Secure Shell on Windows

To log in to the CS Department computers, you will need a SSH client. There are several free SSH clients available for Windows. We have used both PuTTY with success. We have also used WinSCP to copy files between Windows and Unix computers.

(Note: Alternatively, you can use the Unix instructions if you use Cygwin - a Unix environment for Windows available at http://www.cygwin.com.)

Actually, this section is misnamed - PuTTY requires no installation. Just download the putty.exe file from http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html. This file can be moved to anywhere you would like to keep applications.

If you wish to copy files between the your computer and the computer science department, you will want to get WinSCP. Download the “WinSCP 2.2 (...) application” (or newer) from http://winscp.vse.cz/eng/download.php. Like PuTTY, this program requires no installation.

1. Open up PuTTY
2. Fill in the host name as “mote33.cs.vassar.edu”. Make sure you are connecting using SSH, not telnet or other protocols.
3. Enter your user name. Your user name is likely the first two letters of your first name and your whole last name, all in lower case.
4. If this is the first time connecting to this host, you will be informed that the host is unknown and are prompted as to whether to remember the host’s address. Confirm that the fingerprint is a0:d5:54:83:5b:9b:0d:9a:17:6a:cd:35:f6:bc:00:8e and choose yes.

Once you have logged in, you should see a bunch of messages welcoming you to the computer science department computer system. The last line is the shell, with a cursor waiting for you to type a command. If this is your first time, try typing “ls” to get a listing of files in your home directory.

When you have finished and want to end your connection, type “exit” into the shell.

Note - it is sometimes handy to paste text from your Windows clipboard into the Unix terminal. PuTTY uses the convention of a right mouse click to accomplish this.

To copy files over a network, say from your computer to the computer science department’s computer system or the other way around, use WinSCP.

1. Run WinSCP2.exe
2. Enter the hostname, “mote33.cs.vassar.edu”, your user name, and password. The default port number (22) is correct.
3. The first time connecting, you will recieve a message that “The server’s host key is not cached in the registry” or similar. Click on “Yes” to have the software remember this host.
4. You will be presented with a window with two main panels which both display files. The files on the left are on your local computer and the files on the left are in your CS account. Drag a file between the panes to copy it.

ssh help | User Info | CS Department

File last modified on 2007/12/16 11:47