SSH stands for Secure Shell and is the go-to network protocol for creating a secure tunnel between two devices. This tunnel is regarded as secure and private thanks to SSH’s use of strong encryption and is used as one of the primary ways of managing servers remotely. Free is proffered, but please post information about any good windows SSH tunnel manager. Windows ssh vpn. Edited May 9 '09 at 7:44. 17.7k 6 6 gold badges 45 45 silver badges 54 54 bronze badges. Asked May 2 '09 at 5:59. Zoredache Zoredache.

SSH Tunnels Manager help you configure SSH tunnels easily via a beautyfull GUI! With SSH Tunnel Manager you can configure many tunnels as you wish and simply start or stop them. Option 2 (recommended for new users): Use an SSH client to connect to the master node, configure SSH tunneling with dynamic port forwarding, and configure your Internet browser to use an add-on such as FoxyProxy for Firefox or SwitchyOmega for Chrome to manage your SOCKS proxy settings. What is an SSH tunnel? SSH tunneling is a method of transporting arbitrary networking data over an encrypted SSH connection. It can be used to add encryption to legacy applications. It can also be used to implement VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) and access intranet services across firewalls.

ssh (SSH client) is a program for logging into a remote machine and for executing commands on a remote machine. It is intended to provide secure encrypted communications between two untrusted hosts over an insecure network. X11 connections, arbitrary TCP ports and UNIX-domain sockets can also be forwarded over the secure channel.

ssh connects and logs into the specified destination, which may be specified as either [user@]hostname or a URI of the form ssh://[user@]hostname[:port]. The user must prove his/her identity to the remote machine using one of several methods (see below).

If a command is specified, it is executed on the remote host instead of a login shell.

The options are as follows:

-4

Forces ssh to use IPv4 addresses only.

-6

Forces ssh to use IPv6 addresses only.

-A

Enables forwarding of connections from an authentication agent such as ssh-agent(1). This can also be specified on a per-host basis in a configuration file.

Agent forwarding should be enabled with caution. Users with the ability to bypass file permissions on the remote host (for the agent's UNIX-domain socket) can access the local agent through the forwarded connection. An attacker cannot obtain key material from the agent, however they can perform operations on the keys that enable them to authenticate using the identities loaded into the agent. A safer alternative may be to use a jump host (see -J).

-a

Disables forwarding of the authentication agent connection.

-Bbind_interface

Bind to the address of bind_interface before attempting to connect to the destination host. This is only useful on systems with more than one address.

-bbind_address

Use bind_address on the local machine as the source address of the connection. Only useful on systems with more than one address.

-C

Requests compression of all data (including stdin, stdout, stderr, and data for forwarded X11, TCP and UNIX-domain connections). The compression algorithm is the same used by gzip(1). Compression is desirable on modem lines and other slow connections, but will only slow down things on fast networks. The default value can be set on a host-by-host basis in the configuration files; see the Compression option.

-ccipher_spec

Selects the cipher specification for encrypting the session. cipher_spec is a comma-separated list of ciphers listed in order of preference. See the Ciphers keyword in ssh_config(5) for more information.

-D [bind_address:]port

Specifies a local “dynamic” application-level port forwarding. This works by allocating a socket to listen to port on the local side, optionally bound to the specified bind_address. Whenever a connection is made to this port, the connection is forwarded over the secure channel, and the application protocol is then used to determine where to connect to from the remote machine. Currently the SOCKS4 and SOCKS5 protocols are supported, and ssh will act as a SOCKS server. Only root can forward privileged ports. Dynamic port forwardings can also be specified in the configuration file.

IPv6 addresses can be specified by enclosing the address in square brackets. Only the superuser can forward privileged ports. By default, the local port is bound in accordance with the GatewayPorts setting. However, an explicit bind_address may be used to bind the connection to a specific address. The bind_address of “localhost” indicates that the listening port be bound for local use only, while an empty address or ‘*’ indicates that the port should be available from all interfaces.

