[TriLUG] ssh and X - interesting discovery.

[Mike McLean]

H Brett Bolen wrote:
> 
> I loged into fatalpha using ssh in a kterm and forgot about.  later
> I came back to that window and typed xterm.
> 
> an xterm window opened up on my box.
> 
> I wasn't sure that this was really happening -- ssh allowed fatalpha
> access to my local xserver.  but xdpyinfo queried my local xterm.
> 
> I always thought that ssh was 'a better telnet', but it looks like
> ssh goes much further.

Yes.  The default configuration of ssh forwards X connections over the
secure channel.  This is a very nice feature, but you can turn it off
using the -x option for the client.  There is also a server directive to
turn it off on the other end.

Ssh can also forward arbitrary ports over the secure line.  Very handy
for tunneling other services through a firewall on the fly.  Check out
the man page for info.