I keep reading that because of all the spam abuse that goes on some ISPs (Comcast) have severely restricted how ports can be accessed/used, and that enabling postfix can sometimes be misinterpreted as abuse and in some cases could cause your ISP to block your entire internet service. I’ve been unable to get a definitive answer from Comcast and all the articles/posts/tutorials I’ve read seem relatively split on whether it’s still possible to get it to work (I can’t). Apparently it used to be quite simple because there were no or limited restrictions, but it looks like the tide has turned.
So the question is: are there any Comcast users who have successfully gotten postfix to work?
Do you have home or business flavor of Borg? (I have the latter.) You may be able to get it to work if you also enable SSL and use the high port rather than the low port. They may block port 25 on general principles, but you may get away with port 993 (with SSL). You can use a self-signed certificate if it’s just you and yours connecting, no need to pay for a full cert.
Walter
On Oct 11, 2013, at 4:11 PM, Todd wrote:
I keep reading that because of all the spam abuse that goes on some ISPs (Comcast) have severely restricted how ports can be accessed/used, and that enabling postfix can sometimes be misinterpreted as abuse and in some cases could cause your ISP to block your entire internet service. I’ve been unable to get a definitive answer from Comcast and all the articles/posts/tutorials I’ve read seem relatively split on whether it’s still possible to get it to work (I can’t). Apparently it used to be quite simple because there were no or limited restrictions, but it looks like the tide has turned.
So the question is: are there any Comcast users who have successfully gotten postfix to work?
Home. And yes, they’ve blocked port 25 for years. I use 993 when I setup my email accounts and that seems to work ok.
Todd
Do you have home or business flavor of Borg? (I have the latter.) You may be able to get it to work if you also enable SSL and use the high port rather than the low port. They may block port 25 on general principles, but you may get away with port 993 (with SSL). You can use a self-signed certificate if it’s just you and yours connecting, no need to pay for a full cert.
Walter
On Oct 11, 2013, at 4:11 PM, Todd wrote:
I keep reading that because of all the spam abuse that goes on some ISPs (Comcast) have severely restricted how ports can be accessed/used, and that enabling postfix can sometimes be misinterpreted as abuse and in some cases could cause your ISP to block your entire internet service. I’ve been unable to get a definitive answer from Comcast and all the articles/posts/tutorials I’ve read seem relatively split on whether it’s still possible to get it to work (I can’t). Apparently it used to be quite simple because there were no or limited restrictions, but it looks like the tide has turned.
So the question is: are there any Comcast users who have successfully gotten postfix to work?
I realize I haven’t answered your main question. Honestly, I don’t know. If you read their TOS, they would be in their rights to turn off your whole account (no more Spongebob!) if they caught you at this. Business accounts can do way more, but it’s still not nearly as nice as my old Speakeasy DSL in that regard. (Speakeasy was bought by Megapath, who seem to be a Vogon outfit – mired in bureaucracy and incapable of keeping the service lit up consistently, even when I paid for a T1.)
Walter
On Oct 11, 2013, at 4:21 PM, Todd wrote:
Home. And yes, they’ve blocked port 25 for years. I use 993 when I setup my email accounts and that seems to work ok.
Do you have home or business flavor of Borg? (I have the latter.) You may be able to get it to work if you also enable SSL and use the high port rather than the low port. They may block port 25 on general principles, but you may get away with port 993 (with SSL). You can use a self-signed certificate if it’s just you and yours connecting, no need to pay for a full cert.
Walter
On Oct 11, 2013, at 4:11 PM, Todd wrote:
I keep reading that because of all the spam abuse that goes on some ISPs (Comcast) have severely restricted how ports can be accessed/used, and that enabling postfix can sometimes be misinterpreted as abuse and in some cases could cause your ISP to block your entire internet service. I’ve been unable to get a definitive answer from Comcast and all the articles/posts/tutorials I’ve read seem relatively split on whether it’s still possible to get it to work (I can’t). Apparently it used to be quite simple because there were no or limited restrictions, but it looks like the tide has turned.
So the question is: are there any Comcast users who have successfully gotten postfix to work?
Well, having read way too much about worst-case scenarios (losing service) I’m extremely hesitant to pursue this any further, it’s just not worth it. And trying to explain to Comcast after-the-fact that I’m not a spammer seems like an exercise in futility. I so want to setup postfix but I’m afraid I’ll have to sit this one out until I can find a less risky solution.
I recall that you often spoke highly of Speakeasy, too bad it’s gone.
Thanks, Walter.
Todd
I realize I haven’t answered your main question. Honestly, I don’t know. If you read their TOS, they would be in their rights to turn off your whole account (no more Spongebob!) if they caught you at this. Business accounts can do way more, but it’s still not nearly as nice as my old Speakeasy DSL in that regard. (Speakeasy was bought by Megapath, who seem to be a Vogon outfit – mired in bureaucracy and incapable of keeping the service lit up consistently, even when I paid for a T1.)
Walter
On Oct 11, 2013, at 4:21 PM, Todd wrote:
Home. And yes, they’ve blocked port 25 for years. I use 993 when I setup my email accounts and that seems to work ok.
Do you have home or business flavor of Borg? (I have the latter.) You may be able to get it to work if you also enable SSL and use the high port rather than the low port. They may block port 25 on general principles, but you may get away with port 993 (with SSL). You can use a self-signed certificate if it’s just you and yours connecting, no need to pay for a full cert.
Walter
On Oct 11, 2013, at 4:11 PM, Todd wrote:
I keep reading that because of all the spam abuse that goes on some ISPs (Comcast) have severely restricted how ports can be accessed/used, and that enabling postfix can sometimes be misinterpreted as abuse and in some cases could cause your ISP to block your entire internet service. I’ve been unable to get a definitive answer from Comcast and all the articles/posts/tutorials I’ve read seem relatively split on whether it’s still possible to get it to work (I can’t). Apparently it used to be quite simple because there were no or limited restrictions, but it looks like the tide has turned.
So the question is: are there any Comcast users who have successfully gotten postfix to work?
Yes. They were “by hackers, for hackers” and would give you explicit instructions how to set up your own servers – of any kind – on their network. Too good to last, I’m afraid.
Walter
On Oct 11, 2013, at 4:39 PM, Todd wrote:
I recall that you often spoke highly of Speakeasy, too bad it’s gone.