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PuTTY's documentation is not complete yet. This FAQ contains the most common questions people ask me as a result of the lack of documentation.
Question:
Does PuTTY support the SSH 2 protocol?
Answer:
Yes, as of version 0.50. Upgrade now!
The very latest snapshots (as of 6-Mar-2001 or thereabouts) support
RSA public key authentication in SSH 2. DSA (also known as DSS) is
not supported, for
security reasons that affect the
generation of signatures.
Question:
Does PuTTY support <some feature or other>?
Answer:
Have a look at the Wishlist. If the
feature is listed in there, then it isn't supported in PuTTY. If it
isn't, and you still can't find the feature, then send me
an email. But read the Wishlist first, OK? That's what it's for.
Question:
Is there any chance of a Windows CE port? (or a Mac port, or a Psion
port, or a Unix port, or any other port?)
Answer:
Probably not in the near future, unless somebody helps out. We have
a Mac port half-finished, but don't hold your breath; the
integration issues alone are massive. Windows CE looks as if it
should be the easiest port, because it's not too dissimilar to
Windows proper, but none of the development team has a WinCE device
so there's no local motivation or easily available test platform.
Question:
Does PuTTY support local echo?
Answer:
The latest development snapshots fully support it, and the 0.52
release will as well.
In the 0.51 release, the option "Use local terminal line
discipline", in the Terminal panel, is the closest you can get. In
addition to local echo itself, this option also allows you to type a
whole line of text and edit it locally, and nothing is sent to the
server until you hit Return. This seems to be what most people
really want when they ask for local echo.
NOTE: The 0.51 release has a bug which makes it
impossible to enable this feature after a session has started. You
need to turn it on before you begin your session. This is fixed in
the snapshots and will be fixed in 0.52.
Question:
What terminal type(s) does PuTTY use?
Answer:
PuTTY contains a highly functional terminal emulator that should be
compatible with almost all features of xterm,
vt220 and other terminals in the same series.
By default, PuTTY announces its terminal type to the remote server
as xterm, although you can configure this.
Question:
Does PuTTY support storing its settings in a file instead of the
Registry?
Answer:
Not at present, although it's on the wish list. However, somebody
sent me a workaround you can use until it's implemented. If you're
carrying PuTTY around on a floppy, this might be particularly
useful. See the end of the configuration chapter in
the manual.
Question:
Can you implement a feature to start a PuTTY window maximised?
Answer:
There's no need. You can already start PuTTY maximised, by creating
a Windows shortcut with "Run Maximized" selected. (This used to
break the configuration box. It now doesn't.)
Question:
Can you make PuTTY go full-screen on Alt-Enter like a DOS box?
Answer:
No. Only DOS boxes can do that. Everything else in a Windows system
has to play by the rules.
Question:
Can I start an SSH session directly from the command line, without
having to go through the config box?
Answer:
Yes. The command line you need is putty -ssh host.name.
Alternatively, you can load and run a saved session instantly by
providing the session name on PuTTY's command line prefixed with an
@ sign:
putty @mysession.
Question:
When I double-click on pscp.exe it brings up a command prompt window
which closes again immediately. What's wrong?
Answer:
PSCP is a command-line application. It has no GUI. If you're
familiar with the Unix "scp" command, you'll be
immediately at home with PSCP. If not, bring up a Command Prompt
window and type "pscp" (assuming it's on your PATH) and
you will be given usage instructions.
Joris van Rantwijk has written some more help on PSCP: follow
this link to
read it.
Question:
When the network experiences temporary problems (partitioning etc),
putty.exe times out in about 25 seconds, which is way too fast.
Could you increase the timeout value?
Answer:
This is a Windows problem, not a PuTTY problem. The timeout value
can't be set on per application or per session basis. To increase
the TCP timeout globally, you need to add the following key to the
registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VxD\MSTCP\MaxDataRetries
in Win95/98/ME (it must be DWORD in Win95, or String in Win98/ME),
or
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters\TcpMaxDataRetransmissions
in WinNT/2000 (it must be DWORD). Then set the key's value to
something like 10. This will cause Windows to try harder to keep
connections alive instead of abandoning them.
Question:
When I connect to an SSH 2 server, I get "Incorrect MAC received on
packet". What's going on?
Answer:
This is a bug in early versions of ssh.com's SSH 2 implementation,
not in PuTTY. PuTTY contains an option to work around the bug,
though. On the SSH configuration panel, enable the option "Imitate
SSH 2 MAC bug in commercial <= v2.3.x" and you should be fine.
