• Your email address.
• Your POP3 or IMAP4 (incoming mail) server address.
• Your SMTP (outgoing mail) server address.
• Your username and password.
• The telephone number your PC will dial-up.

The following information explains the difference between POP and IMAP Protocols. We also explain three common functions that are associated with email accounts.

POP3
Most email clients use POP3 (Post Office Protocol) the standard for Internet email. It defines how a client PC can access email from a server and provides a message store that holds incoming email until you log on and download it. All pending messages and attachments are downloaded at the same time and then deleted from the server. It's ideal for home and small business users who typically access their email from a single PC or small network.

IMAP4
Internet Message Access Protocol - Version 4, is a newer and more sophisticated messaging protocol designed to address many of the limitations of POP3. IMAP4 lets you manage email on a server as if it were on a local PC. For instance, you can sort messages into folders, delete messages, select messages to download and share mailboxes. Most email clients now support IMAP4, however finding an ISP that will support the technology is a different matter. IMAP4 is mainly suited to corporate users.

Unlimited E-mail Aliasing
Your default email address/account can have an unlimited number of aliases delivered to it such as ann@domain.co.uk, stephen@domain.co.uk and so on.

E-mail Forwarding
If you have an email address that you would like to continue using to receive all of your email, you can direct other email addresses/accounts to forward your mail to that specific address. This provides a convenient way of simplifying the management of your email accounts.

E-mail Auto-responders
If you know you are going to be out of the office for sometime i.e. you are going on holiday, you can set-up an auto-responder. Whenever someone sends you an email they will automatically receive a message back. This pre-written message is usually in the format of "Thank you for your enquiry, I'm currently on holiday until 24 June" or something similar. Many companies use auto-responders for all their enquiries regardless of whether or not they are actually available, to inform the customer they have received their email, and/or to provide immediate feed-back/information.