Optimum Online Filtering Outbound Port 25 (SMTP) To Reduce Spam
You’ve probably noticed that the volume of spam you’ve received has grown dramatically over the last few years. What you probably don’t know is that much of this spam is being sent through machines belonging to broadband customers who have been infiltrated or “hacked”. Spammers are able to do this by connecting to these computers and then routing email through the victimized computer and out to the rest of the Internet – bypassing the Internet Service Provider’s mail system. This activity hides the spammer’s identity on the Internet, making it difficult to track down the source, and provides an almost unlimited pool of computers to use since so many are infected. For these reasons, infiltrated machines are the spammer’s favorite tool of choice and why we stress the importance of keeping your computers secure.
To help control the amount of spam and viruses that originate from the Optimum Online network, we are implementing outbound Port 25 (SMTP) filtering. Filtering port 25 is a common spam control measure used by Internet Service Providers and the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages when it comes to the war on spam.
This port 25 filtering will likely be transparent to you and the vast majority of our users. You might be affected if you use a mail server outside of the Optimum Online network, run your own mail server, or similar scenario. There are other alternatives if you are affected – including VPN and SMTPS that your email service provider is likely to support. You also have the option of upgrading service to Business Class Optimum Online, as that product will be exempt from the block. To talk to a representative about upgrading service, please call 866-575-8000 and select Option #1.
Lazy fucks. So much for Cablevision. Guess it’s back to Verizon DSL for me.