There is a way to secure the connection from you to your mail server, however. It is the same technology that also secures e-commerce sites: SSL. If your ISP supports it, you can configure Mac OS X Mail to connect to the server via SSL, and all communication is transparently encrypted and secured.
Use SSL with an Email Account in Mac OS X Mail
To enable SSL encryption for an email account in Mac OS X Mail:
- Select Mail | Preferences… from the menu in Mac OS X Mail.
- Go to the Accounts category.
- Highlight the desired email account.
- Go to the Advanced tab.
- Make sure the Use SSL checkbox is selected.
- Clicking it will automatically change the port used to connect to the mail server. Unless your ISP gave you specific instructions concerning the port you should use, this is fine.
- Close the Accounts window.
- Click Save.
Note that SSL can reduce performance since all communication with the server needs to be encrypted.
(Updated August 2012)
