Comcast Response

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

________________________________________
From: Forde, Declan [Declan_Forde () cable comcast com]
Sent: Friday, January 18, 2008 10:29 PM
To: David Farber
Subject: Comcast Response

Dave,



We have seen the flurry of posts about Comcast and e-mail blocking and customer communications.  I would like to take 
this opportunity to provide Comcast's position on these comments.



As part our ongoing efforts to reduce spam, Comcast blocks Port 25 on those computers that have been identified as a 
spam relay and are being exploited by spammers to send large volumes of unwanted email. The comments in the thread 
suggest that we do not communicate with customers when we block Port 25. In fact, we send an email to the impacted 
customer to let them know what has happened and provide instructions on how to easily switch to the more secure Port 
587. In many cases, our customers are appreciative of this proactive approach to securing their computer.



It is also suggested that we do not provide any information on Comcast.net to assist customers with this issue. Please 
take a look at the following FAQ which answers anticipated customer questions and provides a One Click Fix for our 
customers to easily switch to Port 587: http://www.comcast.net/help/faq/index.jsp?faq=Email118989#25



Blocking of Port 25 is a common practice among ISP's and it is endorsed by the FTC as an effective means to reduce spam 
generated by zombies. Please see: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/spam/zombie/index.htm



We are targeting only known infected computers and do not block Port 25 for all customers. Blocking of port 25 is not 
new for Comcast. We have been using this targeted approach for about 4 years and it continues to help reduce spam while 
also minimizing the impact on our customers.



I hope these comments are helpful.



Declan


Declan Forde
Snr. Director of Security
Comcast


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