AOL blocking third-party email on Port 25

[Captain Gadget]

Hi all

I currently (I use the word 'currently' with tongue firmly in cheek) use AOL Broadband Platinum as my ISP but I use a third-party domain for email. Of late I have found it impossible to send email from Outlook 2003 or Express.

A couple of days ago I went to AOL's online support and was told that the problem lay either with the third-party email server or with my installation of Outlook. However after some further research I have discovered that AOL is now permanently blocking all third-party email sent via the default port 25 as a measure against mass spam mailings by zombied or infected computers.

AOL advises sending email either via their SMTP server (which uses port 587) but this prohibits 'alias' email addresses - so my mails would appear to the recipient to have originated in the AOL domain. If I had wanted this to happen, i would of course have stuck with my aol.com address and not paid the extra for a personalised domain!

Alternatively, AOL advises connecting to the third-party server on a different port. I have managed to contact my email provider this evening (following 45 minutes on a queueing system yesterday at national rate with no answer), only to be told that this is not possible.

I am now, as they say, in a cleft stick: ISP and email provider are blaming each other and both are refusing to budge.

My research suggests that users in the US have had to cope with port 25 blocking (by various ISPs, not just AOL) for rather longer than us Brits - so any tips? I have seen some weird and wonderful port settings specified on various websites, but so far none has worked. I don't really want to be forced to change ISP at the moment as I would more than likely get locked in to either a minimum term or a monthly download limit (neither of which I suffer from with AOL) at a time when the market is opening up and competition is widening choice month by month - but on the other hand I do want to be able to send emails from my personal domain via Outlook (not least so that they sync with my PDA!).


Anyone got any suggestions?

Cheers

Gadget :\

[BLUE SKY THINKER]

Captain Gadget . . . . .

I had exactly the same problem almost two years ago to the day: ISP/AOL, separate e-mail host for domain name, plus port related e-mail problems. After much aggravation and research, moved to Port 587 and things worked perfectly until I changed ISP some time later.

Things may have changed in the intervening period (re: ports), but I'm sceptical about recipients not seeing your specific domain name, as opposed to AOL's. I had no problem; the rider being that I'm assuming you are using your e-mail host's POP3/SMTP settings, rather than AOL's.

But surely the whole thing could be tested in the space of about 90 seconds, but resetting Port 587 in the 'Properties' of your preferred e-mail client (can always change back) and then sending yourself a test e-mail?

At least you would be able to see if it went, came and more to the point who it was from (!).

[Captain Gadget]

Unfortunately Port 587 was the first thing I tried (as a result of the research mentioned earlier). However no go - apparently the third party server does not support it (at least according to their tech support). Have also tried connecting through AOL's SMTP server but this won't send either - and hobbles receive to boot!

Thanks anyway though...

Gadget :ok:

[BLUE SKY THINKER]

Which company are you routing your e-mail through?

[IO540]

This is not a helpful reply but why does anybody go with AOL?

Freeserve and others used to / do this kind of thing (forcing outgoing emails to be only from the account email address) to prevent using the account for anything half serious, like business correspondence.

But no decent ISP, e.g. ZEN, does this.

[Captain Gadget]

BST

My domain is hosted by domainnamesgb.com, which is now part of Legend Communications plc (home of Demon.net). I suppose I could look at moving this to a provider that does offer access to its webservers on an alternate port, but unfortunately I have just renewed the arrangement for two years (although it was working then!).

BTW, from reading around this subject it appears that AOL may for some time have been forcing my outgoing emails through its own SMTP servers, irrespective of the settings in my Outlook account. However the move to ban 'alias' email addresses seems to be more recent and the source of the current problem.

I believe that other providers also do this or similar. Alternate port access for outgoing mail seems to be pretty standard for US providers as many, if not most, of their ISPs seem to block port 25 for the same reasons as AOL.

Cheers

Gadget :ok:

[IO540]

Personally I use an authenticating SMTP server at my office, so that I can send emails from anywhere, looking like they came from the office.

However, I think I still go out on port 25. I have not come across this being blocked yet, despite doing emails round a friend's house who is on AOL broadband (with my laptop on a wireless connection). However, I may have been on a VPN at the time...

[Maxflyer]

I am experiencing exactly the same issue with AOL pLatinum. I also tried (unsuccessfully) to use port 587. I have had to accept defeat. It appears that I am going to have to change ISPs which is annoying because my AOL screen name has been in use for many years now and and all my non work contacts use it.
I keep hoping that some IT genius will find a way around this, but I think we have been truly stoffed by AOL this time.

[mdc]

Couldn't you use your own SMTP server, there's plenty of freeware ones around such as this http://www.softstack.com/freesmtp.html

Edited to say, after thinking about this a little longer, It wouldn't solve your problem as you'd still need to be able to connect on port 25, so your local SMTP server could distribute your messages.

[IO540]

There is a problem with using your own SMTP server:

They are widely used for spamming. So, there is a public list of IPs and IP blocks used by ISPs for their customers. Even if you are on a fixed IP, that IP almost certainly comes out of the ISP's dynamic IP block (and they just config their DHCP server to always dish out the same IP to you).

These IP ranges are routinely blacklisted by ISPs.

So if you run your own SMTP server, you will find that a lot of your email never arrives... The situation is bad enough as it is, with so many people (and companies) running dumb filters like Mailwasher.

You can do it, but you have to set it up so that the email is stuffed into your ISP's SMTP server for onward transmission. That server is far less likely to get blacklisted, and if it does, the ISP will suddenly get loads of phone calls from irate customers and they will do something about it.

There is a very subtle config feature in sendmail to achieve this.

But even this doesn't work completely, because your own IP still appears in the email header...

There is a solution to all this hassle:

You set up a VPN, using Port 80 (HTTP). This is a bit tricky because Windoze doesn't do it natively; you have to buy a bit of software for the PC end. You then need to set up the terminating end, and this is usually a not-cheap VPN router. Most of the consumer VPN routers can do an SSH VPN. Then you set up an SMTP server of your own. Then you are sorted; this will work everywhere that provides HTTP (WWW) access. This is the ultimate corporate mobile solution. I've looked into doing it but can't be bothered to put in the time to set it up.

As regards having your own email address, it's no good relying on any ISP. ISPs come and go, they routinely trash their customer base so that everybody leaves, etc... You have to get yourself a domain name, and then you are sorted. The ISP becomes irrelevant. Domain names are so cheap these days..

[mdc]

Setting up a VPN is the hard way. You could achieve the same solution by just running your SMTP server on a different port to accept your connections from your client.

We have a smtp server that listens on 25, 465, 587 and 12196 - so that you'll be very unlucky indeed if you can never reach it, iresepctive of where you travel or ISP/Connectivity method you use.
BTW this also uses SMTPS and Authentication (via starttls (25,12196,587 or wrapped port 465))

[IO540]

I agree a VPN is a hassle, especially a Port 80 one.

However, lots of public internet connections block all the high ports (basically everything 443-65535) because that takes care of all the "dodgy" stuff like P2P, messenger, etc.

I am no expert on this subject; I just find a lot of things don't work when they should :)

[IO540]

If they use spam filters, you can be sure you will be losing real emails too.