Wikipedia defines SSH as "a network protocol for secure data communication, remote shell services or command execution and other secure network services between two networked computers that it connects via a secure channel over an insecure network: a server and a client (running SSH server and SSH client programs, respectively).[1] ... The best-known application of the protocol is for access to shell accounts on Unix-like operating systems. It was designed as a replacement for Telnet and other insecure remote shellprotocols..."
That's all well and good, but what does it mean?
SSH stands for Secure Shell. It is an encrypted means of accessing your web hosting account or server using the command line. If you've user used DOS or Telnet, you have used a command line tool.
SSH is more of an intermediate than a novice tool. Command line interfaces are unlike Graphical User Interfaces (GUI's) in that your mouse will generally not work and all of the data in your SSH session will be text-based. This can be somewhat disconcerting for people who have only used GUI's and their mouse previously, and can take some getting used to.
For Linux or Unix systems administrators, however, SSH is a powerful tool. Unlike GUI's, which are contingent upon other system processes and which add several levels of complexity, SSH gives the admin real-time control of the server, even if just about everything else is broken.
Because SSH is encrypted, all communication between the user and the server is unable to be intercepted and tampered with.
For those of us who prefer the command line, SSH offers many powerful tools to easily assess the state of the server and perform countless administrative functions.
