HP-UX Secure Shell Getting Started Guide

1 Introduction
This chapter provides an overview of HP-UX Secure Shell. HP-UX Secure Shell is a program that
enables users to securely access various network services.
This chapter addresses the following topics:
• “Overview ” (page 15)
• “Key Features” (page 15)
• “Architecture” (page 16)
• “How Secure Shell Establishes a Secure Connection” (page 17)
• “Protocol Support” (page 18)
• “HP-UX Secure Shell Commands” (page 18)
• “Keys and Configuration Files” (page 19)
Overview
HP-UX Secure Shell enables you to securely log into another system over a network, to execute
commands on a remote system, and to move files from one system to another. HP-UX Secure
Shell provides a set of commands that replace insecure commands such as rlogin, rsh, rcp,
ftp, and telnet. HP-UX Secure Shell also protects a network from the following security
hazards:
IP Spoofing A technique used to gain unauthorized access to computers. An intruder
sends messages to a computer with an IP address indicating that the
message is coming from a trusted host.
Eavesdropping Searching a system for passwords, credit card numbers, or business secrets.
Hijacking A technique used to take over network communication in such a way that
the attacker can inspect and modify data transmitted between the
communicating parties.
HP-UX Secure Shell is based on the open source Secure Shell (OpenSSH) product. OpenSSH is
available in two versions: SSH Protocol Version 1 (SSH-1) and SSH Protocol Version 2 (SSH-2).
HP-UX Secure Shell supports both versions of OpenSSH. However, HP recommends SSH-2,
because it is more secure than SSH-1.
HP-UX Secure Shell establishes a secure connection between a client and a remote server over
an insecure network. The key attributes of this secure connection are the following:
• Strong authentication for both client and the remote system
• Strong encryption and public-key cryptography for communication between a client and
the remote system
• Secure channel that the client uses to execute commands on the remote system
Secure access to the remote host enables you to perform the following actions:
• Execute commands safely on a remote system
• Move files from one system to another over a secure channel
• Securely copy remote files
NOTE: All references to server and client in this document refer to HP-UX Secure Shell server
and HP-UX Secure Shell client, respectively.
Key Features
Following are the key features of HP-UX Secure Shell:
Overview 15