Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Web Hosting : do I need SSH account?

[vinboy]

hi
I see some webhost offer SSH account in the hosting package.
Can someone tell me what can I do with the SSH account?
What are the typical scenarios where SSH is used?

thanks in advance

[vinboy]

From hostmonster website i get this:

Problem
How can I get SSH/Shell access on my account?

Solution
In order to enable SSH for your account, you must either fax or submit a ticket of a copy of your photo ID (i.e., driver’s license, passport, etc.).

Why do they need ID to setup SSH?

[E.Emile]

Hi,
You will be able to access the account via an ssh client program using ssh command anyway i think you dont need this option since you don't have info about it, you could build your web presence without using any ssh command

[ante]

as E.Emile said u do not need it ,
but some one need it if wanna sell something using secure connection

[Kohrar]

Originally Posted by vinboy

From hostmonster website i get this:


Why do they need ID to setup SSH?

It's usual for a host to require some sort of ID (or at least a reason) before providing SSH access. This is just to keep track who gets access on their server in case something happens.

[ylsy]

How do you otherwise upload your files onto your hosting account securely, as FTP pretty much transmits everything in plain text over the network? You probably don't need shell access, but you should still get it to use SFTP.

[whmanaged]

Well some people use SSH to upload files via the "wget" command this allowing you to say:

wget http://domain.com/file.zip

This will download the file right to the server... Also, you can setup TeamSpeak with SSH, start stop services, extract rar, zip, ect...

Need more info?

[iastaff]

Originally Posted by ante

as E.Emile said u do not need it ,
but some one need it if wanna sell something using secure connection

I disagree. Thats what ssl (https) is for.

Originally Posted by ylsy

How do you otherwise upload your files onto your hosting account securely, as FTP pretty much transmits everything in plain text over the network? You probably don't need shell access, but you should still get it to use SFTP.

You can use sftp without ssh access period. Just about any ftp client, using cuteftp as an example, supports sftp. I see absolutely no reason why you would need ssh access. Most server administrators reserve this specifically for themselves for administrative purposes only. SSH commands are far too powerful for clients who don't know what they are doing or those who don't know ssh commands.

[vinboy]

Originally Posted by whmanaged

Well some people use SSH to upload files via the "wget" command this allowing you to say:

wget http://domain.com/file.zip

This will download the file right to the server... Also, you can setup TeamSpeak with SSH, start stop services, extract rar, zip, ect...

Need more info?

Wow this seems pretty cool. So it's kind of like VPN without the root acccess.

[dwrunyon]

I need it for setting up cron jobs.

[Phil McKerracher]

Changing ownership of directories, searching files, partial backups and setting up symlinks are other things that control panels often can't do without SSH access. (Also secure file transfer and setting up cron jobs, as others have already mentioned.) Without SSH access you'll need to get support to do all these things for you, which takes time.

There are disadvantages though. As well as the security risk, allowing SSH means it's easy to inadvertently use lots of CPU and get yourself banned.

[iastaff]

Originally Posted by vinboy

Wow this seems pretty cool. So it's kind of like VPN without the root acccess.

There are soooo many things ssh can do. Most people have never even heard of it. And those that have, don't fully understand what else it can do.

[PluginHost]

With SSH, you can easily upload a zip file and unzip it via SSH which is a lot faster uploading files one by one. Also, you could install alternative Softwares if your webhoster allows you to or permits you to.

[bqinternet]

Originally Posted by iastaff

You can use sftp without ssh access period.

SFTP and SCP require SSH access, just not shell access. It's shell access (whether it's over SSH, telnet, or otherwise) that is usually the issue.

[IsaacHeng]

Can you do the equivalent of mysqldump without ssh? Using phpmyadmin for example? Are they the same? Thanks.