Connecting To Your Server with SSH via PuTTY on Windows

Connecting to a Linux server for the first time may seem confusing, especially if you have a strong Windows background. When connecting to a Linux (or UNIX) based server, a protocol called SSH is used. SSH allows you to connect to your server and manage it remotely. Most UNIX-based operating systems already have an SSH client built-in. OS X is UNIX-based, and includes ssh. Windows on the other hand, does not include an SSH utility. There is a popular freeware SSH client for Windows called PuTTY. In this article, I’ll explain how to obtain PuTTY and start using it.

Step 1: Downloading PuTTY

PuTTY can be downloaded from its official site.

In the “Binaries” section, you’ll need to download “PuTTY” from “For Windows on Intel x86”. Simply click the “putty.exe” link and it will start downloading.

Step 2: Using PuTTY

After downloading PuTTY to your Windows computer, open it. A window will open where you will need to enter some information.

• Host Name (or IP Address) – this is the IP address of your Vultr server. You can find this in the email sent when you created a server, or in your Vultr control panel.
• Port – the default port for SSH is 22. Given that this has not been changed, it should already be correct and you don’t have to change it.

After entering this information, click “Open” to start the connection.

You will likely get a window saying “PuTTY Security Alert”. Because this is a server you have not connected to before, PuTTY will ask you to confirm this is the server you think it is – with an rsa2 key. If you’re an advanced user, you can check this, otherwise just click “Yes” because in reality it’s safe in 99% of all cases.

Step 3: Logging into your server

PuTTY will now ask you for your username. By default, this is root:

login as: root

Press Enter. You will now be asked for your password.

After inputting your password, press Enter again. You are now logged into your server.

When you are ready to log out of your server, press Ctrl + D.

Step 4: Changing your password

For security purposes, it is a good practice to change your password after creating your server. You can do this by executing the following command.

passwd

Follow the on-screen instructions and your root password will be reset.