For 2 days I have been unable to send any emails although I have not had any
problems getting on line or receiving email. Comcast insists it's a
Microsoft problem as I can send webmail by going to their site. I have OE
6.0 and XP. I get this error (among others):
An unknown error has occurred. Account: xxxxxxxxx, Server:
'SMTP.comcast.net', Protocol: SMTP, Server Response: '421 Cannot connect to
SMTP server 76.96.62.117 (76.96.62.117:25), connect error 10060', Port: 25,
Secure(SSL): No, Server Error: 421, Error Number: 0x800CCC67
--
Praise God
Bfly

"bflyjane" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:94313C92-6386-4CB3-9F81-(E-Mail Removed)...
> For 2 days I have been unable to send any emails although I have not
> had any
> problems getting on line or receiving email. Comcast insists it's a
> Microsoft problem as I can send webmail by going to their site. I
> have OE
> 6.0 and XP. I get this error (among others):
> An unknown error has occurred. Account: xxxxxxxxx, Server:
> 'SMTP.comcast.net', Protocol: SMTP, Server Response: '421 Cannot
> connect to
> SMTP server 76.96.62.117 (76.96.62.117:25), connect error 10060',
> Port: 25,
> Secure(SSL): No, Server Error: 421, Error Number: 0x800CCC67
> --
> Praise God
> Bfly


Why are you specifying an IP address in the email account that you
defined in Outlook? Follow their setup instructions and use the IP
name.

Comcast is a nationwide provider. They regionalize their mail hosts
to provide speed and load balancing. If you are in California, don't
expect to get access to their mail host in Pennsylvania (from a
reverse lookup on 76.96.62.117). You are in their one of their
regions so you get access to that network. You are not allowed to
traverse out of their network and across the Internet to gain access
to a mail host in another of their networks. They expect you to use
smtp.comcast.net (which would've been shown in the above error rather
than an IP address for it) which means that you need to do a DNS
lookup to get the IP address. Since you are using their DHCP server
to assign your dynamic IP address and also assign which DNS server(s)
to use, the DNS lookup on smtp.comcast.net goes to their DNS server
that their DHCP server assigned to you so you connect to whatever they
choose as your mail host in your region.

If Comcast told you to use that IP address (very unlikely) which
points at a specific mail host rather than using smtp.comcast.net to
resolve to whatever mail host they want you to use in your region then
maybe you are not on their network when attempting to send email out
through their SMTP server (port 25). You are off-domain so they have
no way to know if you are authorized to use their resources, and they
block off-domain port 25 access to eliminate spammers hiding behind
them to mask the real domain from where they originated their spam.
In the email account defined in Outlook, authenticate to the SMTP
server. As I recall, if you are off their domain when attempting to
use their SMTP server, you also need to enable SSL (check their web
help pages for setup for off-domain access, or call them).

For info on off-domain port 25 (SMTP) traffic blocked to thwart spam
from spamming or infected customers, read:

http://www.commercestreet.com/Blocking_Port_25.htm
http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/mail/pop/pop-38.html

http://www.postcastserver.com/help/P..._Blocking.aspx
http://www.aota.net/Troubleshooting/port25.php4
http://www.spamhaus.org/faq/answers....0Spam%20Issues...
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articl.../ai_ziff129473

http://www.google.com/search?q=%2Bbl...2BSMTP+%2Bspam

I have been using Comcast in FL since 1992 and this is the first time I have
had any problem. I have not changed the IP address and of course still use
mail.comcast.net and smtp.comcast.net. I am not "off-domain". Your reply
has done nothing to help me solve the problem and insults my intelligence. I
have exhausted every means possible and feel forced to go to a web based mail.
--
Praise God
Bfly


"VanguardLH" wrote:

