Ports are sometimes "COM" and sometimes "ASRL"

I have a chunk of code that looks for active COM ports, tests them for a connection, then uses that port.  The problem I'm running into is I am using this code on several laptops with Windows7 and for some reason some laptops list the ports as COM1, COM3, etc while others list them as ASRL1, ASRL3, ASRL5, etc.

I haven't been able yet to figure out why some are using different nomenclature, but it throws off my COM port program.  I don't want the operators to have to use a pull down menu and select the port as this test needs to be fully automated.

Any ideas on how to fix this?