-Elog_file

Append debug logs to log_file instead of standard error.

-eescape_char

Sets the escape character for sessions with a pty (default: ‘~’). The escape character is only recognized at the beginning of a line. The escape character followed by a dot (‘.’) closes the connection; followed by control-Z suspends the connection; and followed by itself sends the escape character once. Setting the character to “none” disables any escapes and makes the session fully transparent.

-Fconfigfile

Specifies an alternative per-user configuration file. If a configuration file is given on the command line, the system-wide configuration file (/etc/ssh/ssh_config) will be ignored. The default for the per-user configuration file is ~/.ssh/config. If set to “none”, no configuration files will be read.

-f

Requests ssh to go to background just before command execution. This is useful if ssh is going to ask for passwords or passphrases, but the user wants it in the background. This implies -n. The recommended way to start X11 programs at a remote site is with something like ssh -f host xterm.

If the ExitOnForwardFailure configuration option is set to “yes”, then a client started with -f will wait for all remote port forwards to be successfully established before placing itself in the background.

-G

Causes ssh to print its configuration after evaluating Host and Match blocks and exit.

-g

Allows remote hosts to connect to local forwarded ports. If used on a multiplexed connection, then this option must be specified on the master process.

-Ipkcs11

Specify the PKCS#11 shared library ssh should use to communicate with a PKCS#11 token providing keys for user authentication.

-iidentity_file

Selects a file from which the identity (private key) for public key authentication is read. The default is ~/.ssh/id_dsa, ~/.ssh/id_ecdsa, ~/.ssh/id_ecdsa_sk, ~/.ssh/id_ed25519, ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_sk and ~/.ssh/id_rsa. Identity files may also be specified on a per-host basis in the configuration file. It is possible to have multiple -i options (and multiple identities specified in configuration files). If no certificates have been explicitly specified by the CertificateFile directive, ssh will also try to load certificate information from the filename obtained by appending -cert.pub to identity filenames.

-Jdestination

Connect to the target host by first making a ssh connection to the jump host described by destination and then establishing a TCP forwarding to the ultimate destination from there. Multiple jump hops may be specified separated by comma characters. This is a shortcut to specify a ProxyJump configuration directive. Note that configuration directives supplied on the command-line generally apply to the destination host and not any specified jump hosts. Use ~/.ssh/config to specify configuration for jump hosts.

-K

Enables GSSAPI-based authentication and forwarding (delegation) of GSSAPI credentials to the server.

-k

Disables forwarding (delegation) of GSSAPI credentials to the server.

-L [bind_address:]port:host:hostport

-L [bind_address:]port:remote_socket

-Llocal_socket:host:hostport

-Llocal_socket:remote_socket

Specifies that connections to the given TCP port or Unix socket on the local (client) host are to be forwarded to the given host and port, or Unix socket, on the remote side. This works by allocating a socket to listen to either a TCP port on the local side, optionally bound to the specified bind_address, or to a Unix socket. Whenever a connection is made to the local port or socket, the connection is forwarded over the secure channel, and a connection is made to either host port hostport, or the Unix socket remote_socket, from the remote machine.

Port forwardings can also be specified in the configuration file. Only the superuser can forward privileged ports. IPv6 addresses can be specified by enclosing the address in square brackets.

By default, the local port is bound in accordance with the GatewayPorts setting. However, an explicit bind_address may be used to bind the connection to a specific address. The bind_address of “localhost” indicates that the listening port be bound for local use only, while an empty address or ‘*’ indicates that the port should be available from all interfaces.

-llogin_name

Specifies the user to log in as on the remote machine. This also may be specified on a per-host basis in the configuration file.

-M

Places the ssh client into “master” mode for connection sharing. Multiple -M options places ssh into “master” mode but with confirmation required using ssh-askpass(1) before each operation that changes the multiplexing state (e.g. opening a new session). Refer to the description of ControlMaster in ssh_config(5) for details.

