User:Vivek.m1234/Shell Account
Traditionally a shell account was a user account on a remote server which gave you to access a Unix shell via a command-line interface protocol such as telnet or ssh.[1] They were originally provided by ISPs (such as Netcom (USA) and Digex) and were used for file storage, web space, email accounts, newsgroup access and software development.[2][3][4]
In more recent times, shell providers are often found to offer shell accounts at low-cost or for free.[5] These shell accounts generally provide users with access to various software and services including compilers, IRC clients, background processes, FTP, text editor (such as nano) and email client (such as pine).[6][7]
Shell accounts have been involved in illegal activity.[8][9][10] Some shell accounts are used to distribute warez.[11]
Shell providers[edit]
This is a list of shell providers.
- Grex - OpenBSD (formerly SunOS) - begun 1991
- Polarhome - opened to public in spring 2000
- Sakima.Ivy.NET - begun September 1995
- Super Dimension Fortress (SDF) - NetBSD (formerly SVR3 on the 3B2) - begun 1987
- The WELL - begun 1985 by Stewart Brand and Larry Brilliant, now owned by Salon Media Group
Comparison of shell providers[edit]
| Provider | Validation | Access | Shells | Programming | Debugger | Database | Disk | SMTP/POP | |
| Arbornet | No | Telnet, FTP, SSH, SFTP, SCP, dial-up | Bash, Csh, Ksh | C, C++, Fortran, Perl, Python, PHP, Ruby, Expect, Tcl | GDB, Strace | MySQL | 20 MB | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grex | Peer review: e-mail, BBS, postal | Telnet, FTP, SSH, SFTP, SCP, dial-up | Bash, Csh, Ksh | C, C++, Perl, Python, PHP, Ruby, Expect, Tcl | GDB, Strace | No | 20 MB | Yes | No |
| Polarhome | +10 local currency to a minimum of 2 USD Postal, PayPal | Telnet, SSH, RSH | C, C++, Perl, PHP, Tcl | Yes | 50+5 MB (home+mail, DB) | Yes | Yes | ||
| SDF | +1 USD or +5 EUR Postal, +5 USD PayPal | Telnet, FTP, SSH, SFTP, SCP, dial-up | Bash, Csh, Ksh | C, C++, Lisp, Fortran, Perl, Python, PHP, Ruby, Expect, Tcl | GDB | MySQL, SQLite | 200 MB (home+web-mail+gopher) | Yes | Yes |
| Provider | Outbound | Home page | Chat | BBS | Cron/daemon | Governance | Online since |
| Arbornet | No | arbornet.org/~johndoe | party, write, talk, tel | bbs, ft | No | Democracy | 1984 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grex | No | cyberspace.org/~johndoe | party, write, talk, tel | bbs, ft | No | Democracy | June 26, 1991 |
| Polarhome | Web-browsing, mail, traceroute, ping, whois, finger | www.polarhome.com:port/~username | Yes | Zoltán Árpádffy | 2000 | ||
| SDF | Web-browsing, mail, traceroute, ping, whois, finger, IRC | johndoe.freeshell.org | com, msg | bboard | Yes | Stephen M. Jones | 1987 |
See also[edit]
- FreeBSD jail
- The Internet Adapter, a graphical application front end for internet access using shell accounts allowing TCP/IP-based applications such as Netscape to run over the shell account.
- Slirp, a free software application similar to The Internet Adapter
References[edit]
- ^ Young, Margaret Levine (1999), Margaret Levine Young (ed.), Internet: the complete reference (3 ed.), Osborne/McGraw-Hill, p. 11, ISBN 9780072119428
- ^ yossman.net glossary - unix shell account
- ^ Michael K. Johnson (April 1996), "Choosing an Internet Service Provider", Linux Journal (24), Specialized Systems, Seattle, USA, ISSN 1075-3583,
If you are comfortable with the command-line interface that Linux provides, you will probably be comfortable with a Shell account on a Linux or Unix computer managed by an ISP. Once your modem connects to the other modem and you log in, it is the same as an xterm session or a console login (without graphics capabilities) on your Linux box, except that the remote computer you are logged into is connected to the Internet. You usually use a standard Unix shell, with roughly the same choices available on your own Linux system, although some shell accounts also provide an optional menu interface similar to what a BBS provides.
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ Michael K. Johnson (October 1st, 1994). "For Internauts, finding a port of call can be a trying experience. I recently ran the gauntlet of choosing a commercial Internet access provider (do I have enough mixed metaphors yet?) and would like to share my experiences, both good and bad". Linux Journal.
The other day, I started shopping, both for a Unix shell account, and for a SLIP or PPP connection that allows my home Linux network to become a real part of the Internet.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Levine, John R.; Baroudi, Carol; Young, Margaret Levine (2002), The Internet for dummies (8 ed.), Hungry Minds, p. 52, ISBN 9780764508943
- ^ SlashDot | Unix Shell Accounts? Posted by Cliff on Wed Jul 14, 2004 01:20 PM
- ^ Bob Toxen (May–June 2007). "The Seven Deadly Sins of Linux Security". Queue. 5 (4). ACM, New York, USA: 38–47. ISSN 1542-7730.
Most recent vulnerabilities are not directly exploitable remotely on most systems. This means that most systems are not at risk for remote attack from the Internet. Many of the vulnerabilities may be taken advantage of by someone with a regular shell account on the system.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date format (link) - ^ The Register: Sci/Tech News for the World
- ^ Wired News
- ^ Bosworth, Seymour; Kabay, M. E.; Whyne, Eric (2009), Computer Security Handbook (5 ed.), John Wiley & Sons Inc, p. 4, ISBN 9780471716525
- ^ Heise Online