Is Telnet and SSH the same?

“SSH and Telnet both as remote access protocols, are they the same? What are their similarities and differences?”

-Question from Quora

How is SSH different from Telnet?

Before learning how is SSH different from Telnet? Let’s look at what is SSH and Telnet respectively.

What is SSH and Telnet respectively?

SSH is a well-liked protocol for command-line interfaces that allows for remote access. It is frequently used by network administrators to remotely administer systems and applications. SSH enables them to connect to another computer across a network, run commands, and move files from one computer to another.

Telnet is the TCP/IP standard for virtual terminal service. It allows you to connect to a remote system in such a way that it appears to be a local system. The Telnet protocol is primarily used by network administrators to remotely access and manage network devices. It allows them to connect to the device by dialing the IP address or hostname of a remote device.

What are the differences between SSH and Telnet?

Does both SSH and Telnet are used to establish remote connections mean that SSH and Telnet are the same? Is Telnet the same as SSH? Of course not. They have many differences.

SSH connects over a network, whereas Telnet is used for out-of-band access.

SSH secures remote sessions by encrypting messages and requiring a user authentication. Telnet is considered insecure because it transmits messages in plain text.

SSH necessitates the use of the terminal emulation program PuTTY. Tera Term is required when connecting to devices via Telnet.

SSH requires an active network connection to be configured, whereas Telnet connects to a device via a console connection.

By default, SSH uses port 22, whereas Telnet uses port 23, which was designed specifically for local area networks.

SSH requires high bandwidth usage, whereas Telnet requires low bandwidth usage.

SSH can be used on all popular Operating systems to remote into a server, whereas Telnet can only be used in Linux and Windows Operating systems.

 

Bonus tip: GUI remote access software for Windows PC

Both SSH and Telnet use command lines to remotely control a server. One of the drawbacks of using command lines is that it is technically demanding. If you want an easier and more intuitive way to achieve remote access, we recommend you use the free remote support software AnyViewer. It provides you with a GUI experience, helping you achieve remote access with ease.

Step 1. Download, install, and launch AnyViewer on both your work and home computer. On the Controller computer, go to Log in, and then click Sign up. (If you already have signed up on its official website, you can log in directly.)

 Step 2. Fill in the signup information.

Step 3. Then you can see you successfully logged in to AnyViewer. Your device will automatically be assigned to the account you’ve logged in to. 

Step 4. Log in to the same AnyViewer account on the two devices, then you can achieve a direct connection by clicking One-click control to achieve unattended remote support.

Step 5. After connecting successfully, you’ll see the remote desktop. Then you can completely control it and provide remote support just like you’re sitting in front of it.

Notes:✎...

You can also upgrade your account to a Professional or Enterprise plan. What can a professional or enterprise plan brings to you:

More devices can be assigned to the same account for unattended remote support.

Connect in privacy mode to protect privacy, which means the Controller can black the remote PC screen and disable the remote keyboard & mouse click.

Faster file transfer speed. Transfer speed for a free account is 500 KB/s, and for a paid account is up to 10 MB/s.

 

The bottom line

This post primarily uncovers the answer of the question “How is SSH different from Telnet?”. Even though both SSH and Telnet are used to remotely access a server, they have many differences as we mentioned above. Besides, we also introducesAnyViewer, a free remote access tool with an GUI. With it, you can easily control a remote computer even you’re a computer novice.