vpn will not connect to COX Email SMTP

[hime3]

When I use vpn, email will not connect to Cox SMTP. Might PP have a setting to enable SMTP access?
hime

[spc3rd]

Hello hime,

Sorry to hear of the issue you are having with your VPN and Cox email account. Since you stated that you are having trouble connecting to Cox's SMTP server, I take that to mean you are just having problems with SENDING mail.

To get started, I have a few questions for you:

1. The problem you're having - is it something that began recently, or has it been occurring for some time?

2. Please provide the complete text of any error message(s) you are receiving in POP Peeper, by following the instructions in the Sticky topic below:

PP error messages: How to view them & copy/paste into your post

* - Be sure to note the CAUTION statement near the bottom of the article.

3. Please provide the following information about the COX account's send mail settings:

[To view the SEND MAIL settings, right-click the account in the Account List > select [EDIT ACCOUNT] > [SEND MAIL] tab

A. Send option
B. SMTP server
C. Is SSL/TLS enabled?
D. Port number
E. Is "Server requires authentication" checked?

Other members of The Esumsoft Team should be stopping-by later to review your topic and will likely have additional questions for you.

Thank you and best regards,

[hime3]

send option: SMTP
STARTTLS
SMTP server: SMTP.COX.NET
Port: 587
Server requires authentication checked

#1 unsuccessful send issue is a new event since installing VPN FlashRouter.
All Cox emails received when connected to VPN FlashRouter.
When connected to VPN FlashRouter NEVER are Cox emails sent via PP. Emails simply accumulate in Outbox.
When PC connected to router modem, Cox emails send via PP.

HOWEVER, #2 send issue intermittently occurs.

#2 is an infrequent issue that has been occurring intermittently for several months when PC is connected to Modem Router (ie, VPN not FlashRouter). I wonder if this intermittent send issue may be relevant.

Cox tech support said the fact that emails send proves password and settings are correct for their system.

PP error popup when sending Cox email through non-VPN router:

The following error(s) occurred while attempting to Send mail: Account: xxxxxx
Failed to Process TLS Socket (certificate failed: unable to get local issuer certificate (20))
Press OK to open the Outbox
Cancel

When I click cancel, email will usually transit successfully with next PP email check.
When I click ok, email opens.
When I click send again usually same error message popup appears for a number of send attempts.
Eventually clicking send transits email successfully.

Error ICON copy for #2 send issue:

--- Version ---
OS: Windows 7 (x64)
POP Peeper: 4.5.1.0
Webmail: 4.5.3.0
SSL: 1.0.2.11
IMAP: 4.5.1.0
RSS: 4.0.0.0 (disabled)
SendMail: 4.5.0.0
Notification Voice: 4.0.0.0 (disabled)
Profile Picture: 4.5.0.0
AntiJunk: 4.5.0.0
Spell Checker: 4.5.0.0
Web of Trust: 4.5.0.0

--- Error ---
xxxxx [0: POP3] ['pop.cox.net' (995) SSL: 1] [Smtp: 'smtp.cox.net' (587) SSL: 2] [Consec: 1]
- Send Mail: Failed to Process TLS Socket (certificate failed: unable to get local issuer certificate [2] (20))

[spc3rd]

Thanks very much for posting back the detailed info, hime!

Another forum member, GratefulJim, has also posted about a send mail issue with his VPN and Yahoo email.

I have contacted Jeff about your topic post and GratefulJim's post, so he and other members of The Esumsoft Team should be dropping-by later to review both your posts and provide additional feedback on the problems presented.

Best regards,

[Jeff]

hime3 --
Are you familiar with using telnet? I think that Microsoft disables telnet by default, so if the following doesn't work and you don't know how to continue, just let us know.

1) Open a command prompt with admin priviliges (ie. type 'command prompt' into the start menu, then for the main result, right-click and select "run as admin")
2) type:
telnet smtp.cox.net 587
and press <enter>

Expected (successful) result:
the screen should almost immediately clear and at the top say:
220 eastrmimpo210.cox.net cox ESMTP server ready
(or similar)

A bad result would be if the screen doesn't clear and just sits there and (maybe) eventually say that the connection couldn't be opened. This would be an indication that something is blocking the mail port. It could be your VPN or it could be your ISP.

Let us know your result.

[hime3]

opened cmd
ran as administrator
typed: telnet smtp.cox.net 587
result:
'telnet' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

[Jeff]

Ok, I figured. I'm on Win10, but I think it's probably the same for Win7 --
In the start menu, type "windows features" and it should come up with a result (ie. "turn windows features on or off") -- open that
In the list, find "Telnet client" and enable it
Press OK

Now you should be able to perform the prior telnet test. btw, when you're done with the test, just close the dos/command window.

