VTISP Blocks Port 25

[jgombos]

They block email on port 25 -- effectively violating laws that protect users from denial of service.

Their blocks stopped a pre-employment exam from getting to a hiring manager on time!

When calling in dire urgency to address a livelyhood-critical problem, some absolute incompetent slimeball answered the phone. I've never had to deal with such a rude and densely incompetent CSR in my life. I could not for my life get her to hand the phone to someone who could comprehend the issue.

The CSR knew her rudeness would likely cause her problems with her boss, so she refused to transfer the call to anyone else.

VTISP seems to have some kind of alliance with the Better Business Bureau. The BBB blocked all attempts to file a complaint. BBB will make a lousy excuse for not accepting a complaint, and then when that's addressed, they make another invalid excuse, one after another.

[DaveG]

jgombos wrote:

They block email on port 25 -- effectively violating laws that protect users from denial of service.

Too bad you didn't check Freedomlist first, VTISP blocks port 25 but not if you use smtp.safepages.com as your smtp server. This easy workaround has been mentioned several times here in the isp reviews and $10 & Under Cheap ISP's forums.

[blsJason]

I thought I'd move this here, as it's not really much of a review as much as its a complaint on VTISP services.

My advice is: Read the Terms of Service, which is available on VTISPs homepage (I added a bit of bold for emphasis):

http://www.vtisp.com/terms/tos.html  wrote:

23. PORT FILTERING. A port 25 (outgoing mail) filter is applied to all Subscribers to prevent spam (unsolicited email) from being generated from our network. Access the Net will provide an outgoing mail server with port 25 unblocked for use by all Subscribers. Subscriber agrees to use only the Access the Net outgoing mail server for sending email while using our service. Access The Net reserves the right to block any port without prior notice to protect the network and its Subscribers from potential virus attacks spreading over a certain port, or to improve or protect the network in any situation in which Access the Net, at its sole discretion, deems such action to be necessary.

ISPs have blocked port 25 for years. It isn't denial of service. Lots of people don't read service agreements these days, which would answer a lot of questions about the services they think they're paying for.
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Don't buy Clearwire!

[OG1]

Will changing the SMTP port from 25 to 587 work for ISPs that block smtp 25?

[aci-john]

OG1 - this would only work IF the isps mail server has that alternative port setup. And in ATN/VTISP's case, their carrier does not. When you change the port numbers like that - the actual server still has to have that port setup to allow the message to go through.
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Midwest Telecom - Your Right-Hand Connection http://www.mtgtelecom.com

[ksg]

There's a nice discussion of this including some solutions, dealing with some specific Canadian ISPs but applicable generally, on

Code:

http://www.theblog.ca/shaw-telus-smtp

(Edit - updated link to reveal the site it really goes to, made it unclickable as it is a private blog which some may not want to accidentally visit - J)

[blsJason]

Those following this thread, the link provided by ksg provides general information as it relates to port 25 being blocked.

Something worth mentioning is if an ISP blocks a port and/or a protocol, chances are very good the ISP subscriber is not paying for access to that service.

A previous free ISP I used to use once made a large homepage announcement that not only port 25 was blocked, but so was all SMTP traffic... they analyzed what was going through their server, saw all the SMTP traffic on other ports, going to alternate SMTP servers, etc. The answer they provided was their right to block it, and suggested that if users wanted/needed access to SMTP service it was time to move on to another ISP.
_________________
Don't buy Clearwire!