Short for
Authenticated Post Office Protocol,
it is similar to the
POP
protocol except that APOP enables your
password
to be
encrypted while being transmitted over the
network. Using POP mail, when you authenticate your
username and password in your
e-mail client, your
password is sent over the
network in plain text. If
your e-mail client uses APOP, then the password is encrypted while being
transmitted. APOP prevents
hackers from seeing your
password information with
sniffer programs.