> "bflyjane" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:94313C92-6386-4CB3-9F81-(E-Mail Removed)...
> > For 2 days I have been unable to send any emails although I have not
> > had any
> > problems getting on line or receiving email. Comcast insists it's a
> > Microsoft problem as I can send webmail by going to their site. I
> > have OE
> > 6.0 and XP. I get this error (among others):
> > An unknown error has occurred. Account: xxxxxxxxx, Server:
> > 'SMTP.comcast.net', Protocol: SMTP, Server Response: '421 Cannot
> > connect to
> > SMTP server 76.96.62.117 (76.96.62.117:25), connect error 10060',
> > Port: 25,
> > Secure(SSL): No, Server Error: 421, Error Number: 0x800CCC67
> > --
> > Praise God
> > Bfly
>
>
> Why are you specifying an IP address in the email account that you
> defined in Outlook? Follow their setup instructions and use the IP
> name.
>
> Comcast is a nationwide provider. They regionalize their mail hosts
> to provide speed and load balancing. If you are in California, don't
> expect to get access to their mail host in Pennsylvania (from a
> reverse lookup on 76.96.62.117). You are in their one of their
> regions so you get access to that network. You are not allowed to
> traverse out of their network and across the Internet to gain access
> to a mail host in another of their networks. They expect you to use
> smtp.comcast.net (which would've been shown in the above error rather
> than an IP address for it) which means that you need to do a DNS
> lookup to get the IP address. Since you are using their DHCP server
> to assign your dynamic IP address and also assign which DNS server(s)
> to use, the DNS lookup on smtp.comcast.net goes to their DNS server
> that their DHCP server assigned to you so you connect to whatever they
> choose as your mail host in your region.
>
> If Comcast told you to use that IP address (very unlikely) which
> points at a specific mail host rather than using smtp.comcast.net to
> resolve to whatever mail host they want you to use in your region then
> maybe you are not on their network when attempting to send email out
> through their SMTP server (port 25). You are off-domain so they have
> no way to know if you are authorized to use their resources, and they
> block off-domain port 25 access to eliminate spammers hiding behind
> them to mask the real domain from where they originated their spam.
> In the email account defined in Outlook, authenticate to the SMTP
> server. As I recall, if you are off their domain when attempting to
> use their SMTP server, you also need to enable SSL (check their web
> help pages for setup for off-domain access, or call them).
>
> For info on off-domain port 25 (SMTP) traffic blocked to thwart spam
> from spamming or infected customers, read:
>
> http://www.commercestreet.com/Blocking_Port_25.htm
> http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/mail/pop/pop-38.html
>
> http://www.postcastserver.com/help/P..._Blocking.aspx
> http://www.aota.net/Troubleshooting/port25.php4
> http://www.spamhaus.org/faq/answers....0Spam%20Issues...
> http://www.findarticles.com/p/articl.../ai_ziff129473
>
> http://www.google.com/search?q=%2Bbl...2BSMTP+%2Bspam
>
>
>

I am using Outlook Express - Not Outlook!
Comcast has pinged my modem and assures me the problem is NOT with Comcast.
--
Praise God
Bfly


"VanguardLH" wrote:

