Is it safe to open
Mail servers must accept connections, but require TLS and authentication for submission, limit login attempts and monitor blacklists.
How to open port 143
Open to everyone
# Linux iptables iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 143 -j ACCEPT # Ubuntu ufw ufw allow 143/tcp # firewalld firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=143/tcp && firewall-cmd --reload # MikroTik /ip firewall filter add chain=input protocol=tcp dst-port=143 action=accept place-before=0 comment="port 143" # Windows (PowerShell) New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Port 143 TCP" -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 143 -Action Allow
Only for your addresses
# allow only one address or network (replace 203.0.113.0/24) iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 143 -s 203.0.113.0/24 -j ACCEPT iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 143 -j DROP ufw allow from 203.0.113.0/24 to any port 143 proto tcp /ip firewall filter add chain=input protocol=tcp dst-port=143 src-address=203.0.113.0/24 action=accept /ip firewall filter add chain=input protocol=tcp dst-port=143 action=drop
If the server is behind a router, you also need a port forward (dst-nat). Behind ISP CGNAT (100.64.0.0/10 on the WAN) forwarding will not help: you need a public IP or a VPN.
What is listening
Check on the server
# what listens on the port ss -lntup | grep ':143 ' netstat -ano | findstr :143 # Windows lsof -i :143 # macOS # test from another machine nc -vz example.com 143