# Shell account > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Shell_account > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Shell_account.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_account > Source revision: 1325584321 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) User account on a remote server [irssi](/source/Irssi) [IRC](/source/IRC) client running on a shell server A **shell account** is a user account on a remote [server](/source/Computer_server), typically running under [Unix](/source/Unix) or [Linux](/source/Linux) operating systems. The account gives access to a text-based [command-line interface](/source/Command-line_interface) in a [shell](/source/Shell_(computing)), via a [terminal emulator](/source/Terminal_emulator). The user typically communicates with the server via the [SSH](/source/Secure_Shell) protocol. In the early days of the Internet, one would connect using a [modem](/source/Modem). Shell accounts were first made accessible in the 1980s to interested members of the public by Internet Service Providers—such as [Netcom](/source/Netcom_(USA)), [Panix](/source/Panix_(ISP)), [The World](/source/The_World_(internet_service_provider)), and [Digex](/source/Digex)—although in rare instances individuals had access to shell accounts through their employer or university. They were used for file storage, web space, email accounts, newsgroup access and software development.[1][2][3] Before the late 1990s, shell accounts were often much less expensive than full net access through [SLIP](/source/Serial_Line_Internet_Protocol) or [PPP](/source/Point-to-Point_Protocol), which was required to access the then-new [World Wide Web](/source/World_Wide_Web). Most [personal computer](/source/Personal_computer) [operating systems](/source/Operating_system) also lacked [TCP/IP](/source/TCP%2FIP) stacks by default before the mid-1990s. Products such as [The Internet Adapter](/source/The_Internet_Adapter) were devised that could work as a proxy server, allowing users to run a web browser for the price of a shell account.[4] While direct internet connections made shell accounts largely obsolete for most users, they remained popular with some technically inclined subscribers.[5] **Shell providers** are often found to offer shell accounts at low-cost or free. These shell accounts generally provide users with access to various software and services including [compilers](/source/Compilers), IRC clients, background processes, FTP, text editors (such as [nano](/source/Nano_(text_editor))) and [email clients](/source/Email_client) (such as [pine](/source/Pine_(e-mail_client))).[6] Some shell providers may also allow tunneling of traffic to bypass corporate firewalls. ## See also - [Bulletin board system](/source/Bulletin_board_system) - [FreeBSD jail](/source/FreeBSD_jail) - [Free-net](/source/Free-net) - [SDF Public Access Unix System](/source/SDF_Public_Access_Unix_System), one of the oldest and largest non-profit public access UNIX systems on the Internet. - [Slirp](/source/Slirp), a [free software](/source/Free_software) application similar to The Internet Adapter - [SSH tunneling](/source/Tunneling_protocol#Secure_shell_tunneling) - [The Big Electric Cat](/source/The_Big_Electric_Cat) was a public access computer system in New York City in the late 1980s, known on Usenet as node dasys1. - [The Internet Adapter](/source/The_Internet_Adapter), a graphical application front end for internet access using shell accounts allowing TCP/IP-based applications such as Netscape to run over the shell account. - [The WELL](/source/The_WELL), best known for its Internet forums, but also provides email, shell accounts, and web pages. ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Glossary"](http://www.yossman.net/canweb/glossary.html). yossman.net. December 29, 1996. Retrieved 27 September 2010. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-LJ1996_2-0)** Michael K. Johnson (April 1996), ["Choosing an Internet Service Provider"](http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/1233), *Linux Journal* (24), Specialized Systems, Seattle, USA, [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1075-3583](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1075-3583), If you are comfortable with the command-line interface that [Linux](/source/Linux) provides, you will probably be comfortable with a **Shell account** on a Linux or [Unix](/source/Unix) computer managed by an ISP. Once your modem connects to the other modem and you log in, it is the same as an xterm session or a console login (without graphics capabilities) on your Linux box, except that the remote computer you are logged into is connected to the Internet. You usually use a standard Unix shell, with roughly the same choices available on your own Linux system, although some shell accounts also provide an optional menu interface similar to what a [BBS](/source/Bulletin_Board_System) provides. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-LJ1994_3-0)** Michael K. Johnson (October 1, 1994), ["For Internauts, finding a port of call can be a trying experience. I recently ran the gauntlet of choosing a commercial Internet access provider (do I have enough mixed metaphors yet?) and would like to share my experiences, both good and bad."](http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/2832), *Linux Journal*, The other day, I started shopping, both for a Unix shell account, and for a SLIP or PPP connection that allows my home Linux network to become a real part of the Internet. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["The Web from a Unix shell account"](http://www.lanet.lv/simtel.net/presno/sample2.html). Until recently, if you wanted to use Mosaic for the World Wide Web, you needed a direct SLIP or PPP connection to the Internet. In many countries, such a connection costs a leg and an arm. Now, you can also use Mosaic if you connect to the Internet through a Unix shell account. The administrators may not even notice that you do. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Core Fans of Shell Accounts Mourn Netcom's Demise"](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-oct-09-fi-33816-story.html). *[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)*. [The Washington Post](/source/The_Washington_Post). 9 October 2000. Retrieved 28 December 2023. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Cliff (July 14, 2004). ["Unix Shell Accounts?"](http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/07/14/159237). aks.slashdot.org. Retrieved 27 September 2010. ## External links - [Shell providers list](http://shells.red-pill.eu/) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Shell account](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_account) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_account?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.