How does POP work?

H

HyperNerd

New Member
Hey guys, I hope one of you can help me...

I am trying to find out how POP3 (Email) can reach my computer, without having to set up port forwarding on my router. :confused:

The goal of my project is to send data to a computer on another network without that user having to forward any ports at his end. No offense to him, but he is not the most technically minded individual to walk the Earth, and I want the least hassle for him as possible.

As a side note, I will be using VB.NET to write the software.

Thanks in advance,

-HyperNerd
 
Any POP email should be able to reach your computer without doing anything to the router. POP email uses ports that are already open on the router.
 
Thanks for the reply!

Maybe I didn't make my original question clear enough... Anyway, here is the revised version, with an example.

My Network:
ISP -> Router -> PC 'A'
v​
PC 'B'​

(Router connected to 'A' and 'B')

With normal data, I waould need to forward port X to PC 'A' if I wanted to send data to it on port X. If I needed to send data to 'B', I would need to forward a different port to that PC, and send the data on that port.

Email does not require this port forwarding, and just 'knows' which PC to send the data to.
My question is, how does it differentiate between PC 'A' and PC 'B'?

-HyperNerd
 
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