I run an IMAP server in the garage so that I can have my e-mail and folders in a central location. I have a domain name that I point to zoneedit.com and use ddclient to update the IP address. From Windows, I access the IMAP using an ssh tunnel with the fine PuTTY ssh client. From Linux, I just use the command line. I setup a local ssh IMAP tunnel to the potter machine which sets up the tunnel via the localhost:
$ sudo ssh -L143:potter:143 karg.us

I can then read email using Mozilla Thunderbird by configuring IMAP to use localhost on the standard port (143).

Happy Jet

ssh tunneling is also handy for troubleshooting. To do remote troubleshooting, a remote desktop control tool is need, and I use Tight VNC. To launch a Tight VNC session to help my wife restart the printer queue, I run:
$ ssh -L5901:wilbur:5900 karg.us
$ xtightvncviewer -encodings "tight copyrect" localhost:1

Simple, right?