# Is this Comcast/Xfinity security warning not to use "port 25" legit or a phish of some kind?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-comcast-xfinity-security-warning-not-to-use-port-25-legit-or-a-phish-of-some-kind/650157>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 13, 2013, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-comcast-xfinity-security-warning-not-to-use-port-25-legit-or-a-phish-of-some-kind/650157 "2013-02-13T05:13:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\
**Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-comcast-xfinity-security-warning-not-to-use-port-25-legit-or-a-phish-of-some-kind/650157/22 "2013-04-03T23:07:43Z")

</div>

They did it to me. All of a sudden I could not send email. I contacted customer support and they told me about this port thing. They claimed they had sent me an email but I had no record of it. What a total pain on the butt. Plus I was using Eudora and there was no option anywhere for specifying the outgoing port. Finally on my own I found a comment on a BB about how to get Eudora to display additional options such as outbound port. So yes, the message from comcast is legit.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\
**Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-comcast-xfinity-security-warning-not-to-use-port-25-legit-or-a-phish-of-some-kind/650157/23 "2013-04-03T23:20:47Z")

</div>

Reported post by **UnifiedeMail** as spam.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\
**Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-comcast-xfinity-security-warning-not-to-use-port-25-legit-or-a-phish-of-some-kind/650157/24 "2013-04-06T14:00:33Z")

</div>

I got the same email from Comcast about six months ago. However, my email (Microsoft Entourage on a Mac) was still working, and I read somewhere that the correct port should be selected automatically on a Mac, so I ignored the message. (Plus I didn’t even notice the email until several months after it was sent.)

Then, one day about a month or two ago, I could no longer send email–so I figured out how to change the port settings, and everything appears to be working again.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\
**Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-comcast-xfinity-security-warning-not-to-use-port-25-legit-or-a-phish-of-some-kind/650157/25 "2013-04-08T01:31:17Z")

</div>

> [@dstarfire](#):
>
> Yes. Port 25 says “this chunk of data (or packet, in technical terms) carries outgoing email”. If traffic on that port is not email, it’s not standards-compliant and they have no obligation to support it (and even a minor one to prevent it).

You’re making an assumption that it’s not being used for plain-text email. Apparently they have no obligation to support it, whether it’s standards compliant or not.

I don’t get the malware vector thing, unless the target is some improperly configured machine that still accepts plain-text email. If they have control of the server, they can just change the port.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-comcast-xfinity-security-warning-not-to-use-port-25-legit-or-a-phish-of-some-kind/650157.md?page=1)