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Getting and Using ssh

Download SSH

To bring your pc up on this new ssh program, you have several options.
  • Several systems already include ssh support, including Solaris 9 and later, many Linux's, Mac OS/X.
  • Ssh.com has a commercial version for sale, and has also been making a non-commercial version available for free download. They have lately begun making the non-commercial version hard to find, and may soon withdraw it. Go to http://ftp.ssh.com/pub/ssh to see if it's still available there.

    First, look at LICENSE, which probably still tells you that non-commercial use of their ssh2 is ok. If it is, look at README.SSH2. Scan down to Install, which will tell you how to download and install the ssh utility.

    If you're a MS-Windows user you'll want to download SSHSecureShellClient-3.2.9.exe.

    Unix/Linux/FreeBSD/MacOS/X users will need to download the source code, http://ftp.ssh.com/pub/ssh/ssh-3.2.9.1.tar.gz, build it, and install it according to the instructions in the README.SSH2 file.

    If you don't see these files, look for similarly named files with a different version number.

  • The P&A system has archived the above files against the time they become unavailable from ssh.com.
    Look here. Please comply with the restrictions posted in LICENSE.
  • There's also an open source version of the ssh utility, OpenSsh, available at http://www.openssh.org. In the sidebar at left, you can find pointers to OpenSsh versions for most operating systems. Also listed are other ssh alternatives available at other sites. You should have no trouble finding something that works.
After you've download and installed ssh, you can use it to log into University computers. If you have a MS Windows installation, an icon called "SSH Secure Shell Client" will appear on the desktop, and on the START menu under Programs/SSH Secure Shell. Start it up. It works great! (Although ssh is considered secure, here are notes on possible vulnerabilities of ssh.)

Using a Remote Login

Once you are logged into a University computer, you can run programs from the command line. If they are graphics programs, they'll need access to your local X-Windows server. X-Windows is the standard Unix graphics server.

If you are running MS-Windows, you must use an X-Windows server program such as Xwin32. In order to provide a remote program access to Xwin32 across your connection, you must enable forwarding. Open the SSH Secure Shell Client, then go to Edit/Settings/Profile Settings/Tunneling and check the box for TunnelX11 connections.

Then you can open a graphical X-Window on your remote computer by entering (e.g.) 

	xterm &
from the command line on the Department Unix machine.
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