SSH, or Secure Shell, is a network protocol employed to connect to a web server and execute various tasks using a command line. The protocol is popular with many knowledgeable users, because the info transmitted over it is encrypted, so it cannot be intercepted on the way by a 3rd party. SSH access may be employed for a number of things depending on the type of website hosting account. With a shared hosting account, in particular, SSH is among the ways to import/export a database or to upload a file if the website hosting server permits it. If you have a virtual or a dedicated server, SSH may be used for just about everything - you can install software or restart certain services like the web server or the database server that run on the machine. SSH is used typically with UNIX-like Platforms, but there are clients that permit you to use the protocol if your laptop or computer is working with a different Operating System as well. The connection is made on TCP port 22 by default and the remote server always listens for incoming connections on that port though a number of service providers change it for security reasons.