diff --git a/lib/ping_services/smtp.js b/lib/ping_services/smtp.js
index 152260f0..ef163a9b 100644
--- a/lib/ping_services/smtp.js
+++ b/lib/ping_services/smtp.js
@@ -9,7 +9,10 @@ function ping (service, callback){
   socket.on("data", function (c) {
     socket.end("bye!");
   });
-
+  
+  socket.on("error", function () {
+	callback("Could not open socket", null, null, null);
+  });
   socket.on("end", function () {
     var timeDiff = (new Date() - startTime);
     callback(null, null, null, timeDiff);