I work remotely from home for a large company. Been having systems issues for almost 2 months. Multiple IT engineers have worked it and no fix so far has helped.
I feel like this most recent IT Engineer assigned to my ticket is trying to convince me that all of my issues are because Spectrum blocks the ports my company utilizes to effectively run their systems. Here are screen shots of parts of the IM with the engineer.
But after talking to two Spectrum Techs, I was told that no ports are being blocked on my connections.
The 2nd Spectrum tech even said that this published list is referring to Spectrum’s traffic and not mine, that it lists ports that Spectrum blocks so nothing malicious can get to them not me. Huh??
Is my employer’s IT engineer right that ports are blocked and Spectrum needs to apply rules? I’m not really buying it.
Business line is hardwired to Spectrum’s modem. Residential line is hardwired to my own router. Issues happen no matter which line I’m connected to.
Thanks for the help.
EDIT: Update to add I’m now convinced my job’s IT engineer is either really trying to pass the buck or is utterly incompetent.
Just reread their last IM to me and it’s clear they’re trying suggest the company’s not at fault for my tech issues. They pointed out something else they noticed w/ my connection. Problem is their own damn IT department says this thing is not an issue at all.
So I’m done.
Thank you to everyone who commented. Learned some things I didn’t know before.
Use to be video repair customer service earlier this year we used avaya also being WFH on a VPN with no issues using the spectrum provided internet.
Like others mention its probably the vpn service being used
I run the same SSL vpn on port 443 on spectrum without any problems. Spectrum is right they do not block those ports.
Those look like ports used by windows. They probably should be blocked. If your IT department utilizes those ports, it really should be over a vpn or proxy of some type, and not directly over your internet connection.
Ask your IT guys to help you setup a VPN if those ports need to be utilized.
So those ports are blocked by Spectrum from what I understand, but this is not an issue using a VPN. I’ve used Avaya from home before with Spectrum without issue.
The first thing I’d do is see if they can provide you with a computer they’ve tested with another employee at home and verified works, then see if they can replicate the problem at your place. If so then it could be the router or modem. If not then it could be something on your computer.
Have you changed the Spectrum firewall settings? Was having a similar sounding issue with a client working from home, only find their husband had gone into the modem and changed the default firewall setting to maximum, which resulted in VPN connections not being able to be made.
In CISCO AnyConnect, it has options to open ports and services. Make sure those are configured for what your people use.
Port 25 OUT is blocked on all accounts by default, requiring a phone call to support to unblock it for businesses, residential they may refuse.
Just checking in with ya! Did this ever get solved? If so, what did the issue end up being?
They use Cisco AnyConnect.
Funny though that VPN as the source is being mentioned, because the company is switching clients soon. I heard it’s because of problems w/ AnyConnect.
Yeah, I totally believe them. They’ve told me 3x now no ports are blocked.
This is what my job’s IT engineer sent to me and it apparently convinced her that ports are blocked on my side, end of story. I asked the Spectrum tech what the list means and he explained it as more of something to do with Spectrum’s traffic, and not mine.
Yep, I log into a VPN at every session. Then launch a virtual machine.
No. Not every network service needs to be behind a VPN. This is a lame, tiring, design.
I use IPv6 on Anyconnect at home with no problem and it works great, actually my VPN is IPv6 inbound only.
I’ve sort of already done that, since this Dell is the third one I’ve had in 6 months from the company, and the whole reason I have an IT ticket in the first place (dead air calls) has been exclusive to this particular Dell, the 5090 Micro.
The other 2 Dells never had dead air calls. And IT has even admitted to me the problem is known to plague most every employee with the 5090.
I asked this current IT engineer assigned to me how come the prior engineers never pushed me off to Spectrum, and mentioned that they told me it was a known 5090 issue. She said each case has needed different fixes…and some other shit that made my eyes glaze over when I read it.
I haven’t changed any firewall settings, and Spectrum told me they hadn’t updated anything to change the default security settings. They’ve told me three times now that all is clear on my side, there are no advanced security settings enabled, no ports blocked & no port rules setup so my company should have no connection issues w/ my Dell.
And no one besides me at home knows how to access the network settings. If my spouse’s life depended on getting into the router or modem, it’d be a pretty sad day here.
Would these configurations be something I’d even have access to?? Everything belongs to the company. They handle everything meaning the computer, the VPN, all the software, etc.
Was told when I was hired to never worry about that stuff…they’d deal with all of it & if any problems arose don’t touch, just call IT. Also took that to mean don’t mess with any settings, or else.
Yes, I did get everything worked out! Thanks!
Found out the Sr. Engineer assigned to my ticket was out-of-office so a second tech stepped in and basically backtracked, troubleshooting things that had already been resolved/ruled out. She didn’t have access to his notes and was attempting to help me. I get that. But only a little, given I’d mentioned that the original tech & I were way past everything she suggested was the issue & her advice on what to do.
Was frustrating for me at the time because I knew that network issues/Spectrum had been ruled out. She was way too definitive & too insistent that the problem was on my side. Stressed me out so bad it actually triggered an asthma attack lol.
I got a new machine and ever since (approx 2 weeks now) I’ve had zero problems, no dead air calls.
It was all just a case of a second person going in blind, genuinely trying to help but inadvertently making things worse for me.
AnyConnect over Spectrum works fine for me. No issues.
If that’s the case, and your sure you’re utilizing your vpns, connection, then something else is going on. Maybe a firewall on your computer is blocking, or a firewall is enabled by default in the vm you’re trying to use.
I advise you to at the port description for the ports OP was referencing. It’s for Microsoft sql server. The default spectrum blocks are not every network service, but specific ones that are easy targets for misuse. There are 65k ports. Either pick a non standard port or use a vpn for things like netbios, MsSQL, DHCP, etc….
You may not agree with it, but in this case it is a security issue to leave mssql ports exposed to the internet.