IMAP via SSH via dial-up?

[Michael Hipp]

Ken Moffat wrote:
> Michael Hipp wrote:
> 
>> Would this work or would it be so slow as to be unusable?
>>
>> Explanation: I now have 4 locations (4 machines) where I spend enough 
>> time working that I need to monitor my e-mail while there. Downloading 
>> the same e-mails to 4 different machines and sorting through what is 
>> new or not is unbearable. Some of the locations only have dial-up. I 
>> don't want to open any holes into my main server to anything other 
>> than SSH - it's the one thing I truly trust.
>>
>> So can I set up IMAP on my server, use fetchmail to download the 
>> stuff, and then port-forward SSH into it so I can see my email from 
>> Thunderchicken? (I'm just not really familiar with how IMAP works.)
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Michael
>>
> 
> I'd use imap ssl, which uses port 993, and point thunderbird at it, 
> although I guess you would have to open that port.

I've become experienced enough with SSH to trust it. And it has an enviable 
record of security.

Can the same be said of SSL? To me it has never been anything more than an 
on-the-fly encryption scheme to prevent eavesdropping but does no real 
authentication (of the public/private key variety).

So I hear ya on SSL, I'm just stuck thinking of it as a lightweight.

Any information/insights appreciated ...

Michael