I was reading an article about emailing, and pretty soon my head was just swimming with those abbreviations computer geniuses are so fond of using. IP, TCP, SMTP, POP, POP3, IMAP – just what are these?

In order to start understanding them, we have to know what the abbreviations stand for and their definition:

IP – Internet Protocol – The method by which information is sent between any two computers on the internet.

TCP – Transmission Control Protocol – A protocol developed for the internet to get data from one network device to another.

SMTP – Simple Mail Transfer Protocol – An internet standard for electronic mail (e-mail) transmission across Internet Protocol.

POP – Post Office Protocol – Standard protocol used by local email clients to retrieve emails.

POP3 – Post Office Protocol 3 – The most recent version of a standard protocol to retrieve email.

IMAP – Internet Message Access Protocol – One of two most prevalent internet standard protocols for retrieving emails which provides the user more capabilities for retaining email on the server and for organizing it in folders on the server.