The latest articles on DEV Community by Mary Wanjiru (@wanjiru_ndirangu_ecb301d0). https://dev.to/wanjiru_ndirangu_ecb301d0 https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3215673%2F39cbf1b6-7c82-46d9-b3e2-0eaca80c13a9.png https://dev.to/wanjiru_ndirangu_ecb301d0 en Mary Wanjiru Tue, 27 May 2025 21:29:29 +0000 https://dev.to/wanjiru_ndirangu_ecb301d0/managing-aws-ec2-instances-securely-and-easily-using-ssh-and-putty-on-windows-pc-3akn https://dev.to/wanjiru_ndirangu_ecb301d0/managing-aws-ec2-instances-securely-and-easily-using-ssh-and-putty-on-windows-pc-3akn <p>As I learn more about cloud computing and AWS, I came across EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) – a service that enables me run virtual servers in the cloud. These instances gave me full control over how to set them up and access them.</p> <p>To connect to an EC2 instance securely, I used SSH (Secure Shell). Since I’m on a Windows machine I used a free tool called PuTTY, which helps me manage my instances both safely and conveniently.</p> <h2> What is SSH and Why Am I Using It? </h2> <p>SSH (Secure Shell) is a secure way to connect to a remote device like a server. Instead of typing in a password I used a key pair – a public key stored on the server and a private key saved safely on my computer.</p> <h2> How to connect to EC2 Using PuTTY </h2> <p>To connect to AWS instance I followed below steps using PuTTY on Windows.</p> <p>What I Used:</p> <ol> <li>A running EC2 instance on AWS</li> <li>A .ppt key pair that I downloaded when launching the instance</li> <li>PuTTY installed on my PC.</li> </ol> <h2> Connecting with PuTTY </h2> <ol> <li>I opened PuTTY.</li> <li>In the Host Name field, I entered the public IP of my EC2 instance (from the AWS console).</li> <li>Under Connection → SSH → Auth, I browsed and selected my .ppk file.</li> <li>I clicked Open to start the session.</li> <li>When prompted for a username, I used <code>ec2-user</code> for Amazon Linux</li> </ol> <h2> Why PuTTY is Convenient on Windows </h2> <p>PuTTY is lightweight and easy to use. It helps me:</p> <ol> <li>Save sessions for quick connections</li> <li>Use terminal commands like I would on a Linux server</li> </ol> <h2> What I’ve Learned </h2> <p>Learning how to connect to AWS EC2 instances using SSH and PuTTY has been a valuable experience. It helped me understand the basics of secure server management and gives me hands-on practice in cloud computing.</p> aws beginners basic cloud