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Secure Shell ("ssh") and "scp" Access

The secure shell (ssh) command can be used to securely connect to the Math department servers from a terminal (and scp to securely copy files). On Windows a terminal can be opened by pressing WinKey-r and typing cmd. After clicking OK you will see a terminal window.

Run command

To open an ssh connection you can then type the following (this should work on most operating systems, including Linux and Mac):

ssh -oHostKeyAlgorithms=+ssh-rsa <user>@coxeter.math.utoronto.ca

where <user> is your coxeter user name e.g.:

ssh -oHostKeyAlgorithms=+ssh-rsa joesmith@coxeter.math.utoronto.ca

The first time you log in using ssh will ask you to confirm one of the following fingerprints:

RSA key fingerprint is SHA256:056fytJgps1bdasaf+ghgnfENjq4YkrtNZ2l/v0P7C4. RSA key fingerprint is MD5:5a:08:02:dd:0b:db:8a:40:08:8c:29:ce:ab:3b:c4:2b.

Accept it (type yes) if it matches, otherwise type no and contact requests@math.utoronto.ca.

Starting SSH

If the fingerprint matches and you accept it you will be prompted for your coxeter password. Note that ssh does not show anything at the password prompt when you type (not even ✱).

In addition to ssh you will also be able to copy files between your computer and coxeter using the scp command. The basic usage to download a file named data.txt from a home directory on coxeter would be:

scp -oHostKeyAlgorithms=+ssh-rsa <user>@coxeter.math.utoronto.ca:/home/<user>/data.txt .

You can also type ssh and/or scp at the command line to get more information regarding usage:

Command line options

or you can access the full documentation by clicking on ssh and scp. For ease of use there also exist popular graphical interfaces for scp such as WinSCP and FileZilla.