Video Integrations - Telnet Support

Telnet

What is telnet and do I need it?

Telnet is a protocol that allows you to virtually access your files as if you were using a computer terminal at the server. Most users don't need telnet unless they are compiling software or setting permissions on programs. Please contact us if you need telnet access.

The implementation of telnet that we use is called SSH, it's more secure than regular telnet, to gain telnet access you will need to download SSH software by clicking here. (Click Here for Macintosh version).

Program Setup:

Protocol: SSH
Hostname: yourname.com
Port: 22
Cipher: 3DES
Authentication: RSA (**you may try password**)

** After entering password authentication try connecting. You will be prompted for your username and password. If you cannot connect you will need to use RSA.

To create a key click 'Advanced' then 'Create Identity File'

Copy and paste this RSA key created into the SSH button in your control, it will also ask for your IP address, click OK, wait 10 minutes and click connect and you're in via telnet.

Why we use SSH:

As the internet grows it is more frequently the subject of security breaches. The easiest way to hack a web site is to setup a sniff program, usually at an ISP and grab the username and password where a user is logging into. This is very easily done when a client uses telnet because telnet passes all information to the server in clear text. When we allowed users to access our network with telnet we had at least one hack attempt per day. Successful hack attempts result in damaged or destroyed sites, stolen information, and FBI investigations.

Video Integrations now has one of the most secure networks thanks to the cooperation of all shell account users who are abandoning telnet and accessing their account via Secure Shell (SSH). SSH does not pass any information in clear text but rather uses secure encryption.

To get started with SSH, you must do the following:

A. Acquire client side software

There are two companies we recommend who sell client versions of SSH.

1) The most stable is SecureCRT. They have a 30 day free trial available at their web site. SecureCRT is at http://www.vandyke.com/products/SecureCRT/

2) A stable international version is available at

Datafellows http://www.datafellows.com/download-purchase/

and users looking for a free version or users outside the United States should file through the free implementations at

http://www.net.lut.ac.uk/psst/

Pay attention to the totally free internationally available ttssh:

http://www.zip.com.au/~roca/ttssh.html

Video Integrations must enable SSH on your server for your account.

B. Follow the SSH client side software instructions to generate an RSA key.

C. Install the key in the SSH section of your Video Integrations Virtual Domain control panel.

Using UNIX

The following is a list of UNIX commands that we found helpful when modifying your web sites on the server. Most UNIX commands have many options and parameters which are not listed here. For more complete information on using UNIX commands, you can refer to the online manual by typing man [command] at the UNIX prompt, where "[command]" represents the command you would like more information about. Other UNIX help commands you can type are [command] -? and [command] --help.

Note: When something is specified in brackets, such as [command] or [filename], it is used to indicate that you must input your desired information here. Do NOT include brackets in your command.

Navigating in UNIX

pwd	Shows the full path of the current directory
ls	Lists all the files in the current directory
ls -al	Lists all files and information
ls –alR	Lists all files and information in all subdirectories
ls -alR \| more	Same as ls –alR, pausing when screen becomes full
ls -alR > filename.txt	Same as ls –alR, outputs the results to a file
ls -al /home/usr/bob/	Lists files and information for /home/usr/bob
*ls .html**	Lists all files ending with .html
cd [directory name]	Changes to a new directory
cd ..	Changes to directory above current one

Moving, Copying and Deleting Files

mv [old filename] [new filename]	Move/rename a file
cp [filename] [new filename]	Copies a file
rm [filename]	Deletes a file
rm *	Deletes all files in current directory
*rm .html**	Deletes all files ending in .html

Creating, Moving, Copying and Deleting Directories

mkdir [directory name]	Creates a new directory
*ls -d /**	Lists all directories within current directory
cp -r [directory] [new directory]	Copies a directory and all files/directories in it
rmdir [directory name]	Removes a directory if it is empty
rm -r [directory name]	Removes a directory and all files in it

Searching Files and Directories

find . -name [filename] -print	Searches for a file starting with current directory
grep [text] [filename]	Searches for text within a file

File and Directory Permissions

There are three levels of file permissions: read, write and execute. In addition, there are three groups to which you can assign permissions: file owner, user group and everyone. The command chmod followed by three numbers is used to change permissions. The first number is the permission for the owner, the second for the group and the third for everyone. Here are how the levels of permission translate:

0 = ---	No permission
1 = --X	Execute only
2 = -W-	Write only
3 = -WX	Write and execute
4 = R--	Read only
5 = R-X	Read and execute
6 = RW-	Read and write
7 = RWX	Read, write and execute

It is preferred that the group always have permission of 0. This prevents other users on the server from browsing files via Telnet and FTP. Here are the most common file permissions used:

chmod 604 [filename]	Minimum permissions for HTML file
chmod 705 [directory name]	Minimum permissions for directories
chmod 755 [filename]	Minimum permissions for scripts & programs
chmod 606 [filename]	Permissions for data files used by scripts
chmod 703 [directory name]	Write-only permissions for public FTP uploading

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