Chapter 13. Telnet Security

As discussed in Chapter 10, "Protecting Data in Transit," I recommend replacing telnet with Secure Shell (ssh) whenever possible. However, you may have reasons for not using Secure Shell. This chapter provides several alternatives.

Assessing the Need to Provide Telnet Services

Unlike many other services, telnet (or a reasonable facsimile) is an absolute must (especially if you're using Linux on Internet or intranet servers). There are just too many tasks easily performed with telnet that would otherwise prove difficult.

So, the question isn't whether you'll be using telnet (or telnet-like) services. The question is whether you should provide such services to others. The answer is generally no. Unless you have a very good ...

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