Once you get ssh going, the only real difference between using that and telnet is that you type ssh somewhere.org instead of telnet somewhere.org. If the system you are connecting to via ssh is one where you also have an account with the same name, you can exchange public keys between the .ssh directory you have on each system and make it so you don't even have to use a password when jumping from one system to another. If you aren't careful and let somebody have your password in to one of the systems, they, of course, have access to all of them so you need to be very careful how and where you use this feature, but it is quite useful in some instances. You also should keep track of the security bulletins regarding ssh and sshd. Occasionally, holes are discovered in ssh that either let the bad guys in or allow a bad guy or girl to send traffic to a system that prevents proper users from logging in. Either way, you loose control of your system and any systems they are connected to. Remember that if you don't expect to log in to a given system but will only use that system to make connections to the big wide world, you don't need to run sshd on that box because sshd is the daemon that accepts connections from other places. It also is used when you use scp so you'll just have to decide whether or not you will need it. It is very good technology, the price is right, and the manual is good and useful. Read it to learn how to generate and handle your keys safely. Martin McCormick WB5AGZ Stillwater, OK OSU Center for Computing and Information Services Network Operations Group