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MS-102 Practice Question: Match each Microsoft 365 networking port to its…
Match each Microsoft 365 networking port to its protocol.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
443: HTTPS
Common Microsoft 365 networking ports: 443 (HTTPS), 587 (SMTP submission), 993 (IMAP SSL), 995 (POP3 SSL). Be careful not to confuse port numbers with different protocols.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
443: HTTPS
Why this is correct
Port 443 is the standard TCP port for HTTPS, which is HTTP encrypted with TLS. All Microsoft 365 web portals, including Outlook on the web and the Microsoft Entra ID admin center, require this port for secure, authenticated browser sessions and REST API calls. When a client connects to any Microsoft 365 service over 443, it validates the server certificate and establishes an encrypted tunnel to protect credentials and data. This is the only port in the list that correctly maps to HTTPS.
- ✓
587: SMTP
Why this is correct
Port 587 is the SMTP submission port, used by email clients to send messages through Microsoft 365's smart host (smtp.office365.com). It requires STARTTLS, which upgrades the plaintext connection to encrypted, and mandates SMTP authentication with the user's credentials. This is distinct from port 25, which is typically blocked by ISPs and reserved for mail server relay. Therefore, 587 correctly maps to SMTP for outbound mail.
- ✓
993: IMAP
Why this is correct
Port 993 is the IMAP4 over SSL/TLS port, allowing a client to securely retrieve email from a Microsoft 365 mailbox. It uses implicit TLS, meaning the connection is encrypted from the first handshake, unlike port 143 which is plaintext with optional STARTTLS. Outlook, Thunderbird, and mobile mail apps connect to outlook.office365.com on 993 for reading messages. This makes 993 the correct mapping for IMAP.
- ✗
443: POP3
Why it's wrong here
The claim that port 443 is used by POP3 is incorrect. POP3 encrypted connections use port 995, while port 110 is the unencrypted version. Port 443 is globally reserved for HTTPS and is already consumed by every web browser connection, so using it for mail retrieval would create a protocol conflict and break web security. Microsoft 365 also does not offer POP3 over 443, making this mapping invalid.
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995: SMTP
Why it's wrong here
Port 995 is not SMTP; it is the standard port for POP3 over SSL/TLS, used for downloading messages from an email server. SMTP submission uses port 587 with STARTTLS, or legacy port 25 for relay, but never 995. If a client or firewall is configured to use 995 for SMTP, it will fail to connect or authenticate because the server expects POP3 protocol on that port. Thus, this pairing is clearly wrong.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This MS-102 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the MS-102 exam.