Service unjustly downgraded first week of July, suspect conspiracy
harrydeem
Enthusiast - Level 3

There was another post on this topic, back in early July, but not helpful. July is when Verizon got rotten and rude and possibly unlawful (Restraint of Fair Trade, trying to establish a Monopoly, etc).

Prior to the first week in July 2009,.my DSL service from Verizon was just dandy. But then they suddenly instituted a new policy, an unfair policy. Verizon DSL should operate just like any other ISP, in that if my PC wants to send a coded request and/or data packets to some server/computer on the Web, and maybe expects something back from that server, then those such requests should be passed along and honored, not selectively, but consistently. That how it was -- before the BLACKOUT.

In early July, Verizon started blocking the use of Port 25 (and I assume that port number is nothing material, but merely a virtual designation, a logical association, ethereal only) for my replies and for my Read Receipts to an email box I have at All2easy.net. That really really blows big time! People can SEND me email just fine, and Verizon graciously permits me to receive it, but if the sender requests a Read Receipt or expects a reply, Verizon blocks that now -- BUT ONLY BEGINNING JULY 2009.

Why do you suppose Verizon does this now and never before? They are trying to bully their competitors -- trying to get people to abandon their cherished grandfathered accounts and spend ALL their hard-earned money greasing the folks at the mega-corporation. I pay only $4.95 per month for that other service, and Verizon is clearly conspiring to defraud me of its legitimate use so that I will drop it.

I don't see ANY OTHER MEANS of sending my outgoing All2easy.net emails so that they will bear its correct return address, and this is very essential for the tidy operation of my affairs. Why the sudden reversal?? It's a lousy stinking unlawful conspiracy to Restrain Free Trade!!

Now that I use broadband, I can't be expected to change all my Internet Options and activate my modem and dial the old service, JUST to send one simple reply or Read Receipt!

I think Verizon should rethink and reverse their July debacle move, or the Attorney General should be asked to investigate for possible law violations.

Message Edited by harrydeem on 08-23-2009 06:29 PM
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Re: Service unjustly downgraded first week of July, suspect conspiracy
BrianMcD
Specialist - Level 1

Because of the huge problem with spam, most ISP's do not allow unauthorized access to their mail servers from outside their network. Many even require you to use their SMTP server for all outgoing mail. This prevents spammers from sending emails through these servers.

Many ISP's also offer a secure way to log into their servers in which you authenticate with your user name and password. 

Just contact the Other ISP to see if they support thre use of another port or a different way to access your mail server.

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Re: Service unjustly downgraded first week of July, suspect conspiracy
harrydeem
Enthusiast - Level 3

No, it's not about spam, it's about monopoly. Spam is not detered by the means you claim, by restricting outgoing mail to use Verizon's SMTP server. That claim is nonsensical. You don't make any sense, Brian. If some crew pulls up in a van outside someone's house who is running a nonsecure wireless network, then that crew can pipe all the spam they want through whatever outgoing mail server the dwellers happen to be employing. No, it's not about detering spam at all.

Sure, All2easy has a way to authenticate me as a user, and that protocol is required when I want to send outgoing mail. What's any different? Nothing. I've contacted my ISP and they don't have a solution. In order for my outgoing mail to bear my correct address, I assume it has to go through the proper channels, whatever that may be, I can't grok it fully. I tried sending those emails via Verizon's SMTP server, "outgoing.verizon.net", but it refused to send them and balked with some geeky error code.

No, it isn't about spam abatement. That's total nonsense. It's about restraint of trade. It's about monopolizing. It's blockage, unreasonable and abusive, plain and simple. It hurts only the plain pedestrian internet user and does nothing to deter spammers. It's stupid, real real stupid.

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Re: Service unjustly downgraded first week of July, suspect conspiracy
Hubrisnxs
Legend

log into your VZ account at verizon.net 

and then go to your email

and then there is a mail settings settings on the left hand side where your inbox is, and when you click on that, there is a tab

called POP.   you can pop accounts there,   that might authorize it on the vz network, but port 25 has been blocked on verizon's

network for ages.   if you were getting past it before, I am not 100% sure how.      I have been with verizon for a VERY long time

and they have always done that, I had your same problem years ago and it was like that then too.   no outgoing smtp on port 25,   

why not use your email providers SMTP servers instead of verizon?  or are you? 

