Computers on and off campus that offer remote access via the SSH Secure Shell method can be accessed from Linux, Macintosh, and Windows computers. Windows, and Macintosh have the choice of native access as well as an freely installable Putty application. Linux very likely has this already installed.
Once installed, many services require Key-base Authentication. In this you generate a Public and Private key. You protect the Private key as you would a password and share the Public key to access remote systems.
Windows Terminal
Windows 10 and Windows 11 have native access from the Windows Terminal.
Native Windows SSH Installation
Microsoft has created a tutorial that can give you the basics for the optional install of that package:
Tutorial: SSH in Windows Terminal
Windows Key-based Authentication
Many remote connections can be automated while also increasing security. To do that a key pair must be created. The key consists of a Public and Private pair. Microsoft has an article for that as well:
Key-based authentication in OpenSSH for Windows
Once that key pair has been generated, you should protect the Private Key as you would a secure token such as a password. The Public Key is public and can be shared. It can be sent to the remote computer to automate logins. This is usually requested by the remote computer administrator for installation at the time of your account creation. Please contact that remote administrator for more information on that process.
Native Macintosh SSH
Macintosh has a native ssh client built into the operating system. A resource for that was created by OsXDaily:
How to SSH on Mac with the Native SSH Client
Native Macintosh SSH Key-based Authentication
The Native Macintosh SSH client Key-base Authentication can use the same inductions as the subheading below "Linux SSH Key-Based Authentication"
Putty - Macintosh & Windows
Putty is an free installable application that can be used to connect to remote hosts via SSH remote access.
Putty Installation
The Patty installation files can be found at the maintainers website:
Download PuTTY: latest release - https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/latest.html
Putty Documentation
Putty documentation comes in a few different formats, those can be found at their website:
PuTTY Documentation Page
Putty Key-Based Authentication
Many remote connections can be automated while also increasing security. To do that a key pair must be created. The key consists of a Public and Private pair. Putty has an article for that:
8.2 Using PuTTYgen, the PuTTY key generator
Once that key pair has been generated, you should protect the Private Key as you would a secure token such as a password. The Public Key is public and can be shared. It can be sent to the remote computer to automate logins. This is usually requested by the remote computer administrator for installation at the time of your account creation. Please contact that remote administrator for more information on that process.
Linux SSH
Almost all Linux distributions will have SSH already installed. Try the command ssh. If it responds "command not found" you will need to install it. This would be rare, but if it's the case, these are two likely installation methods:
- Redhat type distributions: sudo dnf install openssh-clients openssh
- Ubuntu and Debian type distributions: sudo apt-get ssh-client
Linux SSH Key-Based Authentication
Many remote connections can be automated while also increasing security. To do that a key pair must be created. The key consists of a Public and Private pair. SSH Academy has an article the covers that:
What is SSH Public Key Authentication?
Once that key pair has been generated, you should protect the Private Key as you would a secure token such as a password. The Public Key is public and can be shared. It can be sent to the remote computer to automate logins. This is usually requested by the remote computer administrator for installation at the time of your account creation. Please contact that remote administrator for more information on that process.