What Is PuTTy?

Date First Published: 6th June 2022

Topic: Computer Networking

Topic: Network Software

Article Type: Computer Terms & Definitions

Difficulty Level: 6/10

Learn more about what PuTTy is in this article.

PuTTY is a free terminal emulator software that can act as a client for the SSH, Telnet, and rlogin protocols with an xterm terminal emulator. It is compatible with Windows and Linux and was developed in 1998 by Simon Tatham, a British computer programmer and was released on 8th January 1999. PuTTy enables users to communicate with a server or remote device by specifying the domain name, username, and password.

Because PuTTy uses a command-line interface, it is necessary for users to remember commands to perform actions, which is difficult for inexperienced users who are unfamiliar with commands. A lot of users choose a program with a graphical user interface that is easier to operate, such as FileZilla FTP client.

Note:

It is unknown why it is called PuTTy. The name has no official meaning.

Features Of PuTTy

• User control over the SSH encryption key and protocol version, enabling customisability for different standards, such as AES, 3DES, RC4, Blowfish, DES, and public-key authentication.
• Support for single-sign-on (SSO) through GSSAPI.
• Local, remote, or dynamic port forwarding with SSH.
• Support for IPv6 by the network communication layer.
• Support for the delayed compression scheme by the SSH protocol.
• Command-line SCP and SFTP clients.