-mmac_spec

A comma-separated list of MAC (message authentication code) algorithms, specified in order of preference. See the MACs keyword for more information.

-N

Do not execute a remote command. This is useful for just forwarding ports.

-n

Redirects stdin from /dev/null (actually, prevents reading from stdin). This must be used when ssh is run in the background. A common trick is to use this to run X11 programs on a remote machine. For example, ssh -n shadows.cs.hut.fi emacs & will start an emacs on shadows.cs.hut.fi, and the X11 connection will be automatically forwarded over an encrypted channel. The ssh program will be put in the background. (This does not work if ssh needs to ask for a password or passphrase; see also the -f option.)

-Octl_cmd

Control an active connection multiplexing master process. When the -O option is specified, the ctl_cmd argument is interpreted and passed to the master process. Valid commands are: “check” (check that the master process is running), “forward” (request forwardings without command execution), “cancel” (cancel forwardings), “exit” (request the master to exit), and “stop” (request the master to stop accepting further multiplexing requests).

-ooption

Can be used to give options in the format used in the configuration file. This is useful for specifying options for which there is no separate command-line flag. For full details of the options listed below, and their possible values, see ssh_config(5).

-pport

Port to connect to on the remote host. This can be specified on a per-host basis in the configuration file.

-Qquery_option

Queries ssh for the algorithms supported for the specified version 2. The available features are: cipher (supported symmetric ciphers), cipher-auth (supported symmetric ciphers that support authenticated encryption), help (supported query terms for use with the -Q flag), mac (supported message integrity codes), kex (key exchange algorithms), key (key types), key-cert (certificate key types), key-plain (non-certificate key types), key-sig (all key types and signature algorithms), protocol-version (supported SSH protocol versions), and sig (supported signature algorithms). Alternatively, any keyword from ssh_config(5) or sshd_config(5) that takes an algorithm list may be used as an alias for the corresponding query_option.

-q

Quiet mode. Causes most warning and diagnostic messages to be suppressed.

-R [bind_address:]port:host:hostport

-R [bind_address:]port:local_socket

-Rremote_socket:host:hostport

-Rremote_socket:local_socket

-R [bind_address:]port

Specifies that connections to the given TCP port or Unix socket on the remote (server) host are to be forwarded to the local side.

This works by allocating a socket to listen to either a TCP port or to a Unix socket on the remote side. Whenever a connection is made to this port or Unix socket, the connection is forwarded over the secure channel, and a connection is made from the local machine to either an explicit destination specified by host port hostport, or local_socket, or, if no explicit destination was specified, ssh will act as a SOCKS 4/5 proxy and forward connections to the destinations requested by the remote SOCKS client.

Port forwardings can also be specified in the configuration file. Privileged ports can be forwarded only when logging in as root on the remote machine. IPv6 addresses can be specified by enclosing the address in square brackets.

By default, TCP listening sockets on the server will be bound to the loopback interface only. This may be overridden by specifying a bind_address. An empty bind_address, or the address ‘*’, indicates that the remote socket should listen on all interfaces. Specifying a remote bind_address will only succeed if the server's GatewayPorts option is enabled (see sshd_config(5)).

If the port argument is ‘0’, the listen port will be dynamically allocated on the server and reported to the client at run time. When used together with -O forward the allocated port will be printed to the standard output.

-Sctl_path

Specifies the location of a control socket for connection sharing, or the string “none” to disable connection sharing. Refer to the description of ControlPath and ControlMaster in ssh_config(5) for details.

-s

May be used to request invocation of a subsystem on the remote system. Subsystems facilitate the use of SSH as a secure transport for other applications (e.g. sftp(1)). The subsystem is specified as the remote command.

-T

Disable pseudo-terminal allocation.

-t

Force pseudo-terminal allocation. This can be used to execute arbitrary screen-based programs on a remote machine, which can be very useful, e.g. when implementing menu services. Multiple -t options force tty allocation, even if ssh has no local tty.

