How To Log Into a VPS From Windows Computer Using PuTTY

Introduction

After you have an active server with the operating system installed on it, your next step is to make a secure remote connection from your local computer to your server. This article describes how to use a client called PuTTY to form an Secure Shell (SSH) connection from a computer running a Microsoft Windows OS to a Linux server.

SSH (Secure Shell) is a network protocol used for secure data communication between a server and a client (You) to perform (for example: command-line login and authentication, remote command execution, and even data transfer). So in order to keep the communication between you and a server secure there are programs that implement SSH protocols mainly by using strong encryption methods to help you achieve that.

1. Downloading and Installation

- PuTTY is a free software application for Microsoft Windows operating systems which can be used to make an SSH connection to your server. You can download the application at

http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html.

• Save the download to your C:\WINDOWS folder.
• If you want to make a link to PuTTY on your desktop:
• Open the C:\WINDOWS folder in Windows Explorer.
• Right-click on the putty.exe file and select Send To > Desktop

2. Configurations

• Double-click on the putty.exe program or the desktop shortcut to launch the application.
• Enter your connection settings:
• Host Name: enter IP of your server
• Port: 22 (leave as default)
• Connection Type: SSH (leave as default)

1. Click "Open" to start the SSH session.
2. If this is your first time connecting to the server from this computer, you will see the following output. Accept the connection by clicking "Yes".

• Once the SSH Connection is open, you should see a terminal prompt asking for your username. Your server's root username is "root".
• Next, enter your password. You can find it in the Clients Area. Please note that you will NOT see your cursor moving, or any characters typed, when typing your password. This is a standard PuTTY security feature. After you typed it in hit enter.
• Congratulations! You are now logged into your server with SSH.

Conclusion

Learning is a slow and progressive process and I hope that you have grasped the basic concepts behind remote connection to a server.

Alternatives

Also you can check and try alternatives to PuTTY:

http://mobaxterm.mobatek.net/

http://kitty.9bis.net/

http://www.mremoteng.org/download

http://www.netsarang.com/products/xsh_overview.html

http://www.bitvise.com/ssh-client-download

https://winscp.net/eng/download.php