IMAP - Internet Message Access Protocol

[ben2ong2]

The IMAP protocol is used by email programs (like Microsoft Outlook) just like the POP protocol.
The main difference between the IMAP protocol and the POP protocol is that the IMAP protocol will not automatically download all your emails each time your email program connects to your email server.
The IMAP protocol allows you to see through your email messages at the email server before you download them. With IMAP you can choose to download your messages or just delete them. This way IMAP is perfect if you need to connect to your email server from different locations, but only want to download your messages when you are back in your office.