-V

Display the version number and exit.

-v

Verbose mode. Causes ssh to print debugging messages about its progress. This is helpful in debugging connection, authentication, and configuration problems. Multiple -v options increase the verbosity. The maximum is 3.

-Whost:port

Requests that standard input and output on the client be forwarded to host on port over the secure channel. Implies -N, -T, ExitOnForwardFailure and ClearAllForwardings, though these can be overridden in the configuration file or using -o command line options.

-wlocal_tun[:remote_tun]

Requests tunnel device forwarding with the specified tun(4) devices between the client (local_tun) and the server (remote_tun).

The devices may be specified by numerical ID or the keyword “any”, which uses the next available tunnel device. If remote_tun is not specified, it defaults to “any”. See also the Tunnel and TunnelDevice directives in ssh_config(5).

If the Tunnel directive is unset, it will be set to the default tunnel mode, which is “point-to-point”. If a different Tunnel forwarding mode it desired, then it should be specified before -w.

-X

Enables X11 forwarding. This can also be specified on a per-host basis in a configuration file.

X11 forwarding should be enabled with caution. Users with the ability to bypass file permissions on the remote host (for the user's X authorization database) can access the local X11 display through the forwarded connection. An attacker may then be able to perform activities such as keystroke monitoring.

For this reason, X11 forwarding is subjected to X11 SECURITY extension restrictions by default. Please refer to the ssh-Y option and the ForwardX11Trusted directive in ssh_config(5) for more information.

-x

Disables X11 forwarding.

-Y

Enables trusted X11 forwarding. Trusted X11 forwardings are not subjected to the X11 SECURITY extension controls.

-y

Send log information using the syslog(3) system module. By default this information is sent to stderr.

ssh may additionally obtain configuration data from a per-user configuration file and a system-wide configuration file. The file format and configuration options are described in ssh_config(5).

If you’re like me, you jump in and out of dozens of SSH connections a day. Whether you’re a Linux Server SysAdmin or a Network Admin or Engineer you probably open more terminal sessions than anything else.

Without a SSH connection manager you’ll be typing in addresses and credentials each and every time you need to connect to a host.

For me, using a good SSH client has been invaluable.

Occasionally, I get the itch to see what all is out there in case there is some feature I didn’t know I couldn’t live without. (See what I did there?)

I wanted to test out several of the popular free, freemium, and paid SSH clients and terminal session managers available to see what the pros and cons of each were.

I also wanted to help you narrow down your options so you can find the one that works for you and quit wasting time (and subsequently someone’s money) connecting to everything the long and repetitive way.

For my evaluation I installed each of top the SSH clients and setup a few connections and used it for the afternoon. This allowed me to see what challenges you would face trying to download, install, configure, and use each one.

So let’s dig in!

Solar-PuTTY

Solar-PuTTY is a free SSH Client and Connection Manager from SolarWinds. It’s one of the only SSH clients, other than PuTTY, that doesn’t require installing the software. You just download the .exe from here and run it to launch the software.

This makes sense because it’s essentially a feature rich skin of PuTTY. You’ll even see the connections you create in Solar-PuTTY appear in your regular PuTTY application if you use it on your system as well. Unlike PuTTY, Solar-PuTTY allows:

• Saving of credentials (including private key) for auto logging into your sessions
• Tabbed browsing of multiple open sessions
• Quick access screen tiled with your most used connections
• Auto reconnection
• GUI for SFTP transfers
• Post-connection scripting
• Integration with Windows Search

Impressions

As stated, install is a breeze. You just run an exe and it launches. Each new connection you configure in the software gets created as a shortcut in your start menu so you can use the built in windows search to find your connections.

The interface is very simplified. Each connection is just a tile within the main window that you double click to launch your session. Multiple open sessions show up as tabs along the top of the window, as do any settings or configuration menus that you open.