> "bflyjane" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:94313C92-6386-4CB3-9F81-(E-Mail Removed)...
> > For 2 days I have been unable to send any emails although I have not
> > had any
> > problems getting on line or receiving email. Comcast insists it's a
> > Microsoft problem as I can send webmail by going to their site. I
> > have OE
> > 6.0 and XP. I get this error (among others):
> > An unknown error has occurred. Account: xxxxxxxxx, Server:
> > 'SMTP.comcast.net', Protocol: SMTP, Server Response: '421 Cannot
> > connect to
> > SMTP server 76.96.62.117 (76.96.62.117:25), connect error 10060',
> > Port: 25,
> > Secure(SSL): No, Server Error: 421, Error Number: 0x800CCC67
> > --
> > Praise God
> > Bfly
>
>
> Why are you specifying an IP address in the email account that you
> defined in Outlook? Follow their setup instructions and use the IP
> name.
>
> Comcast is a nationwide provider. They regionalize their mail hosts
> to provide speed and load balancing. If you are in California, don't
> expect to get access to their mail host in Pennsylvania (from a
> reverse lookup on 76.96.62.117). You are in their one of their
> regions so you get access to that network. You are not allowed to
> traverse out of their network and across the Internet to gain access
> to a mail host in another of their networks. They expect you to use
> smtp.comcast.net (which would've been shown in the above error rather
> than an IP address for it) which means that you need to do a DNS
> lookup to get the IP address. Since you are using their DHCP server
> to assign your dynamic IP address and also assign which DNS server(s)
> to use, the DNS lookup on smtp.comcast.net goes to their DNS server
> that their DHCP server assigned to you so you connect to whatever they
> choose as your mail host in your region.
>
> If Comcast told you to use that IP address (very unlikely) which
> points at a specific mail host rather than using smtp.comcast.net to
> resolve to whatever mail host they want you to use in your region then
> maybe you are not on their network when attempting to send email out
> through their SMTP server (port 25). You are off-domain so they have
> no way to know if you are authorized to use their resources, and they
> block off-domain port 25 access to eliminate spammers hiding behind
> them to mask the real domain from where they originated their spam.
> In the email account defined in Outlook, authenticate to the SMTP
> server. As I recall, if you are off their domain when attempting to
> use their SMTP server, you also need to enable SSL (check their web
> help pages for setup for off-domain access, or call them).
>
> For info on off-domain port 25 (SMTP) traffic blocked to thwart spam
> from spamming or infected customers, read:
>
> http://www.commercestreet.com/Blocking_Port_25.htm
> http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/mail/pop/pop-38.html
>
> http://www.postcastserver.com/help/P..._Blocking.aspx
> http://www.aota.net/Troubleshooting/port25.php4
> http://www.spamhaus.org/faq/answers....0Spam%20Issues...
> http://www.findarticles.com/p/articl.../ai_ziff129473
>
> http://www.google.com/search?q=%2Bbl...2BSMTP+%2Bspam
>
>
>

this is the most common error I receive:
An unknown error has occurred. Account: xxxxxxxxxxxxx, Server:
'SMTP.comcast.net', Protocol: SMTP, Server Response: '421 Cannot connect to
SMTP server 76.96.30.117 (76.96.30.117:25), connect error 10060', Port: 25,
Secure(SSL): No, Server Error: 421, Error Number: 0x800CCC67
--
Praise God
Bfly


"VanguardLH" wrote:

