RE: pop3 over telnet and clear text passwords

["David Gillett" <gillettdavid () fhda edu>]

  Nothing except the machine in front of you knows that the
application you're using is telnet and not some specialized 
POP3 client app.  The cleartext transmission of the password
is part of the POP3 protocol (part of what allows you to use
Telnet in this way...); it would be sent in cleartext even if
you were not using Telnet.

  If cleartext passwords are a concern (i.e., traffic may be
sniffed), then you need to move from POP3 to some more secure
protocol.  This may mean forcing users to change what email
client they use, and you will also need to change your support
procedure....

David Gillett


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Murad Talukdar [mailto:talukdar_m () subway com]
> Sent: Wednesday, March 31, 2004 7:47 PM
> To: security-basics () lists securityfocus com
> Subject: pop3 over telnet and clear text passwords
>
>
> I often use pop3 over telnet to check on email boxes some 
> users have.(ie
> that they've been setup properly) How do I mask the fact that the
> username/password is transmitted as clear text?(If I can?)
> Thanks
> Murad Talukdar


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