The settings are pretty basic. You can set a session name, IP or hostname, port, connection type (SSHv2, SSHv1, Telnet, SCP/SFTP/FTP), and credentials to use. You can also specify post authentication scripts and session logging for each saved session.

Rather than use a folder tree, Solar-PuTTY relies on Tags (similar to Tags in VMWare) that you can use to categorize your connection any way you like.

As for customizations, you’re limited to the options available for PuTTY itself. When you launch the customizations menu it opens PuTTY where you set your desired setting and save the profile (much like mRemoteNG if you’re familiar with that software).

Who is Solar-PuTTY for?

If you’re a fan of PuTTY but wish it had a better way to organize saved sessions and credentials, you like to keep things simple, and you want something free, then Solar-PuTTY is worth a test drive for you. It’s also only for people running Windows.

Devolutions Remote Desktop Manager

This one caught me by surprise. Devolutions Remote Desktop Manager offers both a free and paid enterprise license. The free license does require that you register the product after 30 days, but it remains free.

Devolutions RDM features include:

• Loads of connection options such as Citrix, VMware, HTTP, HTTPS, VPN, FTP, FTPS, SFTP, SSH, Telnet, Serial, SFTP, SCP, and so on
• Integrated VPN management with Microsoft, Cisco, SonicWall and IPSecVPN, and a host of add-ons, including Nortel, Avaya and Watchguard
• Connection with RDP, RemoteFX, RealVNC, TightVNC, UltraVNC, ICA, HDX, LogMeIn, TeamViewer, RGS, DameWare, Radmin, pcAnywhere, Telnet, RAW, rlogin, XWindow, Hyper-V
• Free plugins developed by the Devolutions teams to extend functionality for connecting to things like ASDM on your ASAs. This is HUGE.
• Supports all sorts of macros and hotkey customizations
• Scripting support
• Full featured folder-based connection manager
• Tabbed grouping of multiple open sessions
• Robust Credential management
• Support for centralized database of connection to support teams
• Mobile access
• Auditing and reporting

There is also a sudo asset management system built in where for each connection you can save just about any kind of information you would have on that asset including make, model, address, purchase date, location, etc… For a small shop that could be a convenient feature.

Devolutions Remote Desktop Manager Free vs. Enterprise

The Enterprise version enables Shared Databases and Repos, Role Based Security, Two-Factor, Auditing and Reporting, and [apparently] credential inheritance within nested sessions in the connection manager. Enterprise will set you back $199.99 USD (at the time of licensing) per user or you can purchase a site license with unlimited users for $3,499.99 USD (again at the time of this writing).

Impressions

Install was simple with a packaged .exe installer. Didn’t have to give any info to access the free version download (though it forces you to register after 30-days).

UI navigation is simple with the connection folder tree on the left, open connections on the right, and tabs of multiple open connections on the top. The navigation is very similar to Microsoft Office 2013+ products if you’re familiar with that.

Something I really liked was all the import options it had, including one for mRemote (now mRemoteNG and compatible), which I currently use the most, so if you’re already using a tool but want something a little more robust then you’ll have no trouble switching (other than having to reconfigure the credentials which don’t get imported from the mRemoteNG configuration database).

Another thing I was thrilled about was that I could install free plugins developed by the Devolutions teams to extend functionality for connecting to things like ASDM on my ASAs. This is HUGE for teams that manage lots of firewalls (we manage over 50 different ASAs) and other devices that have extended features outside of SSH.

I really liked using this product. I liked it enough to import my production mRemoteNG connection file and start using it full time to see how it compares to using mRemoteNG full time. The only thing that was a bummer was they locked up credential inheritance in the connection management folder tree in the premium version of the software. mRemoteNG does that for free. If you’re setting up new connections this is no big deal, however importing 300 connections is a bit of a bear.

Who is Devolutions RDM for?

