Note: This is a simple information shot for the home and / or corporate user who still thinks that telnet is a good thing. One might think there are no more people feeling that way, but since Ive only today had to face people like this in 3 different instances, im inclined to believe this problem still exists at a large.
Why is telnet bad for you?
Telnet transfers all of its data unencrypted over the network.
Also your username and password are sent in plain text! That means that anyone snooping around at any point along the way can capture your login info, or any data you manage over a telnet connection.
This, clearly is a very bad thing. Why is telnet like that? Telnet comes from a time when network security wasn't such an issue. It was used in LAN environments and such. (Someone please feel free to correct me) Nowadays telnet would never be used if people knew what was going on. Telnet is very old and not suitable for modern computing!
The telnet daemons (the process that sits on the server and processes your login) have had numerous vunerabilities and will continue to have them.
Running telnetd is just one more old daemon waiting to be used to crack your machine! Don't run telnetd, it isnt good for any machine!
So, how do I log in then? Use SSH.
Why is SSH good for you?
SSH (Secure SHell) has been designed with one priority over others: security. All SSH connections are encrypted. OpenSSH is in constant development by the OpenBSD folks, and security is everything to them. You can count on a patch to be available if vunerabilities are encountered. OpenSSH also has very sophisticated methods of verifying the authecentity of the connection you are making. It checks for modified file permissions, host keys and alerts you if something is possibly wrong.
In conclusion: SSH works for the user almost like telnet except that its alot better and alot more secure. The topic of adding extra security to SSH is often discussed here also, and if youre interested in tightening your security even more, then head on for the search utility. "SSH keypairs" should get you started as keywords.. (:
Links for one who would like to learn more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telnet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ssh
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Openssh
Some last words, if some mod finds my writing accurate enough, it might be a good idea to consider stickying this post or something similar to Networking, Security, Newbies, or something alike.. The telnet userbase is still far too large.. (Ofcourse it can be used for a whole lot more than just the telnet protocol, but those who use it for other things are skillfulled enough to see that the telnet protocol is a bad thing.. (: )
Why you should use ssh instead of telnet.
