Step-by-Step Guide to Download and Install PuTTY on Windows

PuTTY is a popular SSH and Telnet client for Windows, used to connect securely to remote systems. Follow these steps to download and install PuTTY on your Windows computer.

Step 1: Download PuTTY

  1. Open your web browser and go to the official PuTTY website:
    👉 https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/latest.html
  2. Scroll down to the "Package files" section.
  3. Under the Windows (64-bit) MSI installer section, click on:
  4. putty--installer.msi (recommended for easy installation).
  5. Wait for the file to finish downloading.

Step 2: Install PuTTY

  1. Locate the downloaded file (putty-<version>-installer.msi) in your Downloads folder.
  2. Double-click the file to launch the installer.
  3. If prompted by User Account Control (UAC), click Yes to allow the installation.
  4. Follow the setup wizard:
  5. Click Next on the welcome screen.
  6. Choose the installation directory (or leave it as default).
  7. Click Next, then Install.
  8. Once the installation is complete, click Finish.

Step 3: Launch PuTTY and Connect to a Remote Server

  1. Open PuTTY from the Start menu or Desktop shortcut.
  2. In the PuTTY Configuration window, enter:
  3. Host Name (or IP address) of the remote server.
  4. Select Connection type (default is SSH).
  5. Set Port (default SSH port is 22).
  6. Click Open to start the connection.
  7. If connecting for the first time, a security alert will appear. Click Accept to continue.
  8. Enter your username and password when prompted.

Step 4: Save Connection Settings (Optional)

  1. In the PuTTY Configuration window, enter your connection details.
  2. Under Saved Sessions, type a name for your connection.
  3. Click Save to store the settings for future use.
  4. Next time, simply select the saved session and click Load before connecting.

Step 5: Additional Configuration (Optional)

  • Enable SSH Key Authentication:
  • Use PuTTYgen (installed with PuTTY) to generate SSH keys.
  • Change Terminal Appearance:
  • Go to Window > Appearance in PuTTY settings.
  • Enable Logging:
  • Navigate to Session > Logging and enable session logs.

Now you’re ready to use PuTTY for secure remote connections! 🚀