Any Windows or Mac user who is looking for lots of connection options and lots of bells and whistles. If when someone asks you “Which do you prefer, simple or feature packed?” you answer “All the things!” you have found your SSH (and whatever else) client and connection manager. You do have to be OK with the Microsoft Office UI and navigation since this applications UX is based heavily on that suite of applications. If you have a large team that could benefit from a centralize connection management system then this is definitely your ticket (though you’ll have to pay for the privilege, of course).

MobaXterm

MobaXterm is a full blown X server, remote terminal, and remote desktop (RDP) client and connection manager. It doesn’t ride on top of an existing PuTTY install. MobaXterm is simple to download as both a free and premium edition and can be downloaded as either a full install or a portable application that can be launched anywhere you put the folder (including a USB drive.)

MobaXterm boast a fistful of features including:

• Tabbed Session’s Management
• Support for SSH, Telnet, Rlogin, RDP, VNC, XDMCP, FTP, SFTP or Serial sessions
• Graphical SFTP browser
• X11 server
• Enhanced X extensions from X.org for X server
• Split session windows with ability to execute commands in each window at once
• Embeded TFTP, FTP, HTTP, SSH, SFTP, Telnet, NFS, VNC, and Cron servers
• Supports SSH Gateways and SSH Tunnels
• Apt-Get package manager
• Text Editor
• Macro support
• Password secured credential manager

MobaXterm Free vs Premium

As stated earlier MobaXterm is available as both a free to use and premium product. The free product is limited to 12 saved sessions (not concurrent), 2 SSH tunnels, 4 macros, and a max of 360 seconds for TFTP, NFS, and Cron connections.

The premium product does not have the above limitations and supports removing unwanted tools, ability modify profile script, customization of startup message and logo, master password support for accessing the application and credentials, and a years worth of support from Mobatek. At the time of writing the pro version rings in at $69 USD.

Impressions

Download and installation was as straightforward as any other software on Windows. Navigation of the software is fairly intuitive with folder based session management on the left, menu across the top, and tabbed sessions to the right.

The UI is fairly cluttered upon first launch which can be intimidating at first glance. Similar to Microsoft Office applications you can collapse the top menu ribbon and left folder tree which helps clean up the interface.

Creating new sessions is easy, just a right click in the connection tree and click on New Session. You then pick your desired connection type and begin filling in the appropriate information. Much like the initial UI the context menu is cluttered and overwhelming.

Once our connections are configured it’s just a simple double click to open them. The application has it’s own search box above the connection tree for searching for connections which works great.

My favorite feature is the combo split view for open sessions and the MultiExec which lets you type the same commands into each window at the same time. It’s a killer time saver when performing multiple one-off configurations.

I also liked that you can customize the skin to match a variety of desktop environments from the MetroUI to Snow Leopard.

My biggest disappointment was hitting the 12 session limit in the free version. I initially assumed this was a concurrent session limit, but no, you’re only allowed to SAVE 12 sessions. This makes the free version a no go for me since I have about over 300 pieces of network equipment that I have to save connections for. I’d definitely have to spring for the premium version to make this software useful for me.

Who is MobaXterm for?

MobaXterm is worth your consideration if you like lots of bells and whistles, the ability to connect to just about anything, the desire to pay for a premium product to save more than 12 connections, and anyone who frequently opens multiple terminal sessions that they interact with simultaneously (I’m looking at you Linux Admins and Engineers). If you desire a SSH client that has a master password (premium feature) this locks up that as well. Just be prepared to poke around the UI for a while to get used to things. It throws a lot at you.

It’s also only for people running Windows.

SecureCRT

Ssh Tunnel Manager Windows

SecureCRT is a premium only SSH client and terminal emulator. It’s a full blown client and doesn’t just ride on top of PuTTY. It also has support for Windows, Mac, and Linux which many of the other SSH clients in this list do not. While it doesn’t have a free version you can download a 30-day trial for evaluation.

