Secure Client Communications with SSL

When Microsoft released Exchange Server 4.0, the only available client was Messaging API (MAPI)—based. But as Exchange has evolved, Internet protocols—POP, IMAP, SMTP, and HTTP—have been integrated more and more into the product. As an administrator, you can now provide users with quite a few client options.

I've found that POP- and IMAP-based clients are becoming much more popular than MAPI-based clients, especially for companies that support many remote users. But misconceptions abound about the capabilities of each protocol and about how to use Internet protocols to provide secure email services. Many administrators are unsure about which protocol to use, and many administrators who already use these protocols haven't configured their email servers for optimal data and systems security. If you haven't done so already, I suggest you consider configuring your servers to take advantage of the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol. (For more information about SSL, see "Related Reading," page 3.) . . .