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The most popular protocol used to transfer e-mail messages from a permanent mailbox to a local computer is known as the Post Office Protocol version 3 (POP3). The user invokes a POP3 client, which creates a TCP connection to a POP3 server on the mailbox computer. The user first sends a login and a password to authenticate the session. Once authentication has been accepted, the user client sends commands to retrieve a copy of one or more messages and to delete the message from the permanent mailbox.

The messages are stored and transferred as text files in RFC 2822 standard format. Note that computers with a permanent mailbox must run two servers – an SMTP
server accepts mail sent to a user and adds each incoming message to the user’spermanent mailbox, and a POP3 server allows a user to extract messages from the mailbox and delete them. To ensure correct operation, the two servers must coordinate with the mailbox so that if a message arrives via SMTP while a user extracts messages via POP3, the mailbox is left in a valid state.

This is what all about the POP - Version 3. How it works and its comparision with our government postoffice.


Enjoy.....