How To Connect to Linux Server from Windows [Using Putty SSH]

Putty is a free and open-source cross-platform that allows you to connect to a Linux server and access your Linux server. This software also supports Telnet and Rlogin protocols. This program must be downloaded and installed before connecting to your Linux server. Instead of using the built-in Linux systems, Linux PuTTY is used. Linux distributions come with SSH functionality incorporated into their terminal, although in real environments, PuTTY is more commonly used than the default Linux systems. In this article, you will learn How to Connect to a Linux VPS Using Putty (SSH).

After buying your Linux VPS, it is essential to know how to use putty in Linux. Putty Linux is not that complicated but helps you to work with its GUI and experience easier usage.

What is putty in Linux?

Connect To Linux VPS with Putty

Step 1. Download & Install Putty

Firstly, you need to download and install Putty software. Most Linux distributions have official default repositories where PuTTY in Linux can be installed. Here, we go as follows.

Download a suitable software version of Putty, if your system support 64-bit so download it, if not download the 32-bit version. Then, complete the installation steps and Install the Putty to Linux connection!

Step 2. Use Putty to connect to a VPS using Password

Search the “Putty” in your Windows search box and open it. In the launched window, put the IP or Hostname and click Open. Example, IP: 192.168.1.14 or Hostname: server1.domain.com

Note: The default SSH port number is 22, also make sure the SSH radio button is selected!

It will pop up a Warning page at the first login! If you are sure that you have entered the correct information, click Yes. Future connections do not show this warning because the host key is now cached on the local computer.

Now the connection is created, Just type the Username and press Enter, After that, type Putty Password and press Enter again.

Note: Due to security reasons, You won’t see the typed characters as a password!
Hola! You are in!

Using the Putty SSH client, you can connect to your account.

How to change the Linux VPS Root Password

We always recommend changing the default root password to a personal one! You can use passwd command to do it in 3 simple steps!

1. Execute the passwd in the shell prompt
   
2. Enter the new password. As mentioned, the password does not echo to the screen.
3. Reenter the new password and press Enter.

You’ve now used PuTTY to successfully get into your SSH account and configured it to connect using a secure SSH key pair. You only need to double-click on the stored session you established and input your passphrase to connect securely in the future.

What are Putty Alternatives?

PuTTY still has a lot of users that use it to connect to Linux servers and network devices using SSH, but its single-session handling design has some drawbacks. Today, a wide variety of SSH clients and terminal emulators that aim to outperform PuTTY are readily available. Let’s look at different online PuTTY alternatives and how they differ from this venerable program.

Xshell

An application called Xshell was created by Netsarang as part of their PC X software collection to simplify the interface between UNIX, Linux, and Windows systems. The SSH client component of that package, Xshell, was created with difficult administrative responsibilities in mind. You can manage numerous connections with a session manager, and switching between them is simple with Xshell’s tabbed GUI interface. Complex scripts can be written more easily with Xshell’s draft & send interface. Xshell supports cutting-edge encryption techniques like GSSAPI and PKCS#11 if security is a priority.

Bitvise SSH Client

The Bitvise SSH Client is a free Windows utility that works in conjunction with the Bitvise SSH Server but can also be used independently. For up to 30 days, the Bitvise SSH Server is free. The SSH client is free forever and compatible with Windows OS. It is a contemporary terminal emulator that supports SFTP, SSH, SCP, and tunneling connections and offers both a GUI and command-line interface. Moreover, complex tunneling features are used. Bitvise SSH Client offers features like dynamic port forwarding and proxy server functionality, coupled with the security of encryption technology. To speed up the connection procedure, Bitvise has integrated typical activities like Remote Desktop forwarding into the Interface.

Kitty

A fork of PuTTY is KiTTY. That implies that the source code of PuTTY was previously copied and modified to create this unique program. The original program has been altered and upgraded since that copy was made. As a development of the PuTTY code, KiTTY is the genuine heir to PuTTY, therefore if you’re looking for a PuTTY alternative, this is it. The utility contains SCP for secure file transfers and offers an SSH secure connection. Kitty is also routinely updated, therefore this utility has steadily strayed from PuTTY’s basic functionality. Only Windows users can download Kitty for free. You can log into distant Windows, Linux, Unix, and macOS devices even if the interface only supports Windows.

You can write scripts to automatically log in and execute commands on the command line of the remote computer. The interface can display numerous concurrent sessions.

You are recommended to explore other alternatives of Petty to find the best option.

Conclusion

In this article, you learned How to Connect to a Linux VPS Using Putty (SSH). The most popular method for connecting to a Linux-based VPS from a Windows machine is through SSH, which can be done with PuTTY for Linux. Free software called PuTTY enables command-line access to your server. Now, you know what PuTTY is, how to install and use it, and also the way you can access remote systems.