OpenSSH is a FREE version of the SSH suite of network connectivity tools that increasing numbers of people on the Internet are coming to rely on. Many users of telnet, rlogin, ftp, and other such programs might not realize that their password is transmitted across the Internet unencrypted, but it is. OpenSSH encrypts all traffic (including passwords) to effectively eliminate eavesdropping, connection hijacking, and other network-level attacks.

The OpenSSH suite includes the ssh program which replaces rlogin and telnet, and scp which replaces rcp and ftp. Also included is sshd which is the server side of the package, and the other basic utilities like ssh-add, ssh-agent, and ssh-keygen.

OpenSSH is developed by the OpenBSD Project, and its first inclusion into an operating system was in OpenBSD 2.6 (CDs can be ordered). The software is developed outside the USA, using code from roughly 10 countries, and is freely useable and re-useable by everyone under a BSD license.

The OpenBSD project sells an OpenSSH tshirt.