Why is port 22 open by default?

[Daniela]

On Friday 09 May 2003 04:10, Kenneth Culver wrote:
> > > D> I was just wondering:
> > > D> Is SSH really so secure that it can be on by default?
> > >
> > > D> I'm really paranoid, and I could sleep better if the answer was yes
> > > :-)
> > >
> > > if you *REALY* paranoid  you can  juct  switch  your computer  off :)
> > >
> > > if you are  fully trust  your local area network there is  no  reaseon
> > > to afraid (but passwords) , othervice there is  some  'pantom menace'
> > > that  ssh could  de cracked by someone  , who will dump all the
> > > connections to your  computer  all the  time
> >
> > Is there some way to prevent this?
>
> SSH is fairly secure, but there is no 100% secure remote access solution.
> That said, you should be fine with ssh enabled, I've had it enabled for
> ages without problems, just make sure you pick a good password.

Sounds like SSH is secure enough for me. Or is a 19 character password too 
short? :-)