Getting Started with SSH

SSH, or Secure Shell, is a protocol that provides secure remote access to a computer over the Internet. It is commonly used to connect to a remote server or device, transfer files, and perform administrative tasks. Here's a beginner's guide to using SSH:

Using a password

1. Installing an SSH client: To use SSH, you'll need an SSH client installed on your computer. There are many free SSH clients available for different operating systems, including PuTTY (Windows), Terminal (MacOS), and ssh (Linux).
2. Connecting to a remote server: To connect to a remote server, you'll need to know the server's IP address or hostname, as well as the username and password for a valid account on that server. Use the following syntax to connect to the remote server using an SSH client:

ssh username@server_address

Using a private key

Instead of using a password to log in, you can also use a private key. A private key is a secure way to authenticate and is commonly used for automation scripts and other automated tasks. To use a private key, you'll need to generate a key pair and copy the public key to the remote server.

To understand how to create a public/private key pair to use with SSH checkout our handy guide for setting up a remote SSH server.

What can you do with SSH?

1. Transferring files: SSH includes a feature called SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol), which allows you to securely transfer files between your local computer and the remote server. You can use a tool like scp (secure copy) to transfer files, or use an FTP client that supports SFTP.
2. Port forwarding: SSH also supports port forwarding, which allows you to redirect network traffic from your local computer to a remote server. This can be useful for accessing services on the remote server that are not directly accessible from the Internet.

These are just a few of the basic features of SSH. With a little practice, you'll be able to use SSH to securely connect to remote servers and perform a variety of tasks.