How Do I Setup a Telnet Client to Accept a Telnet Session?

Telnet is a text-based client that allows your computer to connect to a remote Telnet server on another computer. You can then use the Telnet client to enter commands on that server. Telnet can be used to access databases or email, as well as connect to popular online text-based games such as MUDs, MUSHEs or MOOs. Windows comes with a built-in telnet client that can be launched from the command line. However, in Windows Vista and Windows 7, you will need to set up the client to enable it to connect to a Telnet session.

Things You'll Need

• Telnet server name or IP address
• Telnet server port

Instructions

Enable Telnet Client

1. Click on the “Start” button and choose “Control Panel” from the Start Menu.

2. Click “Programs” in the Control Panel to launch the “Programs” window.

3. Click “Turn Windows features on or off” in the left hand menu. A new window will pop up with a list of Windows features.

4. Place a check mark in the box next to “Telnet Client” and click the “OK” button.

5. Allow Windows to install the Telnet client. This may take a little while.

Launch Telnet Client

1. Click on the “Start” button to launch the Start Menu.

2. Type “Telnet” in the text box on the Start Menu to launch the Microsoft Telnet client.

3. Type the following command in the client “open hostname port#” and change “hostname” to the Telnet server’s name or IP address. Change “port#” to the port number of the Telnet server.

4. Press the “Enter” key on your keyboard to launch the command. If you have typed everything correctly, you will get a response from the Telnet server to confirm your connection.

Tips & Warnings

• To see a list of commands in the Microsoft Telnet client, type “?/help” and press the “Enter” key.

References

• Windows: Telnet: Frequently Asked Questions