Usisng Outlook Express to access an IMPA Exchange account

We have a new dealer who uses Outlook Express to manage several different
email acccounts he has. Normally dealers connect to our systems using and
RDP connection and run a terminal server session where they then run our
Outlook 2002 client to access their email locally on the exchange server.
However, this dealer has just asked if he can access his email account on
our Exchange 2000 server using his Outlook Express client with an IMAP
configuration instead of having to log onto a terminal server session to do
so.

I am pretty sure this is do-able without any problems, but my question is
regarding security. Is this something that I should not worry about too much
or are there any major security ramifications of allowing this type of a
direct connection to our server? There will not be a VPN connection or an
SSL involved either... This user will just have an internet connection
through his provider and then connect to our server - no VPN/SSL connection
(not sure if either of these should be used for this type of thing or
not...) Just how secure is a direct IMAP connection from an Outlook Express
client to an Exchange 2000 server across the internet?

What else should I be thinking about?

Thanks, Brad

Kevin
Thu Jan 24 16:06:00 CST 2008

First, you need to enable the IMAP service on your SBS box, as by default
both the POP3 and IMAP virtual servers are stopped on SBS.
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=837368

You don't say if you are using ISA 2000 or not.

--
Kevin Weilbacher [SBS MVP]
"The days pass by so quickly now, the nights are seldom long"
*

"Brad Pears" <bradp@truenorthloghomes.com> wrote in message
news:uxLKNzpXIHA.4140@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> We have a new dealer who uses Outlook Express to manage several different
> email acccounts he has. Normally dealers connect to our systems using and
> RDP connection and run a terminal server session where they then run our
> Outlook 2002 client to access their email locally on the exchange server.
> However, this dealer has just asked if he can access his email account on
> our Exchange 2000 server using his Outlook Express client with an IMAP
> configuration instead of having to log onto a terminal server session to
> do so.
>
> I am pretty sure this is do-able without any problems, but my question is
> regarding security. Is this something that I should not worry about too
> much or are there any major security ramifications of allowing this type
> of a direct connection to our server? There will not be a VPN connection
> or an SSL involved either... This user will just have an internet
> connection through his provider and then connect to our server - no
> VPN/SSL connection (not sure if either of these should be used for this
> type of thing or not...) Just how secure is a direct IMAP connection from
> an Outlook Express client to an Exchange 2000 server across the internet?
>
> What else should I be thinking about?
>
> Thanks, Brad
>