Telnet/SSH

Telnet/SSH

Telnet  is a program that emulates a computer terminal, allowing you to view information on site rather than downloading it to your personal computer for viewing. This is extremely useful if you need to view large amounts of information, such as all the files and folders on a web site, or a library catalog for example. Imagine how long it would take for you to download a web page containing the entire catalog of book titles from just a city library! With Telnet, you are able to actually view the information on the library site, eliminating the download time. 

Telnet is not graphics capable, does not play sound files and is not one tiny bit entertaining. But it is the best tool to use for certain tasks.  You will have a white screen with black text, much like the old DOS screen only in reverse. 

Telnet is much like a DOS program in both use and appearance, requiring specific typewritten commands. There are "power" uses for Telnet, but only Advanced Users will be able to understand or implement them. The novice user will probably not need to use Telnet very much or very often, but some basic knowledge of it will be useful.

NOTE: Our sites require secure telnet to access.

Once you are logged in you will see several lines of text scroll down the screen. When it is finished you will see a blinking cursor after a word that may look something like this:
helius:~$
This is called the prompt, and indicates the name of the server machine you are logged into.  That is where you will begin entering your commands.

 

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