Some of the features of SecureCRT are:

• Supports protocols SSH2, SSH1, Telnet, Telnet/TLS, Rlogin, Serial, TAPI, and RAW
• Terminal emulation including VT100, VT102, VT220, ANSI, SCO ANSI, TN3270, Wyse 50/60, Xterm, and Linux console
• SSH tunneling (port forwarding)
• Supports SFTP and includes a built in TFTP server
• Scripting
• Logging
• Tabbed, split, and tiled connection windows
• Folder based connection manager
• Save initial login credentials per saved session

Impressions

Install on a Windows box was straight forward, using a packaged .msi installer. I wasn’t forced into registering for anything in order to evaluate the software. The initial UI is clean with the menu across the top, session management to the left and tabbed connections to the right. There aren’t any customizations available to change the UI skin, which may matter to some.

Navigation and context menus are very windows-esque and pretty intuitive. Creating a new session is a simple right click and click on New Session. You’re then stepped through a pretty typical wizard experience to enter your session details.

Launching sessions is just a double click away. You can also search for them within the menu bar, skipping the navigation.

Overall, a pretty straightforward, no frills tool. Nothing really stood out, which may be a good thing to some people.

Who is SecureCRT for?

SecureCRT would be great for someone looking for a no frills SSH client or terminal emulator with more features than your typical PuTTY fork. If you’re a Linux or Mac user this is a solid option for consideration since many of the other client and connection managers mentioned on here don’t support those platforms. Be prepared to spend around $99 USD, at the time of writing, to buy this after 30-days since they don’t offer a free version.

PuTTY

PuTTY is a pretty ubiquitous SSH client. Most admins and engineers will be familiar with it (unless you’re still copying Hyperterminal over to new Windows installations). It supports RAW, Telnet, Rlogin, SSH, and Serial connections. You can save sessions to a text list to load later on, which works ok but is kind of cumbersome once you start saving a lot of sessions. You can also configure things like terminal window text font, lines of scrollback, and number of rows and columns for the connection window. PuTTY also supports SSH tunnel via port forwarding and proxy settings. You can also log to a text file easily.

Impressions

I’ve used PuTTY for years. It’s simple and works. That’s partly why several pieces of software use PuTTY on the backend. I still use putty on some remote systems. There is no tabbed browsing. There is no credential manager. Managing multiple saved sessions is a bear. Customization of the UI is limited. For limited one-off use it’s a great choice.

Who is PuTTY for?

To some degree, everyone. I would definitely keep the portable version in your arsenal. If you just have a couple devices or hosts you need to connect to PuTTY is probably all you need. Once you start scaling, though, I recommend looking into one of the other options on this list. Free options like Solar-PuTTY and mRemoteNG use PuTTY on the back end while adding boat loads of convenience on the front end.

EasyConnect

EasyConnect is a free option for those seeking extreme simplicity and a Chrome-esque experience. It supports PowerShell, SSH, VNC, and RDP. Rather than calling connections sessions like most other software it calls them Bookmarks. The experience is pretty much exactly what you’ll imagine if you think of bookmarking sites in Chrome browser.

Impressions

Extremely simple. Install, launch, create bookmark (SSH session), launch session, go to work. There is pretty much nothing in the way of customization or additional features. Strictly business.

Who is EasyConnect for?

If all you want is a simple SSH client and the ability to save multiple SSH sessions and just about nothing else, this will be perfect for you. This is especially true if you’re familiar with Chrome browser navigation and you’re on a Windows platform.

Royal TS v4

Royal TS is a “freemium” product from Royal Applications for Windows (they also have RoyalTSX for MacOS). It’s free to use and download under a shareware license but some features are stripped and limitations imposed.

Royal TS v4 Free vs Premium:

In the free version:

• You cannot have more than 10 connections per application instance.
• You cannot have more than 10 credentials per application instance.
• You can open only one document per application instance.
• You also cannot tweak the color scheme, apparently.

