fetchmail and plain text password

[Roland Smith]

On Tue, Dec 29, 2009 at 01:44:21PM +0000, Anton Shterenlikht wrote:
> it doesn't work like that..
> 
> I think it's an imap server.
> 
> Anyway, I'm trying to get in touch with them.
> One of the problems is that the Uni are trying to
> implement a system where mail is never downloaded from the
> main mail servers at all. At least this is what I gather.
> So when users launch their mulberry (a typical Uni mail
> client)  they connect to the mail servers, read and reply
> and whatever, but the data is just viewed on PCs and not
> stored there. I might be wrong, but that's my understanding.
> So programs like fetchmail that actually connect to their
> imap server and download mail to local boxes are probably
> not very welcome.

Fetchmail can use the IMAP protocol, and therefore should be just as welcome
as any other IMAP client. And if you can read a message , it _is_ downloaded. 
The advantage of IMAP is that it allows you to partially download message.

If I read the [IMAP page] and [IMAP RFC] correctly, the latter mandates the
use of authentication. Quoting the latter;

           Note: a server implementation MUST implement a
           configuration in which it does NOT permit any plaintext
           password mechanisms, unless either the STARTTLS command
           has been negotiated or some other mechanism that
           protects the session from password snooping has been
           provided. 

In other words, a proper IMAP server does not permit plaintext passwords.

[IMAP page]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Message_Access_Protocol
[IMAP RFC]: http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3501 

Roland
-- 
R.F.Smith                                   http://www.xs4all.nl/~rsmith/
[plain text _non-HTML_ PGP/GnuPG encrypted/signed email much appreciated]
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