How to use telnet in Windows Command Prompt?

Question

I type this command in a Windows Command Prompt in XP.

telnet microsoft.com 80 

Connecting to microsoft.com appears and then telnet window opens, but there is nothing inside it.

If I type any command like GET / HTTP/1.1, it doesn't appear either.

Are my starting steps correct?

Answer 1

Telnet has no echoing by default. Enter telnet in interactive mode (no arguments, just execute telnet). Then type set localecho. Then open host port.

I suggest you to use netcat, easier to use and way more powerful. telnet is obsolete.

Answer 2

You're trying to connect to an HTTP server, that's what is on port 80 most of the time. The HTTP protocol requires that the guest start talking first. You may want to read up on HTTP if you want to explore: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertext_Transfer_Protocol

But connecting to port 80 won't get you a shell, telnet servers usually operate on port 23. But telnet is not really used over the Internet anymore because it's not secure.