wiki:faq/security/secure-shell

Version 2 (modified by Jamie McClelland, 16 years ago) (diff)

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What is secure shell?

Secure shell (also known by its abbreviation: ssh) is a method for securely connecting from one computer (your laptop or desktop computer) to a remote computer (in this case, one of the May First/People Link servers that contains your files).

By connecting to a remote computer via secure shell, you can execute commands on that remote computer, such as setting a cron job.

How do I run a secure shell program?

Macintosh and Linux

On Macinstosh and Linux computers, secure shell programs are usually installed with your operating system (on Mac OS X it's called the Terminal program and can be found in Applications -> Utilities, on Linux there are a variety of programs with the word terminal in them - check your system menus).

Once you are in a terminal program you can type the following to connect:

ssh username@host

Replace username with your actual username and host with your primary server (malcolm.mayfirst.org or chavez.mayfirst.org, etc.).

Windows

If you are running Windows, we recommend that you install the free Putty program. The first time you run the program it will prompt you for your host (malcolm.mayfirst.org or chavez.mayfirst.org, etc), username and password.

Fingerprints

The first time you connect to a server you will be warned that you are connecting to a server for the first time and asked if you want to accept the server's "fingerprint." Please consult with our fingerprints page, comparing the fingerprint you are being offered with the one we have published to make sure they are the same. If so, you may safely tell your program to remember the fingerprint.