VMS Help TCPIP Services, POP  *Conan The Librarian (sorry for the slow response - running on an old VAX)

    With SMTP and the Post Office Protocol (POP) functionality, you
    can receive and send OpenVMS mail from your PC.

    POP is a mail repository that accepts and stores your mail even
    when the PC is turned off. At your request, the POP server reads
    mail from your OpenVMS NEWMAIL folder, then moves the mail to
    your MAIL folder.

    To send and receive mail on your PC, make sure the system manager
    has configured the POP server for use on your PC (the POP client
    system).

    To set up your POP client account, use one of the following
    methods:

    o  On networks where maximum security is not required, enter your
       PC mail application and configure a user name and password in
       to the system.

       The user name and password pair becomes authorization
       information for the TCP/IP system, not your POP client
       system. Your PC client sends the password to the POP server
       unencrypted.

       As an added security measure, POP permits only two user name
       and password authorization attempts per TCP connection.

    o  On networks where maximum security is required, enter your
       PC mail account and configure a user name and shared-secret
       password in to the system.

       This method is called the APOP authorization method where you
       store a shared-secret password in a one-line file named POP_
       SECRET.DAT in your default OpenVMS mail directory.

       You can use the DCL command CREATE or your text editor to
       create the file and specify a password string, then set the
       file protection to prevent other users from accessing it. For
       example:

       $ SET DEFAULT USER$DISK:[JONES.MAIL]
       $ CREATE POP_SECRET.DAT
       xyztancreff <Ctrl/Z>
       $ SET FILE/PROT=(s,w,g,o:rwed) POP_SECRET.DAT

       The shared-secret password cannot exceed 500 characters.

       Each time you enter your PC mail application, the shared-
       secret string is sent from the PC client to the POP server
       using an encryption process.