[support] Drupal 7 Update manager

[Roger]

>From http://drupal.org/documentation/modules/update
<quote>
This will direct you to the update page where you see a listing of all
the missing updates and confirm which ones you want to upgrade. From
there, you are prompted for your FTP/SSH password, which then transfers
the files into your Drupal installation, overwriting your old files. 
</quote>

How does this apply to a local machine where there is no ftp and ssh?
What should I enter into the fields for local machine update?
Does it in fact require the username and password of the drupal
installation and not root?

I tried Update Manager on our remote server tried both the ssh and ftp
user and password, it failed. How can I find why the username and
password failed and what can I do to get update manager working?
And what user and passwords should be entered?

It is puzzling why an update system would require username and password
sent insecurely.

Can someone please explain what to do and how.
Most grateful for any assistance
Roger