Secure Shell, better known as SSH, is a cryptographic network protocol that is used to execute commands on a remote server or to exchange information between a web server and a client. Because the data exchanged by the 2 sides is encrypted, a 3rd party won't be able to intercept it, which makes SSH a favored means of controlling a web hosting account. The commands which can be executed depend on the type of hosting service. On a shared web server, for instance, the options are limited as you will not have root access to the server, so you may only create/move/delete files, set up and unpack archives, export and import databases, etc. They're all actions that are carried out in the shared hosting account and don't require a higher level of access. With a virtual or a dedicated server, you shall have the option to set up server-side software or to restart the hosting server or only a specific service (web server, database server, etc.). SSH commands are submitted through a command line, and if you don't use a UNIX-like Operating System, there are plenty of applications for other OSs, that you can employ to connect to the remote hosting server as well.
