11.1.2. Mail Access Protocols

11.1.2. Mail Access Protocols

There are two primary protocols used by email client applications to retrieve email from mail servers: the Post Office Protocol (POP) and the Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP).

The use of IMAP and POP is configured through dovecot; by default dovecot runs only IMAP. To configure dovecot to use POP:

  1. Edit /etc/dovecot.conf to have the line: 

    protocols = imap imaps pop3 pop3s

  2. Make that change operational for the current session by running the command: 

    service dovecot restart

  3. Make that change operational after the next reboot by running the command: 

    chkconfig dovecot on

Unlike SMTP, both of these protocols require connecting clients to authenticate using a username and password. By default, passwords for both protocols are passed over the network unencrypted.


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