Difference between SSH and Telnet.


There are various application programs that we can use to access the resources of a remote machine. Telnet and SSH are the primary client server application programs that use remote terminal service which allows a user at one site to interact with a remote timesharing system at another site as if the user’s keyboard and a display is connected directly to the remote machine. Telnet and SSH both are Layer7 application layer protocols and both use TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) at the transport layer.

In this article, we will discuss the important differences between SSH and Telnet. But before going into the differences, let's start with some basics.

What is SSH?

SSH stands for Secure Shell or Secure Socket Shell. SSH is a cryptographic system protocol which allows two computers to communicate and share the data over an insecure computer network. SSH supports secure access to users and automated procedures. It enables the users to deal with the network infrastructure and different critical system elements securely. The SSH protocol was developed by SSH Communication Security Ltd for establishing a safe and secure connection with remote systems.

What is Telnet?

Telnet is the joint abbreviation of Telecommunications and Networks and it is a networking protocol best known for UNIX platform designed specifically for local area networks. It is a network protocol which enables us to connect to a computer remotely and it allows a two-way collaborative text based communication channel between the two computers.

Telnet uses TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) for creating remote sessions between two computers. Telnet is commonly used by such computer user who needs to access certain data or program on a remote computer system.

Difference between SSH and Telnet

The following table highlights the important differences between Telnet and SSH −

Key Telnet SSH
Definition Telnet is the joint abbreviation of Telecommunications and Networks and it is a networking protocol best known for UNIX platform designed specifically for local area networks. SSH or Secure Shell is a program to log into another computer over a network, to execute commands in a remote machine, and to move files from one machine to another.
Operation Telnet uses the port 23 and it was designed specifically for local area networks. SSH on other hand runs on port 22 by default however it can be easily changed.
Security As compared to SSH, Telnet is less secured. SSH is a very secure protocol because it shares and sends the information in encrypted form
Data format Telnet transfers the data in simple plain text. SSH uses Encrypted format to send data and also uses a secure channel.
Authentication No authentication or privileges are provided for user's authentication. SSH is more secure, so it uses public key encryption for authentication.
Preference Due to its less security provisions, Telnet is recommended only for private networks. SSH is suitable for Public networks.

Conclusion

The most significant difference between SSH and Telnet is that Telnet transfers the data in the form of simple plaintext, whereas SSH uses encrypted format for data transmission and also it uses a secure channel.

Updated on: 02-Dec-2022

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