Use SSL with IMAP

Mail.dll IMAP component supports Secure Socket Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols to authenticate the server and secure client-server communication.

There are two modes in which Mail.dll can work:

• Implicit – where Mail.dll IMAP client immediately connects using secure channel,
• Explicit – where Mail.dll IMAP client connects on unsecured channel first and then secures the communication by issuing STARTTLS command. This mode is sometimes called TLS.

In both cases, by default, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) 3.0 and Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.0 – 1.2 are acceptable for secure communication. You can change the defaults using Imap.SSLConfiguration property.

Imap client may decide to secure the channel, if IMAP server explicitly forbids logging-in on unsecured channel and you are using UseBestLogin method.

IMAP implicit SSL mode

Mail.dll IMAP component connects using secure SSL channel. You need to know in advance, if the server supports SSL connections – ask your administrator. Typically, IMAP over SSL is associated with port 993, but this is not always the case. You can always specify different then standard port by using ConnectSSL method overloads.

// C# version

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using Limilabs.Client.IMAP;
using Limilabs.Mail;

class Program
{
    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        using (Imap imap = new Imap())
        {
            imap.ConnectSSL("imap.example.com");
            imap.UseBestLogin("user", "password");

            imap.SelectInbox();

            List<long> uids = imap.Search(Flag.Unseen);

            foreach (long uid in uids)
            {
                var eml = imap.GetMessageByUID(uid);
                IMail email = new MailBuilder()
                    .CreateFromEml(eml);

                Console.WriteLine(email.Subject);
            }
            imap.Close();
        }
    }
}

' VB.NET version

Imports System
Imports System.Collections.Generic
Imports Limilabs.Client.IMAP
Imports Limilabs.Mail

Public Module Module1
    Public Sub Main(ByVal args As String())

        Using imap As New Imap()
            imap.ConnectSSL("imap.example.com")
            imap.UseBestLogin("user", "password")

            imap.SelectInbox()

            Dim uids As List(Of Long) = imap.Search(Flag.Unseen)

            For Each uid As Long In uids
                Dim eml = imap.GetMessageByUID(uid)
                Dim email As IMail = New MailBuilder() _
                        .CreateFromEml(eml)

                Console.WriteLine(email.Subject)
            Next
            imap.Close()
        End Using

    End Sub
End Module

IMAP explicit SSL mode

Mail.dll IMAP component connects using clear text channel and secures the channel using SSL by issuing STARTTLS command. Typically standard IMAP port 143 is used, but this is not always the case. You can always specify different then standard port using Connect method overloads.

// C# version

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using Limilabs.Mail;
using Limilabs.Client.IMAP;

class Program
{
    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        using (Imap imap = new Imap())
        {
            imap.Connect("imap.example.com");
            imap.StartTLS();

            imap.UseBestLogin("user", "password");

            imap.SelectInbox();

            List<long> uids = imap.Search(Flag.Unseen);

            foreach (long uid in uids)
            {
                var eml = imap.GetMessageByUID(uid);
                IMail email = new MailBuilder()
                    .CreateFromEml(eml);

                Console.WriteLine(email.Subject);
            }
            imap.Close();
        }
    }
}

' VB.NET version

Imports System
Imports System.Collections.Generic
Imports Limilabs.Mail
Imports Limilabs.Client.IMAP

Public Module Module1
    Public Sub Main(ByVal args As String())

        Using imap As New Imap()
            imap.Connect("imap.example.com")
            imap.StartTLS()

            imap.UseBestLogin("user", "password")

            imap.SelectInbox()

            Dim uids As List(Of Long) = imap.Search(Flag.Unseen)

            For Each uid As Long In uids
                Dim eml = imap.GetMessageByUID(uid)
                Dim email As IMail = New MailBuilder() _
                        .CreateFromEml(eml)

                Console.WriteLine(email.Subject)
            Next
            imap.Close()
        End Using

    End Sub
End Module

After you connect, you can check, if your IMAP server supports explicit SSL using following code:

// C# version

bool supportsStartTLS = imap.SupportedExtensions()
   .Contains(ImapExtension.StartTLS);

' VB.NET version

Dim supportsStartTLS As Boolean = imap.SupportedExtensions() _
   .Contains(ImapExtension.StartTLS)

You can read more here on how to know which extensions does your server support.

Common problems

If you are using self-signed certificates you may encounter this error: The remote certificate is invalid according to the validation procedure.

Tags: C# IMAP IMAP component SSL TLS VB.NET