(
Secure
SHell) A security protocol for logging into a remote server. SSH provides an encrypted session for transferring files and executing server programs on all platforms. Also serving as a secure client/server connection for applications such as database access and email, SSH supports a variety of authentication methods. See
headless system.
SSH was developed in the mid-1990s by Helsinki University researcher Tatu Ylönen as a secure alternative to non-secure telnet, rlogin and rsh programs for Unix servers. SSH-2, a more advanced version introduced in 1998, was standardized by the IETF and is not compatible with SSH-1.
Secure File Transfer: SCP and SFTP
Secure Copy Protocol (SCP) is a version of the Unix remote copy (rcp) command that is widely supported on Unix systems running SSH-1. The SSH File Transfer Program (SFTP) was developed by the IETF for transferring files with SSH-2.
OpenSSH
An open-source version of SSH is available from the OpenSSH group as well as commercial vendors such as SSH Communications Security Corporation, the company founded by Ylönen. See
FTPS.