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Using Secure SHell (SSH2) Access

SH2 access is used to accomplish more complex tasks in Unix and usually if you need to use it, you already know it and the applicable instructions will be detailed. We have built our system so that most of the tasks can be completed without using shell access, but in some cases for advanced web development or Unix usage, it will be required.

If you require to use shell access and are not familiar with it, take your time to read through some of the widely-available Unix documentation on the net.

To connect using SSH2, just connect to yourdomain.com (or servername.superb.net, where servername is the server's name your account is on) using your standard login and password.

Please note that we suggest that you "tunnel" your FTP connections to the server via SSH2, too, for added security and to avoid insecure login via FTP.

Some basic shell commands you should be aware of:

  • mkdir
    mkdir will make a new directory.
    The command:
    mkdir somedirectory
    Using the above command would make a new directory named somedirectory providing you have write access in the current directory.
  • rm
    rm will remove a file.
    The command:
    rm test.html
    Using the above command would remove the file named test.html.
  • rmdir
    rmdir will remove a directory as long as it is empty.
    The command:
    rmdir test_dir
    Using the above command would remove the directory named test_dir.
  • man
    man will display the manual page for a given command.
    The command:
    man ls
    Using the above command would give you the manual for the command ls. This command can be used to learn a lot of options about the commands you use and advanced information about unfamiliar commands.
  • ls
    ls will give a simple listing of all files and directories within your current directory.
    ls -al will give a complete listing of all files and directories within your current directory
    ls will give a simple listing of all files and directories within your current directory.
    The command:
    ls -al will give an output similar to the following:
    no4:/home3/joe>ls -al
    total 458
    drwxr-xr-x   7 joe      users       1024 Feb 15 02:14 .
    drwxr-xr-x 174 root     root        3584 Feb 21 00:46 ..
    -rw-r--r--   1 joe      users        184 Feb 17  1998 .bashrc
    drwxr-xr-x   2 joe      users        512 Feb 17  1998 .procmail
    -rw-r--r--   1 joe      users        211 Apr 28  1998 .profile
    drwxr-xr-x   2 joe      users        512 Feb 17  1998 autoresponders
    -rw-r--r--   1 joe      users        159 Mar 25  1998 email.fwd
    -rw-r--r--   1 joe      users      42299 Feb 15 02:14 joessite-access.log.gz
    -rw-r--r--   1 joe      users      79372 Aug 31 02:14 joessite-access.log.gz.bak
    -rw-r--r--   1 joe      users        124 Feb 17  1998 local.cshrc
    -rw-r--r--   1 joe      users        575 Feb 17  1998 local.login
    -rw-r--r--   1 joe      users        560 Feb 17  1998 local.profile
    drwxr-xr-x   7 joe      users        512 Feb 17  1998 public_ftp
    drwxr-xr-x  13 joe      users        512 Dec  9 20:01 public_html
    -rwxr-xr-x   1 joe      users       2244 Feb 17  1998 sample.procmailrc
    ----------   1 root     root           0 Jul 10  1998 t.fvpro
If you are new to Unix and shell, you also might want to read through Unix Permissions Basics
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