Can't send outgoing email

[randyw]

To be able to send any outgoing email (with Mozilla, Thunderbird or Outlook express), I have to turn off "scan outgoing mail" on the SMTP tab for the Internet Email provider.  Otherwise I get "error connecting to SMTP server" when I try to send mail.  Searching other topics, I saw a similar problem caused by the ISP blocking SMTP port 25.  His solution was to ask the ISP to stop blocking port 25.  I doubt that I can get my provider to change blocking, if that is the problem.  Is there any other way to fix this, or do I need to leave outgoing scanning off?

[DavidR]

What is your OS and firewall ?
Ensure your firewall allows access to ashMaiSv.exe avast! mail scanner.
Are you able to receive email without disabling the Internet Mail provider ?

[randyw]

OS is XP sp2, windows firewall.  problem exists with or without firewall active.  email received OK, but can not send outgoing email unless Avast! "scan outgoing email" is turned off.

[DavidR]

The strange thing about all this is the windows XP firewall doesn't provide full outbound protection and if it were somehow blocking ashMaiSv.exe you wouldn't be able to send or receive email and as you say it doesn't make any difference if the firewall is on or off.
I suggest you get a firewall that provides outbound protection, Zone Alarm free works fine with avast and has a relatively friendly user interface.

Can you please post a screen shot of the error message or post the complete text of the error.

A belated welcome to the forums.

[randyw]

Thanks for the welcome.  Seems to be a great board from what I've seen so far.

No, the Windows firewall makes no difference.  The error (from Thunderbird) is

   "The message could not be sent because connecting to the SMTP server outgoing.verizon.net failed.  The server may be unavailable or is refusing SMTP connections.  Please verify that your SMTP setting is correct and try again or contact you network administrator."   

Outlook Express gives a little more detail: "Server response 421 connect error 10053, port 25, error number 0x800ccc67".

It seems that the ISP doesn't like the way SMTP request looks after Avast! intercepts it.  I'm not really that concerned about scanning outgoing email (as long as my system is clean I shouldn't be sending out anything evil), but it would be good to be able to turn outgoing scans on.

[DavidR]

The ISP shouldn't know how your email is sent

Whilst I don't use Thunderbird, many other do with no problems, what is your ISP ?
Perhaps we have others using that ISP

I have done a google search for part of your error message 'Server response 421 connect error 10053' without the quotes and it returns many hits, it may take some finding for something directly relating to your set-up.
http://www.4d.fr/documentation/4Ddoc2003/CMU/CMU88906.HTM
    SMTP 421 - Service not available, closing transmission channel.
This sounds like a server problem.

A google search for 'error number 0x800ccc67' also returns many hits. This one is basically the same from 2004, http://www.mcse.ms/archive170-2004-6-813365.html and this which is OE and Tbird http://www.ureader.co.uk/message/627213.aspx.

Does your server require authentication, have you got that option ticked, etc. ?
Are you trying to send SSL email using the SMTP port 25 ?

I'm out of ideas, I haven't come across anything like this before were email can be received but not sent, even with two email programs.

[randyw]

Should have tried googling the error codes.  I did find this for the 10053:

A connection abort was caused internal to your host machine. The software caused a connection abort because there is no space on the socket's queue and the socket cannot receive further connections.

But this doesn't help me much.  Almost sounds like a problem caused by the server.  But it does seem to occur only when Avast! outgoing scanning is turned on.  The ISP (and mail server) is verizon, which lots of people use, but I haven't yet seen anyone with the same problem.  Tried their tech support, but didn't get anywhere.

[vojtech]

Don't you have another antivirus or didn't you have one that could be improperly uninstalled ?

[Lisandro]

A connection abort was caused internal to your host machine. The software caused a connection abort because there is no space on the socket's queue and the socket cannot receive further connections.
But this doesn't help me much.

Just guessing: any local proxy involved? like an annonimizer? Are your Windows fully updated? Is there any other program that is using the Internet at that time?
Although, it seems what Vojtech posted, a problem of an old AVG email scanner driver, or even NOD32 or the worst, NAV 

[randyw]

Windows XP is up to date.  No other internet apps running at the time email send fails.  No AVG, and I gave up on NAV a long time ago.

[alanrf]

Hi randyw,

couple of things to check please. 

In the windows XP task manager can you confirm that ashMaiSv.exe is running?

Can you also scan through to make sure that nothing looking like something left over from another antivirus product is there.

Assuming ashMaiSv.exe is running it will probably be useful to create (for a while) a more detailed avast! log of your mail connections.

You can get the mailscanner to log your connections by editing the avast4.ini file (in  Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\DATA folder).

In the section headed:

[MailScanner]

add the line:

Log=20

and save the updated file.

Then try to send some email - it should be recorded by the log.

The log will be in Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\DATA\log\ashmaisv.log

If you are then willing to share the log ... please first obscure any personally identifiable information in it ... we shall have a better chance of understanding what may be causing the problem you are encountering.