Possible to install/run browser WebMail client on a single computer?

[LoneCrusader]

To make a long story short, I am profoundly annoyed by Yahoo's recent decision to discontinue Yahoo! Mail Classic and force users to use their new garbage interface.

I have been using Yahoo Mail for approximately 14 years and always found it superior to any of the other "free" services, but no longer. The only "alternatives" that users are given are 1) use IMAP to access mail with another program, and, 2) delete your account. Unfortunately I do need/want to keep my Yahoo address along with the years of correspondence, etc etc that I have stored there, or else I would do the latter.


So, to the point:

Is it possible to install and run a browser WebMail client such as Squirrel Mail on a single computer? And, if so, can I use it + IMAP to access Yahoo?

I visited the Squirrel Mail site, but most of the documentation all pertains to using it on Web Servers, or within internal organization networks, so I don't know if it is possible to use it how I want to.

Edited July 28, 2013 by LoneCrusader

[allen2]

While i understand your point, i think you're misunderstanding how webmail works.

A webmail is just a "proxy" that convert web request to another mail protocol (imap/pop3/smtp/mapi..). If you want to host a webmailserver application, you'll still need the imap connections to yahoo servers.

Then if you're ok with that, you'll have to setup squirrelmail using the admin guide after installing a webserver with php (see requirements) and set it to connect to yahoo imap servers (if yahoo has support for imaps, i would strongly advise to use it instead of imap). It will be a complex setup but it is definitely possible.

[LoneCrusader]

While i understand your point, i think you're misunderstanding how webmail works.

A webmail is just a "proxy" that convert web request to another mail protocol (imap/pop3/smtp/mapi..). If you want to host a webmailserver application, you'll still need the imap connections to yahoo servers.

Then if you're ok with that, you'll have to setup squirrelmail using the admin guide after installing a webserver with php (see requirements) and set it to connect to yahoo imap servers (if yahoo has support for imaps, i would strongly advise to use it instead of imap). It will be a complex setup but it is definitely possible.

I knew I would still need the IMAP connection to Yahoo. What I didn't know is, do I have to actually set up a separate machine as a Web Server on my local network in order (for the sole purpose of) to run/access SquirrelMail and use it to connect to an "outside" network?

Your reply indicates that I do. I was hoping that since I don't want to use it to access an "internal/local" network(mail server) that I might be able to somehow run it directly on/from the client machine for accessing the "external" Yahoo mail servers.

Ugh that probably doesn't make sense either.. lol

[allen2]

You can install squirellmail and the webserver on your client computer (it will become a webmail server). The webmail client and webmail server will be on the same computer.

[LoneCrusader]

Hmmm... Looks like I've got my work cut out for me. And a crash course in subjects I've not delved into before.

Thanks for the help... I'll get there eventually, but it's probably going to take a while before I can have enough time to devote to the project.