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Development Tools HTTP Basics Introduction to HTTP HTTP Requests Using Telnet

Noah Fields
Noah Fields
13,985 Points
Posted by Noah Fields
Noah Fields
13,985 Points

Is Telnet obsolete?

While attempting to run Telnet through the Windows Command Prompt (not able to get it to work because I can't properly connect to httpbin.org but that's irrelevant) I looked up Telnet to see if I could find any information. I found a post from a number of years ago, declaring that Telnet is vastly obsolete and should no longer be used.

On the one hand, given that the post was from six years ago that would imply that Telnet is very obsolete now. On the other hand, a lot can change in six years and it's very possible Telnet has since been updated or altered such that it is the best option once more. Is Telnet still used today, and if not, what alternative(s) should I look into?

Dave StSomeWhere
Dave StSomeWhere
19,870 Points
Dave StSomeWhere
Dave StSomeWhere
19,870 Points

According to Wikipedia

Historically, Telnet provided access to a command-line interface (usually, of an operating system) on a remote host, including most network equipment and operating systems with a configuration utility (including systems based on Windows NT).[clarification needed] However, because of serious security concerns when using Telnet over an open network such as the Internet, its use for this purpose has waned significantly in favor of SSH.

Have you looked into SSH?

3 Answers

Luis Marsano
Luis Marsano
21,425 Points
Luis Marsano
Luis Marsano
21,425 Points

Telnet transmits everything in cleartext, which makes it possibly the most insecure remote terminal protocol: even skywriting your sensitive passcodes and security keys would be more secure, as your attacker would at least have to convert print to digital. Just as horrible as it is for remote terminal sessions, transmitting nearly raw text makes telnet an unintentional network diagnostic for (almost) sending raw text messages that client software would send and receiving (almost) raw text responses client software would see. However, telnet is not raw text like netcat or ncat, which would have been the proper commands to use.

Noah Fields
Noah Fields
13,985 Points
Noah Fields
Noah Fields
13,985 Points

Reply to Dave Varmutant:

I have not looked into SSH (Secure Shell) in any particular detail, but I am aware of it and am generally familiar with its purpose as a secure method for transferring data over the internet, thanks to some basic Networking classes I took last year. That would also explain why Telnet didn't immediately ring a bell - it must have been phased out of the curriculum since then due to obsolescence.

L Haney
seal-mask
.a{fill-rule:evenodd;}techdegree
L Haney
Front End Web Development Techdegree Student 10,263 Points
L Haney
.a{fill-rule:evenodd;}techdegree
L Haney
Front End Web Development Techdegree Student 10,263 Points

Yes it is obsolete. Telnet has no built-in encryption, so any data you send over a telnet connection can be easily intercepted. This was by design, as Telnet was originally written back in 1969 when networks rarely extended beyond buildings and encryption was extremely time/resource intensive by comparison to today. It was never intended for use with the modern internet, and offers no advantages over secure alternatives like OpenSSH.