Download and Install PuTTY

Environment

PuTTY, Windows

Issue

How do I download and install PuTTY?

Resolution

IMPORTANT! PuTTY allows you to run programs on a remote computer. If you want to transfer files instead, use WinSCP. See Using WinSCP to Transfer Files With SCP/SFTP for details.

Download and install PuTTY

Preconfigured PuTTY on personal computers and unmanaged university computers 

Members of the U-M community can download a PuTTY installer that has some remote U-M computers preconfigured.

1. Download the installer software using this link: PuTTY Installer, then run it
2. It may assume that you need administrative privileges on your computer
3. If your browser offers the option to run the program, you can do that
   1. Otherwise save the file
   2. Typically that will save it to a Downloads folder
4. Go to the folder where UM-PuTTY.exe was saved and double-click it

Note: Using Microsoft Edge may be problematic. Whenever possible, please use Chrome or Firefox instead.

Preconfigured PuTTY on MiWorkspace and managed university computers with a Software Center

1. Go to the Software Center (Windows)
   1. Learn more about using the software center on MiWorkspace computers
2. From the Software Center window, search for PuTTY
3. Download PuTTY (it will download to your desktop)
4. Follow the instructions in the installer

PuTTY if you do not wish to have the preconfigured version

The official PuTTY website provides an installer that will install PuTTY itself, and several other programs related to PuTTY and ssh/scp/sftp. 

• These appear in the Package files box on https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/latest.html​​​​​​​
  • These installers do require administrative privileges to install
• In the Alternative binary files box on https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/latest.html​, you should download the version appropriate for your operating system, most often the first if you have a relatively new Windows computer

Configuring PuTTY to use a remote computer

To begin configuration, you need to start PuTTY.  This can be done by finding PuTTY in the Start menu or, if you installed the standalone executable, by double-clicking on the putty.exe file. That will display the PuTTY configuration window.

• The only required information that must be provided is the Host Name or IP address, which is the top box in the main configuration
  • This is most often a host name (the name of the remote computer), which will have alphanumeric characters separated by dots (for example, login.itd.umich.edu)
• Often, you will be connecting to the same remote host, so you can save its name by first typing it into the Host Name field, then typing a "session name" into the narrow, Saved Sessions box, and clicking on the Save button to the right of the large box with Default Settings in it
• Once you have saved a "session name", it will appear in the Saved Sessions box each time you start PuTTY on the same computer
  • If you use a different computer, you will need to configure PuTTY from scratch
• If you installed using the UM-PuTTY.exe installer, the configuration window will be prefilled with the names of several commonly used remote hosts at U-M (see screenshot below)

Note: In the illustration, the list of Saved Sessions has been scrolled down to make the ITS Login Service and AFS session visible.

Use PuTTY to connect to remote Windows computers

See instructions in https://teamdynamix.umich.edu/TDClient/30/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=7293

Additional Information

The PuTTY documentation page for PuTTY version 0.76

Need additional information or assistance? Contact the ITS Service Center.