POP E-mail
POP stands for Post Office Protocol. POP is a standard client/server protocol for sending and receiving e-mail.
The e-mails are received and held on your internet server until you pick it up with a client e-mail program, like Microsoft Outlook or Mozilla Thunderbird.
IMAP Email
IMAP stands for Internet Message Access Protocol. IMAP is another standard protocol for sending and receiving e-mail.
The e-mails are received, and held on your internet server, until you pick it up with a client e-mail program, like Microsoft Outlook or Mozilla Thunderbird.
IMAP represents an improvement over POP because e-mail stored on an IMAP server can be manipulated from several computers (a computer at home, a workstation at the office, etc.), without having to transfer messages back and forth between computers. POP was designed to support e-mail access on one single computer.
Web-based E-mail
Web-based e-mail services enable you to access your e-mail via a web browser. You log into your e-mail account via the Web to send and retrieve e-mail. Being able to access your e-mail from any browser anywhere in the world is a very attractive option.
Examples of web-based e-mail services are Gmail and Hotmail.