How to (keep) open a program on FTP , using SSH?

The FTP hoster i use allow SSH , in fact it have it own SSH Console... I tried using putty it fails to lunch :S.. Anyway i was wondering how to open and keep a program opended (if possible) using SSH.
The SSH console is very annoying sometimes.. like when i was trying to install pico/nano .. it gave me this error ... -bash : ./configure command not found .. :S even thru i was on right location :S

First, it is against the terms of service of every shared host that I know of to run a persistent program on the server. And second, it is against the terms of service of most shared hosts to install programs on the server.

On Linux you can run a program in the background by appending & to the end of the command. Like: "ls &".

You can also use the "screen" utility, if it is installed, to simulate running a program in the foreground while actually running it in the background.

Some programs also have built in support for a daemon mode. For these programs, you just pass them a particular flag on the command line and then they will start up in the background.