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Question:

Socket error 10061 - WSAECONNREFUSED No connection could be made because the target machine actively refused it.

Nov 09 '12 at 09:20

What does the following error mean?

sockError: 10061
Connect function failed.
SocketError: WSAECONNREFUSED No connection could be made because the target machine actively refused it.

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Answer

The connection attempt was rejected. It could be that the server is not running the service (such as an SMTP server if your application is trying to send email). Or maybe the service is running, but not listening at the expected port. Maybe the service only accepts SSL/TLS connections on the customary SSL/TLS port (465 for SMTP for example), or maybe the service is listening at a non-standard port.

It could also mean there's a temporary problem on the server-side, or that the server is too busy to accept new connections.

Finally, it may be that a firewall (software or hardware) may be refusing the connection.