If you need those features, it’s going to set you back about $50 for a single user. They also have site and global licenses available. There is also an option for a server install that you can use to centrally store credentials and connection information.

That said, for an individual, the free version without the server install should suffice.

Royal TS supports:

• RDP, Telnet, SSH, VNC, Web, SFTP, PowerShell, VMware, TeamViewer, and a plethora of other things.
• Tons of options for things like logging, customization of folder icons, and hotkeys.
• Windows and Mac installers
• Tabbed browsing of multiple open sessions
• Compatibility with Royal Server which is a secure gateway for remote connections
• Encrypted credential and connection management

Impressions

The installer is a simple .msi (on windows) that you can download without jumping through any hoops. The UI is very similar to Office 2013+ much like Devolutions Remote Desktop Manager. I was unable to find a way to change the UI color scheme in the free version so I was stuck with orange, which I do not care for.

Overall usage of the software was very similar to Devolutions RDM, mRemoteNG, and MobaXTerm with the connection tree on the left, open connections tabbed to the right, and the menu bar at the top. Context menus are clean and intuitive.

On the downsize the initial configuration is a little confusing since Royal uses the term Document for the database or master folder that your connections and settings are saved in. It requires that you create a new document before you can create new connections but doesn’t tell you that until you try and create one in the default Application document folder.

Once you get over that hurdle it’s a pretty slick piece of software that is very similar to Devolutions RDM at a fraction of the cost.

Who is Royal TS for?

Any Windows or Mac user who is looking for lots of connection options and lots of bells and whistles. You’ll have to be a fan of either orange or paying for the premium product since the UI customization options under the View tab are greyed out on the free version. You also have to be a fan of the Microsoft Office UI and navigation since this applications UX is based heavily on that suite of applications.

mRemoteNG

mRemoteNG is free open source software (FOSS) released under the therms of the GNU General Public License Version 2. This the ssh client (and RDP, Telnet, VNC, Rlogin, RAW, HTTP/S, ICA) and connection manager that I’ve used since it was forked from mRemote. It provides a very intuitive tabbed interface for managing multiple open sessions. It’s simple, lightweight, free. Hard to argue about.

Impressions

The software is easy to acquire and install. You don’t have to mess with any registrations. You just select either msi or zip and go nuts. Unfortunately, it is a Windows only application, so the Mac and Linux folks are out.

The connection settings are limited to what you’d find in PuTTY since it uses PuTTY for terminal connections. mRemoteNG is not a custom SSH client like some of the offerings on this list, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. PuTTY is super stable.

Within the options for the software you’ll find the typical tweaks available from Language, Tabs & Panels, Connection Preferences, Themes, and even using a SQL Server database instead of a connection file (though it’s listed as an experimental feature and I have yet to try it out).

The import options are limited to mRemote XML files, .rdp files, .rdg, PuTTY Connection manager .dat files, scanning Active Directory, and Port Scans.

The UI is a familiar navigation scheme with the options across the top, folder based connection tree to the left, and tabbed open connections to the right. The configuration settings for each connection is displayed in the bottom left corner and each setting can be set individually or to be inherited by settings further up the connection tree (huge time saver). The context menus are also clean and intuitive.

Ssh Tunnel Manager Windows 10

As for reliability, I don’t think I’ve ever had the application lock up or be slow to load. It always just works. Overall I’m extremely happy with this product when it comes to RDP and SSH connections and connection management.

Who is mRemoteNG for?

Any Windows user looking for simple, yet customizable, RDP or SSH (or the other protocols listed above) client and connection manager with the reliability of PuTTY. You also have to be a fan of free (who isn’t?) since it’s FOSS. If supporting FOSS projects is your thing then this is definitely your ticket. If you’re looking for other bells and whistles such as full blown credential management or centralized connection management for a team then you’ll want to look at something like Devolutions RDM reviewed above.

Recommended for You: Solarwinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM)

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with most common makes and models of networking equipment. No messing around with custom templates, xml files, or code to extract important information.