The computer protocol specifies the rules for exchanging information between two machines. Emails, being one of the main uses of the Internet, are based on a number of communication protocols. The email protocols used to pass emails from server to server greatly contribute to securing your identification data (login and password).
Outgoing protocols (SMTP) are used to manage the transmission of email between servers. On the other hand, incoming protocols (POP and IMAP) are used to manage the sending of messages to mailboxes. So, they are in a way protocols for receiving and distributing messages.
There are 3 main types of email protocols: SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), POP (Post Office Protocol) and IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol).
IMAP protocol
The IMAP protocol allows you to check emails from anywhere. Therefore, it ensures constant synchronization between your workstation and the server. Thus, your emails are better managed, sorted and classified. When you check your emails, you can ask to download only the headers or the body. This is a convenient solution if you do not want to download unnecessary attachments.
You can also search from the server to see if an email is urgent or not. However, the IMAP protocol requires more resources on the server-side and download time can be increased, especially if connected by Modem.
The POP protocol
The POP protocol allows the recovery of emails located on a remote server. It manages the authentication of the account holder via his login credentials. Also, it offers the possibility to consult messages in offline mode. The POP protocol downloads emails to the server and stores them locally.
After authenticating the recipients, it puts the messages on hold. Afterwards, emails can then be sent in bulk to a computer, stored or deleted on the server. However, it should be noted that the POP protocol is not adapted to mobile media and messages are not always synchronized with the server.
The SMTP protocol
It is the most complete of the electronic communication protocols. It is used to forward an email from server to server. The SMTP protocol centralizes the e-mails sent in a kind of special envelope, on which it places different tags, such as the name of the access provider, the name of the recipient and his email address.
Clean your mailbox
Certain actions can be taken to optimize the security of your personal data. Improve the management of your emails by sorting and filing them in different folders. You can also set up your mailbox to receive all your emails in one place. Another way to secure your information is to clean your mailbox regularly.
If you don’t have time to manually delete your emails, use Cleanfox. This intelligent software allows you to delete spam and unsubscribe from newsletters in one click. Thus, you should associate it with your mailbox so that it can scan your messages according to the senders. Also, the tool is available on mobile devices.
