What is the purpose of SSH?

SSH, or Secure Shell, is primarily designed to provide secure access to a computer over an unsecured network. The primary function of SSH is to encrypt text-based remote operations, ensuring that any commands sent to a remote server and any data returned are protected from eavesdropping, tampering, or interception. This encryption protects user credentials and sensitive information during remote sessions, making SSH a crucial tool for system administration and secure communications.

While the other choices may describe functions that are important in various contexts, they do not accurately represent the core purpose of SSH. For instance, transferring large files securely is more commonly associated with protocols like SCP (Secure Copy Protocol) or SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol), which can operate over SSH but are not the fundamental purpose of SSH itself. Synchronizing devices on a network generally relates to different protocols and methodologies, and compressing data for transmission involves distinct techniques that are not inherent to what SSH is designed to do. Thus, the option highlighting the encryption of text-based remote operations aligns directly with SSH's intended functionality.