Windows SSH Servers?

Question

I was wondering what people use as an SSHd server on Windows? I've decided that I want to be able to log in using SSH on my Windows computers but I don't want to use Linux full-time. What are my options, besides Cygwin (which I know of)? I've looked into some other server software but I don't know which are reliable and it's not easy to find reviews of some of them. Thanks!

Answer 1

Take a look at freeSSHd if you want to avoid cygwin. I don't really have any problems with it. Their freeFTPd tool is pretty nice as well.

Screenshots:

Answer 2

Bitvise SSH Server is a great product. Free for personal use but I have a paid license for commercial use. With their SSH Client, you can set up SOCKS forwarding while you are on the road to direct web and mail traffic through your server. Supports port tunnels, remote desktop, SFTP and virtual users with an easy to configure GUI.

Answer 3

Microsoft recently released its own build of OpenSSH for Windows (Releases and Downloads).

It does not have a dependency on Cygwin or anything else.

I have prepared a guide for setting up SSH/SFTP server on Windows using this Microsoft build of OpenSSH.

Answer 4

Cygwin OpenSSH.

Steps:

1. Install Cygwin:
   • Select "OpenSSH" and "nano" (or "vim")
2. Start Cygwin terminal (console) as (Local not Domain) Administrator
3. $ ssh_config
4. $ net start sshd

Add yourself (simplest):

1. $ ssh-user-config (say YES to the first one only is enough)
2. $ ssh my_username@hostname_with_cygwin_openssh from another machine

Adding other users:

1. Create a new Windows user 'john'
2. Should also log in once as that user
3. $ mkpasswd from Cygwin to update /etc/passwd
4. $ nano /home/john/.ssh/authorized_keys and paste your public SSH key
5. You can now login as 'john' with your private SSH key

If you have issues, check /var/log/sshd.log

Answer 5

See also these questions:

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/18292/what-are-some-good-ssh-servers-for-windows

https://serverfault.com/questions/8411/what-is-a-good-ssh-server-to-use-on-windows

Answer 6

I used to use copSSH; it's based on OpenSSH.

Use practices described here and here to lock it down.

I like the Bitvise Tunnelier client. In my experience, it has been better than putty (especially the auto-reconnect option).

Answer 7

I use OpenSSH. It does use parts form cygwin, but it installes what it needs & it's much smaller than a full cywin install. It's fairly easy to set it up as a service on Windows (XP at least) - no experience running it on Vista or Windows 7.

Answer 8

I used to use OpenSSH but have switched to using KpyM (http://www.kpym.com) with some code modifications for my own purposes. Its a lot more lightweight than freesshd and can run as a service so good for networks where you just want to have it running all the time without a notification tray icon. plus for deployments you can use the /SILENT flag to install with the defaults.