You have probably heard the discussions surrounding the end of Net Neutrality and the Internet as we know it.

What is Net Neutrality? Net Neutrality, according to Wikipedia, is defined as “the principle that Internet service providers and governments should treat all data on the Internet equally, not discriminating or charging differentially by user, content, site, platform, application, type of attached equipment, and modes of communication.”

This allows all users on the Internet the ability to find and search for all content that they wish (as long as it’s legal).

So, what does the proposed end of Net Neutrality mean?
Internet Service Providers are arguing that in order for them to grow and expand access to the Internet, they should be able to charge more to certain content providers. Particularly ones that are a heavy burden on their networks, i.e. Netflix, Hulu, etc. This means that there would be a fast lane, slow lane and maybe even a no lane. If a site wants their content to get to users, it would have to be in the fast lane, meaning they would have to pay extra for it to get into the fast lane, or risk it being filtered out in the slow lane, or even the no lane.

Consider how ridiculous it would be if other markets operated the way the FCC is proposing. Take water for instance, you pay the water company a certain amount of money for water. Once you pay and it’s in your house, you can do with it what you wish. The water company doesn’t get to decide that instead of building more water processing plants, it will lowers the water pressure in your house, and then makes you pay for an upgraded service to get full water pressure.

Would that make any sense? Water don’t work this way, and neither should the Internet.

This type of censorship by ISPs wouldn’t help them expand access to the Internet, it would greatly reduce it. In reality, the ISP’s will just gain the power to favor certain content and limit other content. This means that even though they will be building bigger and better infrastructure for the Internet, only some sites will benefit from it. An Internet that treats data equally is what we need always and forever.

Want it broken down in a very easy way to understand? Check out this video…

At No-IP, we have always been a strong advocate for an open and free Internet. We feel that putting an end to Net Neutrality would hurt consumers and Internet innovation. We are against the End of Net Neutrality.

What can you do to help the fight?

1. Sign this White House Petition before May 15th to make it clear that you will not accept Fast Lanes, Slow Lanes and No lanes.

2. Watch the FCC’s proposed rules that will be aired to the public on May 15th to see if they will consider the “reclassification”.  Reclassification of ISPs as “telecommunications services,” would be one way to preserve the open internet that we have all loved and enjoyed for the last 20 years. Without reclassification, the FCC can no longer protect the us against the ISPs who seek to restructure and ruin the Internet that we have grown to love.

You can also check out this very interesting post about allowing the Internet to “demo” the slow lane to see what it would really be like.

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Want to run your own mail server at your house, office, etc, but can’t because your Internet Service Provider blocks inbound port 25? First, let’s talk about why your ISP blocks Port 25, and then I will tell you a simple, cost effective solution.

Why?
In an attempt to control Spam and viruses, most Internet service providers block inbound and outbound port 25, which means you could experience technical problems when sending email i.e. it won’t work. If ISPs didn’t block outbound port 25, a computer could get infected with a virus and then that virus could could send out thousands, if not millions of spam emails – infecting lots of other computers and networks too.

How to check
It is easy to check to see if your ISP blocks Port 25. You can call and ask the ISP if they block port 25 it is best to specify Inbound or Outbound. If you do not want to deal with having to contact the ISP you can test port 25 Inbound yourself. To do so you need to have a server running on port 25 and port 25 port forwarded in your router and firewall. Once configured head over to canyouseeme.org, type 25 into the box and click “Check your Port” You will have to do this from the location of your network that you want to check. If it comes back with an error, chances are high that your ISP is blocking port 25.

My ISP Blocks Port 25, What can I do?
Don’t fret…. There is an easy solution if you want to run an email server at your house and your ISP blocks port 25. No-IP Reflector is a cost effective workaround. Reflector allows No-IP to be the primary mail exchanger for your domain. When an email destined for your domain arrives at our servers, we forward it on to your inbound mail server, which can be on a different (and unblocked) port of your choice. Not only does Reflector allow you to run your own mail server from home, but it also does extensive spam / virus scanning, so you don’t have to worry about dealing with spam, which can be a serious headache. Reflector also includes greylisting and customizable RBL (Real Blackhole Lists) lists. Reflector will also hold all of your emails for a max of 7 days if your mail server is unreachable. Our servers hold your emails until yours is back online and continuously attempts to resend the messages back to your server. How sweet is that?

Also, please note that if your ISP blocks outbound port 25 you will need to use an outbound SMTP server such as Alternate-Port SMTP which allows you to send out through our servers using a different port. Our outbound servers also have a PTR record created which will help you send to major mail providers.

Do what was once impossible — run your own mail server. Plus, until the end of March, all* email services are 25% off. (not valid on renewals – new service only) Use coupon code: MARCH25 during checkout.