Telnet is the acronym for Telecommunication Network.
Telnet is the acronym for Telecommunication Network . This is the name of a network protocol that is used to access and operate a computer remotely. The term also allows you to name the computer program that the client implements.
Access to another computer is done in terminal mode (without any type of graphical interface) and allows faults to be solved remotely, so that the technician can deal with the problem without having to be physically next to the equipment in question. Telnet also makes it possible to remotely query data or start a session with a UNIX machine (in this case, multiple users can log in simultaneously and work with the same computer).
Another use given to this protocol is linked to access to the Bulletin Board System (BBS) , an advertising system that was the precursor of today's Internet forums.
Telnet security
The main problem with telnet is its security flaws. The information travels over the network unencrypted, allowing eavesdroppers to access data such as usernames and passwords. That's why Secure Shell (SSH) emerged in the mid- '90s , as a kind of encrypted telnet.
The SSH protocol, which represents a more secure alternative, encrypts the information prior to its transmission, and also authenticates the computer with which you are trying to connect. Likewise, it allows the use of more sophisticated user data verification than telnet. Of course, to offer this extra flow of benefits also requires more resources; In other words, a network that implements SSH must have more powerful machines than those used for telnet.
The poor security offered by telnet can be explained by analyzing its history. When this protocol was developed (in the late 1960s ), networked computers were found in academic institutions or government offices; Therefore, it was not necessary to invest resources in encrypting the data , since no person outside of said establishments had access to their computers.
PuTTY is the name given to a popular application that offers services such as serial terminal communications , telnet, SSH, rlogin, and secure file transfer via SFTP and SCP. It is worth mentioning that it is free and open source, in addition to providing its users with a high degree of customization. Regarding compatible operating systems, it supports all versions of Windows from 95, Unix and Mac OSX.
A network protocol is called telnet.
Rudiments of such a connection
When you want to start a session from a remote computer , it is possible to use the telnet command accompanied by the IP address or name of the destination computer; For example, to establish a connection to the machine tests.mydomain.com, the command line required is the following: telnet tests.mydomain.com . The same would be done if you have your IP address: telnet 0.1.2.3 .
Having established the connection successfully, it is time to provide the username and password to start a session in text mode (a virtual console without a graphical interface, which allows you to control the remote computer through commands writings).
As mentioned in previous paragraphs, data transmitted through a connection that works according to the telnet protocol does not have any type of protection or encryption. This gives other users the possibility of viewing them if they manage to access them through hacking techniques (from the English term "hack", which in this case means "gaining access to a computer or application without permission"), without having to bother. in deciphering them. It is worth mentioning that to carry out this piracy practice, programs or devices known as packet analyzers or packet sniffers are used.