Re: Please help access gmail with IMAP

[Jack <ostroffjh users sourceforge net>]

Normally I wouldn't bother following up such an old message, but I  
found this in my archive when searching for help regarding some new  
password problems I'm having, and it struck a nerve.  (I may post more  
about my new problem, but in a separate thread, if I don't solve it  
soon.)

I'm curious whether Gerardo ever got things working.  It's also  
interesting to see that the gmail "less secure app" issue has been  
around for that long.  Gerardo - if you see some other more recent  
posts to this list, it turns out that message means only that the  
application does not use OAuth2, which is something Google has been  
pushing for a while, but it appears to be debatable whether it is  
really at all relevant for a standard desktop application.  It's  
debatable (at best) whether it really indicates any security issue at  
all.

On 2015.04.06 15:33, Gerardo Ballabio wrote:
> Thanks for your answer Peter.
>
> In fact, when I checked my mailbox again, I found that Google sent me  
> a message to inform that they had blocked an attempt to access my  
> account and if that was really me, there's a configuration switch to  
> enable access to "less secure applications".
>
> But before I do that, as I don't know to what extent it might weaken  
> the security of my account, I'll try changing Balsa's settings as you  
> suggest to see whether that makes it "more secure".
>
> Gerardo
>
> 2015-04-06 1:07 GMT+02:00, Peter Bloomfield  
> <peterbloomfield bellsouth net>:
> > Hello Gerardo!
> >
> > On 04/05/2015 06:48:32 PM Sun, Gerardo Ballabio wrote:
> >> Hello all,
> > > I tried to configure Balsa to access my gmail account with IMAP,  
> > > but failed. Please help. For the moment I'm only interested in  
> > > reading email, not sending.
> >>
> > > Gmail instructions say I should first activate IMAP in the Gmail  
> > > settings. I've done that. Then they say I should set up my email  
> > > client as follows:
> >>
> >> Incoming mail server (IMAP), SSL required
> >> - imap.gmail.com
> >> - port: 993
> >> - requires SSL: yes
> >>
> >> So I opened Balsa, clicked Edit/Preferences/Remote mailbox
> > ...
> >>
> >> I figured that Remote IMAP mailbox might not be the right choice  
> and
> >> tried Remote IMAP folder too.
> >
> > Yes, that's the right choice!
> >
> >> I filled the fields:
> >> - Descriptive name: gmail
> >> - Server: imap.gmail.com
> >> - User name: gerardo ballabio gmail com
> >> - Password: <my gmail password>
> >> - Anonymous access: not ticked
> >> - Remember password in keyring: ticked
> >> - Subscribed folders only: not ticked
> >> - Always show INBOX: ticked
> >> - Prefix: <blank>
> >> - Advanced/Use SSL: ticked
> >> - Advanced/Use TLS: If Possible (greyed out)
> >> - Advanced/Max number of connections: 20
> >> - Advanced/Enable persistent cache: ticked
> >> - Advanced/Use IDLE command: not ticked
> >> - Advanced/Enable bug workarounds: not ticked
> >> - Advanced/Use STATUS for mailbox checking: not ticked
> >
> > That's a close match to what I use, except that I have ticked  
> > "Enable bug workarounds" (and "Use STATUS for mailbox checking", but  
> > that's probably irrelevant). GMail is a quirky IMAP server, and you  
> > may really need the workarounds.
> >
> > > This time it seems Balsa doesn't even let me try to open the  
> > > folder: when I click on it in the left pane, it doesn't move the  
> > > focus.
> >
> > If using the bug workarounds doesn't fix the issue, try running  
> > Balsa from the command line with the "-D" option--you'll see a  
> > transcript of the dialog with the GMail server on the console, and  
> > it may give you a hint as to what's going wrong. Don't post the  
> > transcript to the list without *very* carefully sanitizing it,  
> > though.
> >
> > HTH!
> >
> > Peter