Installing and Using SSH on Windows


SSH stands for secure shell and is a way to remotely connect to a server and remotely execute commands on the server.

Note: You may want to print these out to help you in the installation of SSH.

Installing Secure Shell for Workstations on Windows
Connecting to the Lab Server

Download and Install Secure Shell

  1. You can download the installation package for Secure Shell for Workstations by clicking here.

    You can also enter ftp://ftp.ssh.com/pub/ssh/SSHSecureShellClient-3.2.9.exe into your browser's location bar and hit ENTER.
    On Internet Explorer you should see

    Click Run.

    On Firefox, you should see

    Click Save File.

    From Internet Explorer, the installer should run automatically. If you downloaded using Firefox, run the installer by selecting Tools > Downloads, locating the downloaded file, and click Open.

  2. At the welcome screen, click Next.


  3. Accept the license agreement by clicking Yes.


  4. In most cases you should accept the default install location. Unless you know what you are doing and have a clear reason for doing otherwise, leave this as is and click Next.


  5. In this step you can tell Windows which Start Menu folder you want to install the program icons into. It is recommended you do not change this, and just click Next.


  6. In this screen you specify which components of the program you wish to install. It is recommended you do not change this screen.


  7. Confirm your choices from the previous few screens by clicking Next.


  8. The installer will bring up a new screen with a blue progress bar. Let it do its thing.

  9. Once the installer finishes, you will see the following screen. Click Finish.


Connecting to the Lab Server

  1. Open Secure Shell for Workstations using the Start Menu or by double clicking on its icon on the Desktop.

  2. The following screen appears. To begin an SSH session, hit ENTER or hit the space bar.


  3. Enter the following parameters into the dialog box that appears:

    Host Name: lab-compute.stat.ucla.edu
    User Name: (your department login OR your 5-digit user name)
    Port: 22
    Authentication Method: Profile Settings

    Click Connect.



  4. If this your first time connecting to lab-compute, you will receive the following message. I think we can trust this site, so click Yes.


  5. Enter your password and click OK.


  6. If you get the following message, just click OK. I'm not sure what that's about...


  7. You should get a command prompt. Now use the commands you were given in class to move around the filesystem and perform file operations such as grep etc.



    If you have any problems or questions with this process, please email me.
    Back to Course Web Page