SSH, or Secure Shell, is a network protocol used to connect to a web server and perform various tasks via a command line. The protocol is employed by many experienced users, due to the fact that the information transmitted over it is encrypted, so it can't be intercepted on the way by a third party. SSH access may be employed for a number of things with regards to the type of Internet hosting account. With a shared hosting account, for instance, SSH is among the ways to import/export a database or to upload a file if the web server allows it. If you have a virtual or a dedicated server, SSH can be used for practically anything - you may install software or restart certain services such as the web server or the database server that run on the machine. SSH is employed primarily with UNIX-like Platforms, but there are clients which enable you to use the protocol if your personal computer is using a different OS as well. The connection is made on TCP port 22 by default and the remote web server always listens for incoming connections on that port though a lot of service providers change it for security reasons.