NDSU CS Department Wiki

SSH, or Secure Shell, is a protocol used to securely log onto remote systems (Not just computers but some routers, switches, etc). It is the most common way to access remote Linux and Unix-like servers.

PuTTY is a free software application for Windows 95, 98, XP, Vista, 7, (the ill fated 8 & 8.1), and 10 which can be used to make an SSH connection to your server. You can download the application from https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/latest.html

Before you start, you'll need:

• A computer connected to the internet.
• The fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the remote computer.
• Your NDSU SSH login credentials (see Authentication).
• The Putty application mentioned above.

1. To start Putty, double-click on the putty.exe program you downloaded, or the desktop shortcut created if you used an installer, to launch the application.
   • Note: You may receive a warning that the publisher cannot be verified. If you have downloaded this program from a good source, select Run.
2. Enter your connection settings.
   • Host Name: example.com or lab10.cs.ndsu.nodak.edu
   • Port: 22 (leave as default)
   • Connection Type: SSH (leave as default)
   • 
3. Click Open to start your SSH session.
   • If this is your first time connecting to a particular server, you should receive a Security Alert message like the one below. Read it and make the appropriate decision.
   • 
   • A terminal window will open asking for your username and password.
   •