AM	#11
GunnCat You can now put whatever you want in this space :) Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 547	Guess who I am on the phone with? OOL. I got the same error message that Alpha got yesterday, and I don't even use their mail servers. We'll see how this turns out. Reminds me of the time I was "throttled" (their way of saying capped) for uploading content to my server overnight.

2004-08-23, 10:05 AM	#13
Cleo Subversive filth of the hedonistic decadent West Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Southeast Florida Posts: 27,936	Tommy if you are looking for an ISP many of my accounts have switched over to www.Speakeasy.net and they are all very happy. Personally I switched over to a Comcast cable modem which is kind of ironic as I switched to DirecTV from cable. __________________ Free Rides on Uber and Lyft Uber Car: uberTzTerri Lyft Car: TZ896289

2004-08-19, 09:50 PM	#2
twintone Heh Heh Heh! Lisa! Vampires are make believe, just like elves and gremlins and eskimos! Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 77	I hate lazy ISP's.. they don't know how to take control of their network, so they just take the easy way, and block port 25. If my ISP did that, I would be gone in a heartbeat..

2004-08-19, 10:28 PM	#3
Tommy NYC Boy That Moved To The Island Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 2,940	huh whats this I use Optonline splain whats port 25 please

2004-08-21, 05:12 PM	#10
GunnCat You can now put whatever you want in this space :) Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 547	It's awesome. The phone has saved me so much money it's a blessing really. The days of paying hundreds of dollars to the phone companies seem behind me

2004-08-23, 10:01 AM	#12
Tommy NYC Boy That Moved To The Island Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 2,940	anybody get a phone line hooked up with their Optonline internet access ?? is it good , does it suck ????

2004-08-23, 12:03 PM	#14
RawAlex Took the hint. Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 5,597	Sympatico here in Canada did the port 25 thing about 8 months ago. Basically it makes it a little bit harder for spammers to operate in general, and makes it all but impossible for them to use open relays, which are mostly on port 25. You can get around it by getting your host to provide an alternate port, but that would ruin the advantage of spamming from someone else's server without permission. I suspect they do it to cut down on the number of "spam from your network" complaints that they are getting. Spamcop complaints can be a pain the ass to deal with. Alex

2004-08-23, 01:58 PM	#15
Alphawolf Don't come to Florida for vacation. We're closed. Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Orlando, Florida Posts: 1,874	Optonline has a Yahoo group here: http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/lioptonline/ __________________ Regards, AW Weekly Pay. Sites That Convert. Start Pimpin' Today!

2004-08-23, 07:14 PM	#17
Tommy NYC Boy That Moved To The Island Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 2,940	optonline rules I use to have a full t1 coming in to the house and Barbara had the cable access after seeing how nice cable was I got rid of the t1 My block was the first in the neighborhood to get cable access only because the vice president of the cable company lives next door

2004-08-23, 07:29 PM	#18
Alphawolf Don't come to Florida for vacation. We're closed. Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Orlando, Florida Posts: 1,874	Tommy, Then you can get the phone and bitch to him if you have probs. BTW, I heard from someone that Optonline is worried about Vonage I'm thinking of getting one of those too. Just got my phone bill and LD was $20 something alone even on the best AT&T plan. PS- Tommy's is sending me good traffic as of this AM. __________________ Regards, AW Weekly Pay. Sites That Convert. Start Pimpin' Today! Last edited by Alphawolf; 2004-08-23 at 07:31 PM..

2004-08-23, 08:22 PM	#20
Tommy NYC Boy That Moved To The Island Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 2,940	thats funny

2004-08-23, 09:02 PM	#21
amber438 Whatever don't kill ya makes ya stronger... Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: New York Posts: 820	hehe..was just kidding.. now to watch that HOT< HOT Kurt Russell in Escape from NY.. Damn but he be a fine specimin of male pulchritude!!!! __________________ Red Hot Links Red Hot Galleries

2004-08-23, 11:22 PM	#22
SirMoby Jim? I heard he's a dirty pornographer. Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Washington, DC Posts: 2,706	I've always used my ISPs SMTP server for out going mail. I've done that for 4 different ISPs and I have plenty of email accounts. I don't really need to use my hosting companies out going email servers as long as I can pop. We're going to see more ISPs shutting down port 25 to keep spam from originating on thier networks. I'm not sure why it's a problem for most users.

2004-08-24, 02:02 AM	#23
GunnCat You can now put whatever you want in this space :) Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 547	Update Ok I have talked to a few techs over there and if you don't use their servers for mail, you're shit out of luck. Fortunatly though if you spend more money you can get a business account and have port 25 unblocked This kind of stinks like a DoS attack from my own isp. I have to wait for my partner to get back from vacation to see if I can have him change the ports for the smtp server. IMO this is a big thumbsdown from an ISP who has always done everything right.

2004-08-25, 08:28 PM	#24
GunnCat You can now put whatever you want in this space :) Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 547	OK this should be the final update on this matter. I spoke to a tech over there who said to just use their mail servers for outgoing using the accounts I have on my server, so I am happy to say, case closed and mail is working fine again. So if you are using OOL and lost SMTP, just switch mail servers to mail.optonline.net use no authentication and you should be set.

2004-08-25, 08:48 PM	#25
Alphawolf Don't come to Florida for vacation. We're closed. Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Orlando, Florida Posts: 1,874	Thing is that OOL's mail server isn't known for it's speed and reliability. When you consider how many users haven't been using their mail server who will be- I'm sure there will be delays. There may also be issues of being caught in a spam filter where your return domain doesn't match your outgoing server. Not much choice though and a lot of ISP's are going this route. __________________ Regards, AW Weekly Pay. Sites That Convert. Start Pimpin' Today!