December 1, 1999

OpenBSD team releases OpenSSH

The OpenBSD team led by Theo de Raadt shipped OpenSSH 1.2.2 on December 1, 1999 — a free replacement for proprietary SSHSecure Shell — encrypted remote login, command execution, and file transfer over networks..

What it was for

Theo de RaadtOpenSSH secured remote server administration for the entire internet — `ssh` on every Linux and macOSApple's desktop operating system — runs on Mac hardware with Unix foundations and the Cocoa UI framework. machine traces to this fork. It replaced a commercial SSHSecure Shell — encrypted remote login, command execution, and file transfer over networks. license with audited BSDBerkeley Software Distribution — a family of Unix-like operating systems originating from UC Berkeley.-licensed code bundled with OpenBSD 2.6.

People

  • Theo de Raadtfounder

Why it's here

OpenSSH became the universal secure shell implementation.

Why it mattered

It kept encrypted remote access free and auditable after SSHSecure Shell — encrypted remote login, command execution, and file transfer over networks. went proprietary.

What it solved

Proprietary SSHSecure Shell — encrypted remote login, command execution, and file transfer over networks. licensing threatened to tax every UnixAn influential multitasking OS from the 1970s — files, pipes, and C shaped Linux, macOS, and BSD. administrator and vendor.

Media

  • Theo de Raadt
    ImageTheo de Raadt

    FAndrey, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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