How to Enable SSH on Windows and Mac

Today, in this article we will discuss about how to Enable SSH on Windows and Mac. By default, SSH uses TCP port 22, but you can change this to use a different port. SSH uses symmetric encryption, asymmetric encryption, and hashing to connect the client to the remote server in a safe way.

When you link to the server for the first time, you will be asked to check the server’s public key. On future connections, the client will use this confirmed public key to check the known_hosts file to make sure you are still connecting to the same server. But in 2018, Microsoft added an OpenSSH Windows integration that made it possible for native SSH methods to be used.

SSH stands for “Secure Shell,” which is a protocol that is usually used to connect to Linux computers. The command-line SSH tool lets you log in to your server and run commands remotely to do any needed job. But if you can’t use SSH commands, it’s because you need to turn them on in Windows features.

How to Enable SSH on Windows

SSH commands can be run directly through PowerShell in Windows 11/10, but this feature needs to be turned on by taking these steps. If you want to know more information about this Visit Official Microsoft Support site.

1. Open the START menu and open Manage optional features.
2. Select Add a feature.
3. Search for SSH and install both the OpenSSH Client and the OpenSSH Server.
4. Restart your machine (or sign out and in again) to automatically add the set of SSH commands to your PATH environment variable. You should now be able to execute the ssh command from PowerShell.
5. If you see the usage message above, you can stop here and everything is set up. If not, you may have an error similar to the following.
6. If you see this error, keep reading to add the commands to your PATH environment variable directly.

How to Enable SSH on Mac

1. Open the Apple menu in the upper left corner of the screen, and select “System Preferences…”.
2. Under “Internet & Wireless“, select “Sharing“.
3. In the left column of services, enable “Remote Login“.
4. Highlight the “Remote Login” service and enable access for the users you would like to have SSH access.
5. You can select all users, or specific users by selecting “Only these users:” and adding the appropriate users by clicking “+”.
6. Take note of the command displayed underneath the words “Remote Login: On” in the upper middle part of the screen.
7. Write this command down as you will need it to log in from a different system.
8. If your firewall is enabled (which it is by default), you may need to restart the firewall to allow SSH communications to pass through port 22.
9. Open “System Prefrences“, click “Security“, and restart the Firewall.
10. Test that the firewall is not blocking SSH access by going to a different system and entering the ssh login command in step 6 above.
11. If you cannot login, restart the firewall or reboot.

What Is SSH?

SSH, also called Secure Socket Shell or Secure Shell, is a secure network protocol that lets users, especially system administrators, access faraway devices safely. It is made up of a secure network protocol and a set of tools that make the protocol work. SSH encrypts contact with a remote system by using a pair of cryptographic SSH keys, which are made up of a public key and a private key. The keys work together to make sure that both the client and the remote server are who they say they are.

SSH keys can be used anywhere there is an unprotected network, and they should be used there too. SSH does more than just provide strong encryption and secure remote connections. It also encrypts the data when files are transferred or when network infrastructure components are managed safely. It can also be set up to let port forwarding happen by mapping the usual SSH port to a free port on the destination.

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