(This is nothing to do with Ethernet cards. MAC stands for Message
Authentication Code and is a cryptography thing. It's nothing to do
with Ethernet MAC addresses; that stands for Media Access Control
and is something totally different.)
Question:
Why does selecting a colour in the Colours configuration panel not
do anything?
Answer:
Because that's not what it's for. The Colours panel lists all the
colours which your session might use (depending on what control
sequences the server sends you) and lets you adjust the appearance
of each one. So if your application puts up a heavily coloured
display and the blue bits are too dark to read, you can use the
Colours panel to alter the shade of blue PuTTY uses. But if your
application puts up a whole bunch of black and white text, bringing
up the Colours panel and clicking on ANSI Green won't turn your text
green.
Question:
How do I copy and paste between PuTTY and other Windows applications?
Answer:
Copy and paste in PuTTY works a little like Unix xterm
and similar programs. Dragging the left mouse button in a PuTTY
terminal window selects text and automatically copies it to
the Windows clipboard. Hitting the right mouse button in a PuTTY
window pastes the contents of the Windows clipboard into the session
as if it were typed at the keyboard. If you have a third mouse
button, you can configure the buttons to work exactly like
xterm.
Question:
When I run Plink on Win95, it falls over failing to find WS2_32.DLL.
Where can I find this DLL?
Answer:
WinSock 2 is not part of Win95 as standard. On Microsoft's website
there is an update. Try
this
link.
Question:
How do I change the location of the PUTTY.RND random number seed
file, if I don't like where PuTTY puts it by default?
Answer:
Put the full pathname in the Registry, at
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SimonTatham\PuTTY, as a
String value with the name RandSeedFile.
If this registry key doesn't exist, the default location is in your
home directory (on NT) or your Windows directory (on Win95/98).
Question:
Would you like me to register you a snappier domain name? The PuTTY
web page is hard to find.
Answer:
No, it isn't. You type "putty" into
Google
and it's the very first thing that comes back. The PuTTY web page
will stay where it is, because stability is good, and it's good that
the page should continue to be at the location where people have
already bookmarked it. And if I did want a snappier domain
name, I'd want to have it registered by me or by somebody I know and
trust, rather than by some complete random who I've never met or
spoken to before. (No offence.) So, no thank you.
Question:
Is it safe for me to download PuTTY and use it on a public PC? What
will it leave on the system?
Answer:
It depends whether you trust that PC. If you don't trust the public
PC, don't use PuTTY on it, and don't use any other software you plan
to type passwords into either. It might be watching your keystrokes,
or it might tamper with the PuTTY binary you download.
If you do trust the PC, though, then it's probably OK to use PuTTY
on it (but if you don't trust the network, then the PuTTY download
might be tampered with, so it would be better to carry PuTTY with
you on a floppy).
PuTTY will leave some Registry entries, and a random seed file, on
the PC. You might want to clean these up when you leave. You can do
that by running "putty -cleanup".
Question:
Why can't I subscribe to putty-bugs? (or, alternatively, "Please
reply by email to my address as I don't read the putty-bugs mailing
list")
Answer:
You should not treat putty-bugs as a mailing list. You should just
send mail to it, and expect to receive a reply at your own email
address. You should not attempt to subscribe first.
putty-bugs is a mailing list, but the only people
subscribed to it are the actual PuTTY developers. It isn't a general
discussion forum for PuTTY. If you try to subscribe, it won't work.
Please don't.
Question:
How can I make a donation to PuTTY development?
Answer:
Go to e-gold.com, and deposit
virtual gold in account number 174769. Then e-mail to let us know
you've done this (otherwise we might not notice, and never collect
it).
NOTE: We will try to find something PuTTY-related to
spend the money on. (More OSes, compilers, perhaps computer
upgrades...) But we can't promise that your money will go
towards PuTTY development. If we can't find anything useful to do
with it, we will put it straight into the pockets of the developers.
If you have a problem with this, then mail us first to ask what we
would do with the money, and then decide whether to donate depending
on whether you think it's a good use.
Apology: I only put this entry in the FAQ because it really
was frequently asked. I didn't want to put it in at all, because I
don't like to look as if I'm begging for money. The PuTTY team
will not ask for donations, and will not try to make you
feel guilty for not donating. If you want to keep your money, go
ahead and keep it. No problem at all.
Question:
How do I pronounce PuTTY?
Answer:
Just like "putty". Exactly like the stuff you put on window frames.
It's called PuTTY partly because it makes Windows usable :-)