To set up PuTTY, run the executable file and after the interface opens, click the “Sessions” tab on the left (it should be selected by default). Step 2: Configuring Your Credentials with PuTTY So once you download it, you can just run it and get started right away. It’s a standalone program and doesn’t require any installation process. You can download it from here, and grab the version that suits you best, like this: Download PuTTY From their Website One such program is called PuTTY, and it’s something of a standard connection tool in the server world. Step 1: Downloading PuTTYĪ prerequisite to using private keys to log in would be that you need to convert the private key you downloaded from your server into a “PPK” file for use with 3rd party programs. By working through a complex sequence of cryptographic algorithms, SSH key authentication is completely safe from snooping.įor these reasons, you want to use private key authentication whenever you can. Your private key is never sent over the public network.
Passwords are also susceptible to “man-in-the-middle” attacks, where a hacker can intercept your password in plain text when you connect to the server and then use it whenever they want.Ī private key connection, however, doesn’t allow man-in-the-middle attacks. A private key on your local computer isn’t as vulnerable as a password. Something you have, on the other hand, is a lot more difficult to fake. In general, passwords are slowly being phased out for serious security applications – or at the very least, they’re being combined with other forms of authentication. And something you know can also be known by other people. Authentication usually hinges on one or more of three things:Ī password belongs to the first category – something you know. When logging in via SSH, you can choose to use a password or a key file.
In this article, we’ll show you how to use a private key to allow you to log into a server without the need for typing in a password.
We also saw that we need to use the “puttygen” tool to convert it into a format that’s accepted by a lot of software programs like WinSCP for SFTP access, and so on. In an earlier article, we saw how to generate a private/public key pair. However, private keys offer a good balance between convenience and security. While several methods exist to properly secure your server, from using a long password to two-factor authentication, they can be quite a hassle to set up and use on a day-to-day basis. On Windows Server 2016, right-click the installer executable in Windows Explorer, click Properties, and see if you need to check Unblock on the General tab.With security becoming increasingly important in today’s modern world of information theft and privacy concerns, keeping your server safe and secure has almost become a necessity. Help! The installer does not start?ĭepending on your Windows version, security settings, and how the installer was downloaded, you may need to take an extra step to start it. During this process, your settings will be preserved. The installer will detect an existing installation and will automatically remove it before installing the new one.
To upgrade from a previous version, download the new installer, execute it, and follow the process. Thank you! Upgrading from a previous version
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