Download PuTTY – Free SSH and telnet client for Windows

You may be away from the office and need to view or work on some files which are on your office desktop. Or maybe you are on the go, traveling or waiting for a doctor’s appointment, and feeling bored remember you have some fun games in your home computer that can keep you entertained. There is a way that you can connect to those computers from where you are, even if the connection is across Windows and UNIX platforms. Remote desktop software such as PuTTY comes into play.

Why Use PuTTY?

PuTTY is a tool that is simple to use. You need to install and enable it on either your Windows or UNIX computer; in this case, both the remote computer and the one you are using. In addition, the remote computer you are connecting to should be connected to the internet, as should be the one you are using. Set permissions in advance to guarantee connection later.

Also, be sure you know the name of the remote computer beforehand, and be on the list of users. Also, ensure that remote connections are allowed to go through on that computer’s firewall. For a secure experience, add a password if you don’t already have one. Add the current computer by prompting a dialogue box in “Properties”, then select remote settings, remote desktop, user and add. You can now work on your documents or access any other files you need to. You can even troubleshoot the remote computer from your console.

Key Features of PuTTY Include:

• It has Unicode support, which covers languages universally;
• It is a Windows client, through ports for UNIX and Mac exist;
• It supports both 32 – bit and 64-bit Windows;
• Supports SSH client, telnet client, SFTP client (command line only), and rlogin client;
• Both SSH2 and SSH1 protocols are supported;
• Both public key and active directory authentication are supported;
• Files are transferred using separate command-line programs and not integrated file support;
• Can be used together with Windows Secure Copy (WinSCP).

Summary

PuTTY is altogether a good tool. It is, however, important to note the latest version is recommended. This is because earlier versions do have some security loopholes. For example, a corrupted remote server can execute code on a client even on a downloaded file. It can also cause memory corruption.

A corrupt server can also execute the malware on the client. There are some reported cases of a Trojan version in circulation. Despite all these, the new version has a security fix in that after authentication, PuTTY does not store a user’s keys in memory. This prevents malicious middle-men attacks. It also has memory expanded for string lengths. Kindly, also note that in countries where encryption is not allowed, use of this tool is illegal. To be on the safe side, be sure to look up the cyberspace laws of your respective country.