Background

SSH is a secure protocol for communicating with a remote computer. As a command-line tool, it acts as a secure alternative to telnet. As a file-transfer tool (Secure FTP, or SFTP), it acts as a secure alternative to ftp.

Requirements

  • An account on a Linux server
  • An SSH client (look here if you don't already have one)

Starting an SSH session

  1. Start up your SSH client and create a new connection.
  2. Specify the host to be the server you have an account on.
  3. Specify the user to be your username on that server. This name is case-sensitive.
  4. If asked for a port number, you should choose 22.
  5. You should be asked for your password. After entering this, you should be presented with a command-prompt, at which you may begin typing Unix commands.

Ending an SSH session

At the command line, simply type "exit". Close your SSH client if it is still open.