In order for you to access the servers in the Geology department, you will need to establish a secure connection using a protocol known as SSH (Secure SHell). The telnet program built into Microsoft Windows and many popular FTP programs will not connect to our servers because they use a method to connect that is not secure. One of the programs below will be required to access the servers.

In order to login using a secure telnet-type connection, you will need one of two programs. Either program can be used, but each one will work better in different circumstances. For use on your own computer, the best program is the SSH client from the organization that created SSH. It has many features including a built in secure FTP program. Download the program here (5.5 MB)

If you are using someone else's computer or don't want to install a complete program, Putty is a good choice. It is a very small download (under 1 megabyte) and will still be able to connect without a problem. This is a single file that does not need to be installed. Just download it and run it. Just make sure that you use the "SSH" protocol and not "Telnet". Putty 0.68 can be downloaded here.

For secure FTP connections to the servers, the SSH client from above has a file transfer program built in, but if you'd like to use a different program, you can try WinSCP 5.5.1.

For any problems installing or using this software, feel free to email Todd Karwoski (karwoski@umd.edu).