IMAP offers several advantages (and some disadvantages) to POP when it comes to getting your email off of our server. Please refer to another posting for more on this.

If you decide to make the switch in your local email client software, here are steps you need to take

In your email client software, open the account settings and create a new IMAP account. You can’t simply change a POP account into IMAP, you need to create a new account.
After the IMAP account has been created, you will need to either delete the old POP account, or just prevent it from checking for new email. If you decide to delete the account, be aware that in many email clients, removing an account will also delete all the mail associated with that account. Be sure to either move the old Inbox and Sent Mail folder to a local folder on your hard disk, or copy it to the new Inbox and Sent Mail folders on the IMAP server.

If you want to keep the old POP account setup in your email client software, be sure to prevent it from checking for new mail. Here’s how to do this with various popular email clients:

Thunderbird

• Select Account Settings from the Tools menu.
• You should see your account listed on the left. Click Server Settings under your account, and UN-check both “Check for new messages at startup” and “Check for new messages ever __ minutes”

Outlook Express (or Windows Mail under Vista)

• Select Accounts from the Tools menu.
• Double-click on you account to access the settings for that account.
• In the “General” tab, Uncheck the box that says “Include this account when receiving mail…”
• Click the Apply button, then OK.

Apple Mail

• Select Preferences under the Mail menu
• Click the Accounts icon along the top if it is not already selected.
• Click your account in the list on the left, it it is not already selected
• Uncheck the box that says “Enable this account”
• Close the Preferences window and save changes when prompted.