Popcorn 1.99.8 (June 2022)
Popcorn is a lightweight and portable email client for Windows that was developed by Ultrafunk (ultrafunk.com) and provided as freeware (open source). Development and support ended in 2012, the last release was 1.99.3, still available through Archive.org and some download sites (e.g. The Portable Freeware Collection).
Because I like to use Popcorn and want to keep this nice program, I created an update, based on the original code, with the following improvements:
- support for TLS (i.e. encrypted connections using TLS instead of SSL)
- an updated help file that can be invoked via menu and F1 key (in the main window)
- the former mailbox info function, now available via menu and F6 key.
Installation
Download and extract 
popcorn.zip to a folder of your choice. The program itself (popcorn.exe) doesn't require any installation procedures and uses the program folder for mail account configuration data.
Please observe the included read-me file.
SSL/TLS
As described in the program documentation, Popcorn optionally uses two additional modules (DLL files) for SSL/TLS that are based on the OpenSSL development. As of Popcorn 1.99.8 the version of these OpenSSL libraries can be selected. This allows the alternative usage of newer DLL variants.
At present, OpenSSL versions 3.0 and higher are current. The previous version 1.1.1 and the version 1.0.2 formerly used by Popcorn are now outdated.
The version is selected via a new settings value SSLLibraries.
The following table provides an overview of the versions and associated DLL files.
| OpenSSL Version | Libraries | SSLLibraries |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0.2 | ssleay32.dll + libeay32.dll | 0 (default) |
| 1.1.1 | libssl-1_1.dll + libcrypto-1_1.dll | 1 |
| 3.x | libssl-3.dll + libcrypto-3.dll | 2 |
The OpenSSL project offers the source code of the libraries for download, but informally also refers to some binary distributions. This includes download addresses for the Win32 DLLs mentioned as part of prepared packages.
For usage, choose an edition of the libraries for 32-bit Windows, preferably without external dependencies. Download the package and extract or copy the two DLL files into the Popcorn folder. If necessary, set the value of SSLLibraries accordingly in Popcorn (Settings dialog) and restart the program.
System Conditions:
The DLLs of the newer OpenSSL versions depend on Windows API functions that do not exist before Windows Vista. Note that some provided binaries may have additional dependencies (e.g. Microsoft Visual Studio runtime DLLs).
Authentication Methods
Popcorn supports the mail protocols POP3 and SMTP, which allow login using a user name and password. At the moment, support for other authentication methods (e.g. OAuth2) is not planned.
Source Code
The file popcorn_source.zip contains the original code of version 1.99.3 together with the updated source files.
License, Notes
Ultrafunk's license allows usage and alterations of the original source code as long as the resulting applications are still unlimited freeware.
Please note that you download and use this program at your own risk, for I do not assume any warranty or responsibility.
