Someone once stated that telnet(1) was the coolest
thing he had ever seen on computers. The ability to remotely log in and do
stuff on another computer is what seperates
Unix and
Unix-like operating systems from
other operating systems.
telnet allows you to log in to a computer, just as if you
were sitting at the terminal. Once your username and password are verified,
you are given a shell prompt. From here, you can do anything requiring a text
console. Compose email, read newsgroups, move files around, and so on. If
you are running X and you telnet to a machine from an
xterm, you can run X programs on the remote computer and
display them on yours. See the section called Exporting displays in Chapter 6 for more information.
To login to a remote machine, use this syntax:
If the host responds, you will receive a login prompt. Give it your username
and password. That's it. You are now at a shell. To quit your
telnet session, use either the exit
command or the logout command.
 | IMPORTANT NOTE: telnet does not
encrypt the information it sends. Everything is sent in plain text, even
passwords. It is not advisable to use telnet over the
Internet. Instead, consider the Secure Shell. It encrypts all traffic and
is available for free. See http://www.ssh.org/ for more information. |