Telnet is an application protocol used on the Internet or local area network to provide a bidirectional interactive text-oriented communication facility using a virtual terminal connection.
Telnet provided access to a command-line interface on a remote host.
- However, because of serious security concerns when using Telnet over an open network such as the Internet, its use for this purpose has waned significantly in favor of SSH.
- The term telnet is also used to refer to the software that implements the client part of the protocol.
- Telnet client applications are available for virtually all computer platforms.
- Telnet is also used as a verb.
- To telnet means to establish a connection using the Telnet protocol, either with a command line client or with a graphical interface.
- For example, a common directive might be: "To change your password, telnet into the server, log in and run the passwd command." In most cases, a user would be telnetting into a Unix-like server system or a network device (such as a router).