> "bflyjane" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:94313C92-6386-4CB3-9F81-(E-Mail Removed)...
> > For 2 days I have been unable to send any emails although I have not
> > had any
> > problems getting on line or receiving email. Comcast insists it's a
> > Microsoft problem as I can send webmail by going to their site. I
> > have OE
> > 6.0 and XP. I get this error (among others):
> > An unknown error has occurred. Account: xxxxxxxxx, Server:
> > 'SMTP.comcast.net', Protocol: SMTP, Server Response: '421 Cannot
> > connect to
> > SMTP server 76.96.62.117 (76.96.62.117:25), connect error 10060',
> > Port: 25,
> > Secure(SSL): No, Server Error: 421, Error Number: 0x800CCC67
> > --
> > Praise God
> > Bfly
>
>
> Why are you specifying an IP address in the email account that you
> defined in Outlook? Follow their setup instructions and use the IP
> name.
>
> Comcast is a nationwide provider. They regionalize their mail hosts
> to provide speed and load balancing. If you are in California, don't
> expect to get access to their mail host in Pennsylvania (from a
> reverse lookup on 76.96.62.117). You are in their one of their
> regions so you get access to that network. You are not allowed to
> traverse out of their network and across the Internet to gain access
> to a mail host in another of their networks. They expect you to use
> smtp.comcast.net (which would've been shown in the above error rather
> than an IP address for it) which means that you need to do a DNS
> lookup to get the IP address. Since you are using their DHCP server
> to assign your dynamic IP address and also assign which DNS server(s)
> to use, the DNS lookup on smtp.comcast.net goes to their DNS server
> that their DHCP server assigned to you so you connect to whatever they
> choose as your mail host in your region.
>
> If Comcast told you to use that IP address (very unlikely) which
> points at a specific mail host rather than using smtp.comcast.net to
> resolve to whatever mail host they want you to use in your region then
> maybe you are not on their network when attempting to send email out
> through their SMTP server (port 25). You are off-domain so they have
> no way to know if you are authorized to use their resources, and they
> block off-domain port 25 access to eliminate spammers hiding behind
> them to mask the real domain from where they originated their spam.
> In the email account defined in Outlook, authenticate to the SMTP
> server. As I recall, if you are off their domain when attempting to
> use their SMTP server, you also need to enable SSL (check their web
> help pages for setup for off-domain access, or call them).
>
> For info on off-domain port 25 (SMTP) traffic blocked to thwart spam
> from spamming or infected customers, read:
>
> http://www.commercestreet.com/Blocking_Port_25.htm
> http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/mail/pop/pop-38.html
>
> http://www.postcastserver.com/help/P..._Blocking.aspx
> http://www.aota.net/Troubleshooting/port25.php4
> http://www.spamhaus.org/faq/answers....0Spam%20Issues...
> http://www.findarticles.com/p/articl.../ai_ziff129473
>
> http://www.google.com/search?q=%2Bbl...2BSMTP+%2Bspam
>
>
>

"bflyjane" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:F558690A-121C-4900-B7D6-(E-Mail Removed)...
>I am using Outlook Express - Not Outlook!
> Comcast has pinged my modem and assures me the problem is NOT with
> Comcast.

Then why did you post in an Outlook newsgroup? There is no "express"
in the name of this newsgroup. Outlook Express has its own
newsgroups. Both e-mail clients, as well as probably most if not all
others, provide the option to authenticate to the SMTP server.

"bflyjane" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news90E7BCE-8516-4D18-9436-(E-Mail Removed)...
>I have been using Comcast in FL since 1992 and this is the first time
>I have
> had any problem.

> I have not changed the IP address and of course still use
> mail.comcast.net and smtp.comcast.net.

If you were using smtp.comcast.net then that IP name is what would
have been shown in the error reported within Outlook, not some IP
address. That's why I figure you have the IP address configured in
the email account defined within Outlook rather than using the IP
name, plus you say that you have not changed the IP *address*. So you
conflict your rebuttal in saying that you haven't changed the IP
*address* but then say you are using their IP *name*.

So which do you ACTUALLY use in the email account(s) defined in
Outlook? Do you have an IP address specified or did you specify the
required IP name? It is possible that you were in-region before but
Comcast may have restructured their regions (made smaller,
reorganized, whatever) so that you are no longer in the regional
network in which is the mail host to which you are attempting to
connect. That is why you need to use the IP *name* for their mail
host, not its IP address.

It seem unplausible that Comcast would have their customers in Florida
using a mail host in their regional network in Pennsylvania. Maybe it
worked before. It doesn't now. Use the IP name they tell you to use
for the SMTP host, not an IP address.

> I am not "off-domain".

That doesn't alter that ISPs are ever more requiring that their own
users authenticate to the provider's SMTP host. Have you tried
reconfiguring your email account to require authentication to their
SMTP server?

Try the following:
- Change to using the IP name they say to use to connect to their SMTP
host.
- Configure the account defined in your email client to authenticate
to their SMTP host.

