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What is a Secure Shell (SSH)

SSH, or Secure Shell, is a secure network protocol that enables remote control of computers over an unsecured network. SSH establishes a secure, encrypted connection between client and server machines, providing a secure path for data exchange and remote system control. We highly recommend using SSH because it ensures that all data and actions are encrypted and secure, preventing unwanted access and data leakage.

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How to use SSH to connect to your remote VPS

Open a terminal or command prompt on your local machine and type:
Replace “username” with your VPS username (generally root and emailed to you after a VPS purchase) and “remote-host” with the public IPv4 address of your VPS. On the first connection, SSH displays the server’s host-key fingerprint. Verify it before accepting. You can inspect the corresponding public host key from the VNC console, for example:
Match the key type and fingerprint shown by your SSH client. Once verified, type yes, then enter the VPS password. Password input normally shows no characters; this is expected. If the connection is successful, you’ll see a welcome message from the remote server, and you’ll get a command prompt in the remote server’s shell. You can then run remote commands and upload/download files as needed using the SSH connection. Make sure you have SSH access enabled and have the correct user credentials to log in to the VPS. For a custom SSH port, use ssh -p 2222 username@remote-host, replacing 2222 with the configured port. If authentication fails, check the username and password or use the Linux password-reset guide. For a timeout, follow network troubleshooting. When you finish working on the remote server, type:
This logs you out of the VPS.

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Remote host identification has changed

This warning means the host key presented by the server differs from the key your SSH client saved for that address. It can happen after you reinstall the VPS, but it can also indicate that you are connecting to the wrong server or that someone is intercepting the connection.
Terminal showing WARNING: REMOTE HOST IDENTIFICATION HAS CHANGED, an offending known_hosts entry, and Host key verification failed

Illustrative OpenSSH warning. The IP address, username, fingerprint, and file path are fictional; wording may vary by SSH client.

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Verify the new key first

Open the VPS through the VNC console and display the fingerprint of the key type named in the warning. For ED25519:
Compare the complete SHA256: fingerprint with the one shown by your SSH client. For an RSA or ECDSA warning, inspect the corresponding ssh_host_rsa_key.pub or ssh_host_ecdsa_key.pub file instead.
If the fingerprints do not match, or you cannot verify the change, stop and investigate. Do not disable host-key checking or remove saved keys merely to dismiss the warning.

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Remove the old entry on your computer

Only after verifying the new host key, run this on the computer from which you connect:
Replace YOUR_VPS_IP with your VPS address and root with your login username if different. If you connect using a hostname, use that hostname instead. This removes the saved host key for that destination; it does not change the VPS password. For a custom port such as 2222, use the bracketed host-and-port form:
At the next connection, check that the displayed fingerprint matches the one you verified in VNC before accepting it. If the warning names a different known-hosts file, specify that file with ssh-keygen -f /path/to/known_hosts -R YOUR_VPS_IP. See the OpenSSH key-management manual.
Last modified on September 30, 2026