You may want to disable "Telnet client" after the test. If you never use it, it's not going to affect you; from what I understand, Microsoft disables it by default to protect users from themselves (e.g. entering plain text passwords). Since you're not going to enter any login information, you don't need to worry about that.

[hime3]

thank you
I am not familiar with Telnet
completed the test
typed: telnet smtp.cox.net 587
result as you expected
220 eastrmimpo209.cox.net cox ESMTP server ready

This morning every email sent "failed to process" (my #2 above). I cancelled the popup so email remainded in outbox. Every email was sent on next 2 minute PP mail check.
This behavior is unusual. Currenly using modem-router (not VPN router) in use for at least 5 years.
Multiple Cox tech support reps claim all is well from their end. Each says unable to help because the issue is with PP.
Been using PP for about 10 years. PP has always performed superbly. Great software.
Any suggestions to resolve this #2 issue and VPN not sending emails?

[Jeff]

Did you perform the telnet test while in the VPN? Sorry for not clarifying that, but I did intend for you to test telnet while in the VPN.

As for the SSL certificate issue -- have you noticed any patterns? ie. does it always fail the first time and succeed the second time? Do the times it failed have anything to do with when you're using the VPN? (ie. if you're currently in the VPN or recently disabled the VPN) Or do the failures seem completely random (ie. sometimes it works the first time)?

There is a way to disable the SSL certificate verification (or exclude this particular server), but there is a possibility that it's actually failing because there is something suspicious happening, so I'm not sure that I would recommend that tactic yet.

[hime3]

Jeff
Tested only using old router modem.
Did not think to test when connected to VPN modem. Will do that Monday.
No pattern discernable. First email does not always fail. More often, first email sends.
No pattern when I attempt to manually send unsent email. Sometimes it will send; sometimes several sequential attempts required to send.
Will also contact Cox tech support again to ask why intermittent no connection.
Any other question suggestions?
thank you
hime

[Jeff]

Try this:
- edit your account
- go to 'Send mail' page
- change 'starttls' to "SSL/TLS" (the port will change to 465, which is correct)
- press update

See if you have better luck with that.

[hime3]

Jeff, unpleased to report that somehow on my main pc I had set incorrect Send Email
corrected to SSL/TSL ; port 465
yesterday sent only 3 emails
all sent immediately using conventional modem router
today most emails sent via conventional modem router interrupted with connection error
clicked cancel
2 emails remaining in outbox after PP 2 minute check would transmit only after manually clicking send at least twice

connected to VPN router & performed VPN telnet task
result
554 eastrmimpo109.cox.net cox connection refused from 205.234.121.86

What does this refusal suggest?
hime

[Jeff]

Try following the instructions in this post to update your certificates file:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=7153#p36215
and let me know if that works.


That IP address belongs to micfo LLC -- does that mean anything to you (ie. is that where your VPN is going through)? Regardless, it means somebody (cox) doesn't want you sending email on that connection. SMTP errors are often vague (unless more information is provided with the code), but 554 is typically associated with preventing spam which, in this context, makes sense. Legitimate companies don't want to deal with the liability of someone trying to send anonymous email through their servers.

[hime3]

Thank you again Jeff
Talked to Cox tech. Been trying to find a PP workaround to avoid online login.
Can send email via Cox when login to online Cox email account.
Same PP unable to send issue with gmail as the popup message below shows.
And gmail same solution: can send & reply gmail when login to gmail online account.
So with vpn active PP can receive email and gmail, but PP can not reply or send email or gmail.
Interesting that email, gmail and junk can be deleted from online inboxes using PP.

Popup:
The following error(s) occurred while attempting to Send mail:
Account: heyggg
Could not connect to SMTP server
Press OK to open the Outbox

[Jeff]

Interesting that email, gmail and junk can be deleted from online inboxes using PP.

It's in the same family as retrieving your email. As previously mentioned, the reason you're not allowed to *send* email is because the email providers don't want people sending spam (or hate mail, etc.) anonymously. This is about protecting their entire email system, not protecting individual users (although you could argue that it does protect the users, as well, because if the email system gets put on a blacklist because of spam, then it will affect all the users).


Are you able to disable the VPN for certain ports? That would be my best advice.

[hime3]

Good question Jeff. Seems not. VPN is "device" specific.

[Jeff]

If the email providers (or VPN) won't let you send mail through that vpn and you can't bypass the vpn on specific ports, I don't know what else you can do. It might be the choice of using the VPN or sending email.

fwiw, while this is a general problem with VPNs, there may be solutions that rely on the VPN itself. For example, PIA has this page specifically about sending email:
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/h ... on-the-vpn

Any VPN provider that does not retain logs must block outgoing SMTP traffic due to rampant spam associated with usage of VPN services. This is necessary for the security and privacy of our customers, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

With that said, we can whitelist (allow) any outgoing email server that a) require authentication, and b) is correctly setup so as not to be an open relay.