Download PuTTY for Windows

PuTTY is an open-source terminal emulator designed for Windows with instances on Mac OS and Linux, as well as unofficial ports to other platforms. It provides a graphical user interface for configuration and supports many common terminal tasks, most notably using Telnet and SSH to reach other servers.

Yes. The client is free and open-source. It is used by both individuals and businesses, and its licence includes few restrictions in its use and copying.

Yes, but it is not an FTP client and so is not designed to function in this way. To connect to FTP, configure your profile to perform a RAW connection to Port 21, then once connected, send the commands USER and PASS, followed by your FTP server username and password. It is recommended to use a discrete FTP client instead.

Simply download and run the latest version, which is compatible with various versions of Windows including 7.

Yes. There is a release of PuTTY for Mac, though it is not developed by the same team and it is sometimes behind the current Windows release. Mac OS X includes built-in Terminal programs such as ssh that perform many of the same function.

Yes, if the Windows computer is running software that supports acting as a host for SSH or another protocol that the client supports. This software is separate, and two computers running the client cannot connect to each other by default. Some remote desktop software may allow for remote connection via SSH.

To copy, highlight text with your cursor in the terminal window; don't right-click. It will be automatically copied. To paste, simply right click the area in the terminal window where you are currently typing, and your clipboard's contents will be pasted.

To save a session profile, so you can reconnect the same way later, create a new session under the main window, select it and click Load. Then change your settings under Configuration, return to the main window, and click Save.

On Linux, you may be able to stop the client from disconnecting by turning off the TMOUT environment variable, by typing "unset TMOUT" in the terminal. On Windows, go to Connections under PuTTY Configuration and set a number of seconds between keepalives.

To port forward, open the Configuration menu and scroll down to Tunnels. Then enter the port to be forwarded under Source port, and the destination under Destination. There are two pairs of three ratio buttons that determine what type of forwarding occurs. "Dynamic" and "Auto" will work in most cases, but sometimes when forwarding multiple ports or in specific cases, you will need to make different selections.