Email: meaning of Socket Error 10061

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Question:

My application needs to send and receive emails. Sometimes I get a socket error 10061 - what does this mean?

Answer:

If you would get the error message all the times, then the explanation would be that either port 25 (needed for sending email using SMTP protocol) or port 110 (used to receive email using POP protocol) are blocked by a firewall or your router.

Since you report that this error happens on occasion (probably only when sending emails out), it can be assumed that the destination mail server is not accepting a connection from you. Maybe you've sent too many emails within an interval and the remote mail server considers your software to send out spam.
So you could

• Reduce the frequency of sending mails to this server
  
• Reduce the speed of sending mails to this server
  
• Reduce the amount of mails to this server
  
• Try again later
  
• Send mails through a relay server
  

A few words about relay servers. There are 'open' relay servers that everyone can use. There is even a web site dedicated to keeping track of these open relay servers ( http://www.ordb.org/). The problem with these open relay servers is that they are used by spammers and sending emails through them is a guaranteed way to get rejected. If you visit their site, make sure that your domain is not on their list yet.

Comments:

2006-03-12, 18:03:11

ojie1985@yahoo.com from Philippines

Thanks to all of u!... they are helpful to me

2007-01-18, 23:40:36   (updated: 2007-01-18, 23:42:08)

Moiz Syed from India

Even i receive the same message! but when i restart my computer the problem seems to be vanish. Any Guess what the problem could be? Keywords: junk

2007-05-03, 17:17:49

anonymous from Reston, United States

Moiz Syed, that is my EXACT problem. what i found, using Outlook 2003. when i first boot (or reboot) and login, all works well. If I logoff, and then immediately log back onto my system, using the same user name, I will receive the error. Then I will need to reboot to get it to function again. Just started happening to me within the last week, when comcast.net changed their password security level. i'm betting they 'fixed' something that did not need fixing too. Keywords:

2007-05-25, 01:35:45

anonymous from Brazil

Good.........I have a client who is having problems with SOCKET ERROR MESSAGES. Thanks for everything, Mauricio.

2007-06-23, 12:13:07

anonymous from United States

i get the same message when i try to play games on this computer. any idea what it means???

2007-09-20, 12:22:04

k3e4s3h4a3v from Madras, India

it helped me

2007-10-29, 10:04:29

mister,k. from Netherlands

hey, i am having the same problem with that error but at me the error starts at the begin i put my pc on. Does it means that i have a keylogger on my computer that tries to send e-mails? i hope some of you knows it mister k.

2007-12-22, 14:02:08

pey from United Kingdom

i tryed updating spybot and got this error when i turned zone alarm on and tryed again it downloaded the updates

2008-05-28, 18:24:56

anonymous

the resolution that has been given has been quite helpfull allthough some of the technical jargon is difficult to actually pass on to laymen. however it has been really helpfull.

2008-07-11, 05:48:59

anonymous from United Kingdom

thanks very helpfull

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