Best Way to Download Putty Key in 2021

Posted by Tracy Butler on July 13th, 2021

PuTTY is a versatile terminal program for Windows. It is the world's most popular free SSH client. It supports SSH, telnet, and raw socket connections with good terminal emulation. It supports public key authentication and Kerberos single-sign-on. It also includes Basic command-line SFTP and SCP implementations.

Features

1. Windows client. Mac and Linux ports exist. No server included.
2. Supports both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows. An MSI installer has been available since 2016.
3. Supports SSH client, telnet client, SFTP client (command line only), and rlogin client. Both SSH2 and SSH1 protocols are supported. Note that use of SSH1 is not recommended for security reasons. Practically all devices support SSH2 these days.
4. Supports public key authentication and Active Directory/Kerberos authentication.
5. File transfers only using a separate command-line programs. No integrated file transfer support.
6. No scripting support, but can be used together with WinSCP.

Terminal window

The main feature of the product is the terminal window. It has good terminal emulation, good configurability, and good support for different cryptographic algorithms. SSH, telnet, and plain TCP/IP protocols are supported.

The PuTTY terminal is pretty good and handles terminal emulation well.Go to our official site puttykey.com for Free Putty Download in 2021.

Transferring files

The user interface does not include an integrated file transfer client. However, command-line tools called PSFTP and PSCP are provided. These can be used for file transfers. However, most non-technical users are not willing to use a command line. Tectia SSH, for example, has offered fully integrated file transfer capability since 2000.

The WinSCP and FileZilla clients can also be used for file transfers in conjunction with PuTTY. Having two software packages, switching between them to do operations, and managing profiles and logins for both is extra trouble. WinSCP can now import PuTTY profiles, but separate login is still required for each.

Public key authentication

PuTTY uses its own file format for SSH keys. The keys are stored in .ppk files. The PuTTYgen tool can be used for generating new keys and converting between .ppk files and other key formats.

It is common for hackers and malware to collect SSH keys when penetrating an organization. This happened, for example, in the infamous Sony breach. Recently, Wikileaks obtained CIA hacking tools designed to steal SSH keys and their passphrases.

Managing SSH keys properly is important. Universal SSH Key Manager a popular SSH key management solution and the only one at the time of this writing that supports .ppk files.

Telnet support

PuTTY grew out of a telnet client. It still supports the telnet protocol. However, very few devices use telnet these days. Its use is not recommended for security reasons.However, SSH is now used in all countries, officially or unofficially. Most systems can no longer be managed without encryption. Even the most oppressive countries need to secure their systems somehow. There cannot be cybersecurity in a networked environment without encryption.

Conclusion

PuTTY also supports connecting to serial ports and raw sockets. These can sometimes be useful for debugging purposes and for working with some legacy devices. For example, in kernel development access via a serial port is still sometimes the best way to debug a panic that causes an immediate reboot, as it provides a way to see the boot messages.