SSH is a protocol used to connect to servers remotely. In general, Unix / Linux operating systems (like the one we have on our servers) operate via a text-based command line as opposed to a 'point-and-click' interface. SSH allows a person to use the command line on a Unix / Linux computer from a remote computer (i.e. accessing the LexiConn server from your home or office) and use it as if they where sitting right in front of the remote computer. In the case of your web hosting account, this can be useful for copying, renaming, removing, and deleting your files if you have a large amount of these files and the fileman web interface in your account manager is too slow to handle the high volume.

We generally recommend 1 of 2 pieces of software for connecting to our SSH server. Below are the names of the programs and the web sites from which you can download them:

PuTTY - http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/ (freeware)

SecureCRT - http://www.vandyke.com