Connecting to Unix from Windows

This tutorial will give you a basic introduction to connecting to a Unix machine from Windows.  From your Windows computer, you can connect to a Unix server using an SSH client called "putty."  SSH stands for "Secure Shell," and allows you to securely get a shell remotely, as the name implies. Let us begin:

• Start by downloading the Putty program from here, or find it via google:
  

http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html

Scroll down and grab which one applies to your specific Windows operating system. There are other SSH clients besides putty that can be used, however those can discovered in time. 

• The screen below will come up after putty.exe is run.  From here, type in a Host Name.    

The Host Name is dependent on your department.  The list of which server is for which department can be found here:

http://www.cat.pdx.edu/network/shell-and-ssh-access-3.html

• Once the Host Name has been entered into the field, press the 'enter' key on your keyboard--the other options don't need to be changed. Then the message depicted below will appear. Click ‘Yes’ if you're asked about "keys." Since you're connecting for the first time, it's O.K. to accept unknown keys. Go ahead and fill in the login that was given when initially signing up for a CAT/MCECS account.

After the user account information has been entered, it will prompt you to enter a password.  (Note:  When you enter the password, the curser will not move). 

 

• If everything has been entered correctly, the command prompt will appear. You're in! This is where you can begin learning how to modify, add, delete and create new files within this shell. It is highly suggested you change your password to something far easier to remember than the previous one. At the command prompt, type passwd and then hit the enter key on your keyboard like this:

Enter your current password carefully as those random capitalized letters, numbers and (^$ symbols are tricky.  After that has been typed correctly, the new password can be entered.

• You are now ready to start using UNIX.  Yaay!  A tutorial we recommend can be found here: http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/Teaching/Unix/unix1.html.