Electronic Mail

Electronic mail has been around for almost as long as the semiconductor-based computer. Early electronic mail systems were proprietary and text-based, and allowed communication between parties on a private network. Arpanet, later the Internet and some standardized email protocols expanded on this by allowing a large number of users to communicate using the same type of service.

Email requires the use of an email server to store and forward email messages and an email program to provide user access to the server and to allow the user to send, receive, and delete messages (see Figure 21-1). Today these email servers use common, widely supported protocols such as POP3 (Post Office Protocol 3) and IMAP (Internet Messaging Access Protocol) ...

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