"bflyjane" wrote in message
news:9518D594-13F3-48A9-BA54-(E-Mail Removed)...
> this is the most common error I receive:
> An unknown error has occurred. Account: xxxxxxxxxxxxx, Server:
> 'SMTP.comcast.net', Protocol: SMTP, Server Response: '421 Cannot
> connect to
> SMTP server 76.96.30.117 (76.96.30.117:25), connect error 10060',
> Port: 25,
> Secure(SSL): No, Server Error: 421, Error Number: 0x800CCC67


Upon rereading your original post, Outlook is stating that
smtp.comcast.net is the IP name of the mail host to which you are
trying to connect. The IP address is what the error message back from
the server is reporting. So you probably are using smtp.comcast.net
as the mail host's name in the email account defined in Outlook.

The 421 error is a code being reported by the mail host to which you
are connecting. You already have authenticated to their host so you
are actually connecting to it. The 421 status is an error code
returned by the server to report problems with their service or some
need to shutdown the mail session. Mail servers are supposed to be
tolerant of receiving illegal commands and instead should issue back a
500 error status, so it is not because the mail server got a bad
command from your software. It is possible that they first do the
authentication handshaking (to find out which user is attempting to
establish a mail session) and then some external means is forcing a
termination of that mail session (like your account is inactive,
terminated, on hold, blacklisted, or otherwise restricted). Comcast
has rarely terminated or frozen their customers accounts that are
found to spew spam or other large volumes of bulk mail but it does
sometimes happen. Unless specifically asked, the rep that you called
may not specifically check if there is a hold or restriction on your
email privileges.

Since you are using Microsoft's CDO webnews interface to post to
Usenet, and because Microsoft chose not to include a valid
NNTP-Posting-Host header (the one they insert always points back to
one of their internal CDO hosts), I don't know from what IP address
you are posting (and if that is the same problematic host from where
you cannot send out emails). With your IP address, I could do a spam
database lookup to check if you've been blacklisted (and, if so, might
be why your outbound mail privileges have been suspended due to abuse
reports that they have received since Comcast doesn't use blacklists
on outbound emails). You could go to dnsstuff.com to do the spam
database lookup yourself. With your IP address, I (or you) could also
check at senderbase.org what has been noticed for volume of email from
your IP address. A large volume for a personal email account usually
means you are spamming or sending out bulk mails (with or without your
knowledge).

In general, and despite Comcast's alteration of the comment string
returned with the error code, the generic status as noted in RFC 2821
is:

421 <domain> Service not available, closing transmission channel
(This may be a reply to any command if the service knows it must shut
down)

Well, it could be their particular mail host to which you connect
(noted by the IP address they they provided in the comment string) is
not working right now. You could ask them for the IP name or IP
address for a different mail host but it might be that you need to use
that one to get at your mailbox. The reps that you call have no means
of getting at the troubleshooting and maintenance logs or schedule for
the admins of those hosts, so they won't know if there is a problem
with that particular host. You will have to call them back and be
very obstinate in trying to report that THEIR mail server is issuing a
421 error status which means THEIR host is having problems. Rather
than use smtp.comcast.net, ask if another mail host can be used in the
interim until they fix their mail host - and make sure to keep pushing
until they issue a trouble ticket number that they must give to you so
that someone other than that first-level rep actually looks at that
mail host.

You could also try defining another member or associate email account
in Comcast. For each Comcast subscription, you will have 1 owner (or
primary) email account and can define up to 6 others. So go to their
web page to My Account and create a new email account and see if that
works. If it does, the mail host is working but there is a problem
with your normal account that only Comcast can fix. However, before
doing that, use their webmail interface to empty out your mailbox
(Inbox). A corrupted mail item can screw up their mail server so that
you can't use that mailbox until that corrupted item has been deleted
(and not just moved from the Inbox to the Trash folder). Use their
webmail interface, read the emails, delete the ones you don't want to
keep (and then purge them from the Trash folder), move all the rest
into some other folder than the Inbox, logoff their webmail interface,
and then check if your email client can successfully connect and
establish a mail session with that account. If it works, you got rid
of the corrupted mail item that screwed up their mail server (or you
moved it into another folder since POP3 only reads the mailbox which
is the Inbox folder).