Have you ever wished you could get your webmail and Outlook mail better in sync? Have you ever wanted to download mail on multiple computers and have changes reflected on all of them? IMAP may be for you. IMAP is a replacement for the POP3 email collection protocol. Using IMAP, you can set up the same account on multiple computers, with folders, and when you move a message on one machine, the change is reflected the next time you check you mail on other computers.

IMAP also ties in better with Crytech's new webmail product, Squirrelmail. Squirrelmail treats your webmail just like another computer. Again, when you move a message in Squirrelmail, it is reflected when you download your mail with a standard email client. It supports folders, has a built in address book, and is much easier to use than Omail. We will continue to keep Omail around for a short period, but will be discontinuing support for it soon!

IMAP is easy to set up! If you are already checking your mail with POP3, simply take note of your SMTP server settings, delete that POP3 account in your mail client and create an IMAP account with the same settings. Your IMAP server is still mail.yourdomain.com. IMAP is supported in Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, Mozilla Thunderbird, Eudora, Pegasus, and Entourage for Mac. (It is probably supported in some mail clients we've never heard of too...) We have found the support to be a little more stable in Thunderbird than Outlook, but we have had success with Microsoft Outlook as well. If you are not using a mail client already, we'd encourage you to try Mozilla Thunderbird as your IMAP client.

Is IMAP right for me? If you traditionally check your mail from only one computer, no IMAP is probably not right for you. IMAP leaves all messages on the server, and Crytech does not include email in our regular backups. However, if you, or someone in your office is a frequent traveler, or perhaps a telecomputer, IMAP may be right for you. It is possible to download messages to your computer using IMAP and we would encourage this periodically for the IMAP user.

Please don't hesitate to call Crytech for more information about IMAP and to see if it's right for you.