[NBLUG/talk] Remote mail access

[Aaron Grattafiori]

Lincoln Peters wrote:

>On Wednesday 01 February 2006 01:43, Aaron Grattafiori wrote:
>  
>
>>Lincoln Peters wrote
>>
>>    
>>
>>>My idea for remotely accessing my e-mail consists of:
>>>1. Set up fetchmail so that my SBC mail is "fetched" to a local mailbox.
>>>2. Set up a secure IMAP server to provide access to fetched mail.
>>>3. Enable port forwarding on the router, so I can access the IMAPS server
>>>over the Internet.  Maybe also enable port forwarding for SSH while I'm
>>>at it. 4. Set up DynDNS, so I don't have to keep track of my IP address
>>>manually. 5. (Optional) Configure eGroupware to access that same IMAPS
>>>service.
>>>
>>>If this all works, I could then use the Mail application on my laptop to
>>>access my e-mail no matter where I am.  And in case I find myself stranded
>>>without my laptop but with access to a public terminal (e.g. a library
>>>computer), I could use eGroupware (currently installed but not configured)
>>>on the primary computer to access my e-mail via a web browser. 
>>>Furthermore, I could SSH from my laptop into the desktop computer at any
>>>time and from anywhere.
>>>
>>>
>>>What would be the EASIEST* way to do all of this that doesn't compromise
>>>on security?
>>>      
>>>
>>I think if your going to setup fetchmail, you might as well setup mutt
>>on your box. You could just ssh into it and check/send mail from there...
>>That solves almost all your security issues right there. (except for
>>when it leaves your desktop ;-P )
>>    
>>
>
>So the options seem to be, in order from most secure to least secure:
>
>* Use ssh/mutt from my own laptop
>* Use ssh/mutt from a public terminal that I've booted from a Knoppix CD
>* Use ssh/mutt from a public terminal running Linux
>* Use ssh/mutt from a public terminal running MacOS X
>* Use ssh/mutt from a public terminal running Windows
>
>I'm not sure where Mac Mail and IMAPS or eGroupware over HTTPS would fit into 
>that scheme, but the same security progression (from my own laptop to a 
>public terminal running Windows) should still apply.  And I suppose that, if 
>a critical security patch was to come out for any of the programs in 
>question, I could SSH into the computer and quickly apt-get the updated 
>packages.
>
Yeah... this seems right on to me. Putty is the best windows ssh client,
hands down. Plus you don't need to install it, so its good for public
terms... (dl it, run it, delete it... (i'd restart the comp if possible,
clear the ram)).

>
>  
>
>>Setting up mutt is easy, as well as using it. Its very fast and very
>>flexible. It has coloring support, threading, gnupg support, folders,
>>etc...
>>    
>>
>
>How would it compare to KMail?
>  
>
I don't know exactly (don't use KDE, never used Kmail)... Probably
though, mutt is harder because there's no gui or anything.. its just a
.muttrc in your home dir. But.. for a simple pop server, some colors,
gpg and a folder it took me about 20 minutes to set it all up... There's
tons of resources online...

good luck. If you have any questions about mutt, post here and I'll do
my best to help (as will others im sure).

 -Aaron Grattafiori