Ed Greshko wrote:
It is useful for things like this (testing POP and IMAP servers and some
very rudimentary web server testing). NEVER, EVER use it for anything
important.
Wait a second. Now I'm confused. You said, "NEVER, EVER use it for
anything important". But testing things such as POP and IMAP servers *is*
important. So, should I or shouldn't I use it? :-)
The problem is that the text of telnet commands goes over the network
unencrypted, so if you type a plain text password, anyone capable of
sniffing your network connection (which probably means several
government agencies as well as engineers at your ISP) will be able to
capture it. Of course that same plain text password goes over a normal
pop, imap or ftp connection too unless you use the ssl variations of
them. People weren't so aware of wiretapping back in the old days when
these protocols were developed.
--
Les Mikesell
lesmikesell@xxxxxxxxx
