Introduction
What is SSH? Why use SSH?
SSH is a network protocol similar to telnet or FTP, yet slightly different because it offers secure data communication. Security is very important nowadays because I can say that privacy does not exist anymore. Do you want to protect your data or your customers from prying eyes? Then use SSH, the secure shell.
The best thing about SSH is that it is free and software based solution, which means low-cost or zero-cost. Another great thing about SSH is that it offers implementation for most operating systems so you don’t need to switch to another operating system to use SSH, unless you are using some alien-os.
You can use SSH for remote command-line login, remote command execution, and other secure network services. Why use SSH, when we can use FTP (file transfer protocol) or telnet? The most important reason to use SSH and not FTP or telnet is that SSH encrypts your traffic. Everything that is transfered over FTP or telnet is plain text, your passwords and your usernames. Everything.
There are other programs such as rsh for remote command execution, rcp for file transfers and rlogin for remote logins but their fundamental problem is that they do not offer security. SSH protects your data by encrypting it as it passes over the network, so only the recipients can decrypt it. SSH offers integrity, which means that it guarantees your data will arrive secure and unmodified o the end point and if a third party tries to capture and modify your data, SSH detects it.
Remember, SSH is not a product, it is a protocol. SSH specifies rules in a computer network so computers can communicate securely with each other. Be careful, because SSH will not protect your computer network from viruses, ddos attacks and trojans. SSH will create a secure tunnel for running a shell on a remote computer.
Conclusion
SSH is a protocol that conducts secure communication over a network. It covers authentication, encryption and integrity.
