\k{pubkey} in the documentation for a full discussion of public key
authentication.
+\S{faq-hostkeys} Is there an option to turn off the annoying host
+key prompts?
+
+No, there isn't. And there won't be. Even if you write it yourself
+and send us the patch, we won't accept it.
+
+Those annoying host key prompts are the \e{whole point} of SSH.
+Without them, all the cryptographic technology SSH uses to secure
+your session is doing nothing more than making an attacker's job
+slightly harder; instead of sitting between you and the server with
+a packet sniffer, the attacker must actually subvert a router and
+start modifying the packets going back and forth. But that's not all
+that much harder than just sniffing; and without host key checking,
+it will go completely undetected by client or server.
+
+Host key checking is your guarantee that the encryption you put on
+your data at the client end is the \e{same} encryption taken off the
+data at the server end; it's your guarantee that it hasn't been
+removed and replaced somewhere on the way. Host key checking makes
+the attacker's job \e{astronomically} hard, compared to packet
+sniffing, and even compared to subverting a router. Instead of
+applying a little intelligence and keeping an eye on Bugtraq, the
+attacker must now perform a brute-force attack against at least one
+military-strength cipher. That insignificant host key prompt really
+does make \e{that} much difference.
+
+If you're having a specific problem with host key checking - perhaps
+you want an automated batch job to make use of PSCP or Plink, and
+the interactive host key prompt is hanging the batch process - then
+the right way to fix it is to add the correct host key to the
+Registry in advance. That way, you retain the \e{important} feature
+of host key checking: the right key will be accepted and the wrong
+ones will not. Adding an option to turn host key checking off
+completely is the wrong solution and we will not do it.
+
+\S{faq-server} Will you write an SSH server for the PuTTY suite, to
+go with the client?
+
+No. The only reason we might want to would be if we could easily
+re-use existing code and significantly cut down the effort. We don't
+believe this is the case; there just isn't enough common ground
+between an SSH client and server to make it worthwhile.
+
+If someone else wants to use bits of PuTTY in the process of writing
+a Windows SSH server, they'd be perfectly welcome to of course, but
+I really can't see it being a lot less effort for us to do that than
+it would be for us to write a server from the ground up. We don't
+have time, and we don't have motivation. The code is available if
+anyone else wants to try it.
+
\H{faq-ports} Ports to other operating systems
The eventual goal is for PuTTY to be a multi-platform program, able
You can also paste by pressing Shift-Ins.
+\S{faq-tunnels} How do I use X forwarding and port forwarding? I
+can't find the Tunnels panel.
+
+If you're looking in the 0.51 release or earlier, the Tunnels panel
+isn't there. It was added in the development snapshots after 0.51,
+and releases 0.52 and onwards will contain it.
+
+\S{faq-options} How do I use all PuTTY's features (public keys, port
+forwarding, SSH v2, etc.) in PSCP, PSFTP and Plink?
+
+The command-line tools are currently rather short of command line
+options to enable this sort of thing. However, you can use most of
+PuTTY's features if you create a PuTTY saved session, and then use
+the name of the saved session on the command line in place of a
+hostname. This works for PSCP, PSFTP and Plink (but don't expect
+port forwarding in the file transfer applications!).
+
\S{faq-pscp} How do I use PSCP.EXE? When I double-click it gives me
a command prompt window which then closes instantly.
accident, and cause unexpected changes in the window title. Don't do
it.
+\S{faq-password} My keyboard stops working once PuTTY displays the
+password prompt.
+
+No, it doesn't. PuTTY just doesn't display the password you type, so
+that someone looking at your screen can't see what it is.
+
+Unlike the Windows login prompts, PuTTY doesn't display the password
+as a row of asterisks either. This is so that someone looking at
+your screen can't even tell how \e{long} your password is, which
+might be valuable information.
+
\H{faq-secure} Security questions
\S{faq-publicpc} Is it safe for me to download PuTTY and use it on a
~mdw / sgt / putty / blobdiff