Preface
Privacy is a basic human right, but on today's computer
networks, privacy isn't guaranteed. Much of the data that
travels on the Internet or local networks is transmitted as plain
text, and may be captured and viewed by anybody with a little
technical know-how. The email you send, the files you transmit
between computers, even the passwords you type may be readable by
others. Imagine the damage that can be done if an untrusted third
party -- a competitor, the CIA, your in-laws -- intercepted
your most sensitive communications in transit.
Network security is big business as companies scramble to protect
their information assets behind firewalls, establish virtual private
networks (VPNs), and encrypt files and transmissions. But hidden away
from all the bustle, there is a small, unassuming, yet robust
solution many big companies have missed. It's reliable,
reasonably easy to use, cheap, and available for most of
today's operating systems.
It's SSH, the Secure Shell.
0.1. Protect Your Network with SSH
SSH is a
low-cost, software-based solution for keeping prying eyes away from
the data on a network. It doesn't solve every privacy and
security problem, but it eliminates several of them effectively. Its
major features are:
- A secure, client/server protocol for encrypting and transmitting data
over a network
- Authentication (recognition) of users by password, host, or public
key, plus optional integration with other popular authentication
systems, including Kerberos, SecurID, PGP, TIS Gauntlet, and PAM
- The ability to add security to insecure network applications such as
Telnet, FTP, and many other TCP/IP-based programs and protocols
- Almost complete transparency to the end user
- Implementations for most operating systems
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