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Re: Service unjustly downgraded first week of July, suspect conspiracy
Hubrisnxs
Legend

and yes it is about spam.  

verizon has no obligation to allow other providers to use their smtp servers, when that provider should be using their own smtp servers to begin with.

if you have gmail,   google has their own outgoing gmail server,  aol does,  yahoo does,  most companies that do email provide outgoing smtp. 

It is unfair to ask a company to over burden their servers for another company.       there are tons of people that have aol, yahoo and gmail that are able to send and receive just fine through an email client using verizon internet services.

Re: Service unjustly downgraded first week of July, suspect conspiracy
Hubrisnxs
Legend
Generic Directions to setup mail.
POP3:  email.All2Easy.net
SMTP:  email.All2Easy.net
account: username
ex:)  If your email is johndoe@All2Easy.net, then your account name or username is johndoe.
*If you are accessing your mail from a Internet source other then All2Easy, then you need to check "My server requires authentication".

it doesn't even look like they want you using VZ email servers to begin with. 

try putting in your account and see if that helps at all.     like I described before.

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Re: Service unjustly downgraded first week of July, suspect conspiracy
harrydeem
Enthusiast - Level 3

Hubrisnxs says port 25 has been blocked for ages but NO, only since early July and NO I made no local parameter changes whatsoever at that time. I was using All2easy's SMTP server, as you suggested, and it suddenly quit working. ONLY in desperation did I try using "outgoing.verizon.net" and that failed too.

Then he says, "verizon has no obligation to allow other providers to use their smtp servers, when that provider should be using their own smtp servers". Okay, but the first week of July they started blocking that SMTP server, "email.all2easy.net", which IS the other provider's server. So that leaves your argument vacant. The fact that it's port 25 is fluff and not the core of this serious issue.

And yes, an ISP DOES have an obligation to pass along my requests to various computers and servers and devices that hang off the internet. That IS exactly what ISPs are there TO DO! Hello? Think on THAT!

My server requires authentication. YES, of course, I know that, and I've got my email client (Outlook Express) rigged to send my login and password automatically to the outgoing mail server. So YES, it's set up just the way you'd expect and it worked JUST DANDY until early July, and there seems no means around the snag and it IS about monopoly and NOT about spam, and I can tell by Verizon's timing, suddenly changing the rules in mid-flow, just to chase competitor services into oblivion. I may have to give up that other ISP if I can't send Return Receipts anymore suddenly.

Of course I also tried sending my Verizon login/password when I in desperation tried using "outgoing.verizon.net". I tried everything imaginable to clear this hurtle but no, Verizon put the kibosh on my ability to send my emails!

Wake up!

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Re: Service unjustly downgraded first week of July, suspect conspiracy
Telcoguru
Master - Level 1

Do you have Symantec or McAfee scanning your outgoing e-mail? Try turning that off and see if you can send.

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Re: Service unjustly downgraded first week of July, suspect conspiracy
harrydeem
Enthusiast - Level 3

I know exactly what services I'm using and there are no daemon processes running such as anti-virus software that could account for local blockage. Like I stated, I made NO material changes in early July but suddenly my SMTP protocol to another private email server is thwarted. I discussed this at some length with the tech staff of the other service and they too seem equally convinced that the onus must lie squarely with VERIZON

...for suddenly DOWNgrading my service [in furtherance of a scheme to defraud/monopolize].

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Re: Service unjustly downgraded first week of July, suspect conspiracy
harrydeem
Enthusiast - Level 3

There is some functionality afterall, it turns out. By using the SMTP server "outgoing.verizon.net", and specifying my Verizon username and password for authentication with that server, I can send some emails as my All2easy identity, but so many recipients are blocked!

This arrangement (of using Verizon's SMTP server in lieu of the one All2easy offers) hadn't escaped my keen attention previously, and I had tried it already (as I stated in this thread). Unfortunately, the means that I had at my disposal to test that arrangement consisted of sending emails to myself  (at All2easy.net), and none went through. I see now that it's because Verizon has BLOCKED that address and several others whom I had been trying to email. I've submitted a balk about the blockage to Verizon (Verizon Online - Whitelist Request Form).

So there is some functionality and some emails bearing my correct All2easy return address will indeed go through. That's grand! but why couldn't the Verizon tech lead me to this same milestone when I had him/her on the line back in July and they tried everything imaginable with their "Remote Assistance" tool, but could not succeed. [the doofuses]

My email address has NEVER sent any UCE or spam or anything like that. There is so much blockage instituted and oh yeah, I think verizon BITES THE BIG ONE!

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