How do I install openssh 4.2 when I curently have 3.9? I know nothing about Linux and have been tased with this upgrade. Any help would be appreciated.

It depends on what distro you're using. If it's got a Package Manager, update and upgrade with that.

I tried to look for the RPM on the site and the current RPM on the update site for my version on redhat (4 ES for x 86. I found on OPEN SHH site at tar but I don't know what to do with it. I am new to this style of os.
Paul

"Tased" or tasked? If it's the former, you have a harsh master!

As brianL says, the distro (distribution, e.g. Redhat, SuSE, Ubuntu, Slackware, debian - think of it like the brand of Linux that you are using) makes a difference to the procedure.

If you're lucky, it will just be a matter of telling the OS to install a newer version of the software, which can be a one line command in the terminal, or a simple operation with a GUI package manager tool.

In you're unlucky your distribution doesn't carry the version you want in it's software repositories, and the procedure will be a lot more involved.

How do I tell the OS to install the newer version? I tried up2date already. Here is my OS and I need Open SSH v 4.2 OS: redhat-release
Release: 4ES
CPU Arch: i686-redhat-linux