Connect to VPS Server via SSH Putty

ie, How to Connect to a Remote VPS Server via the Free PuTTY SSH Client/Program for the purpose of turning it into your own personal private elite proxy server.

In order to set up your own personal proxy server, you need a remote server to set it up on, and you need to know how to connect to that remote server to do the actual set up. In this page I’ll explain how incredibly easy that is to do.

I recently conducted a fairly large focus group to try to understand why people get intimidated by this whole process of setting up their own personal proxy server for hiding their ip address and such. The results showed an overwhelming consensus on two distinct points.

#1 – Just over 97% of the participants agreed that they would like to have and use their own private proxy server, rather than use a public proxy server (1%), or a paid proxy service (2%).

#2 – Of those 97% who would rather have and use their own personal proxy server, 100% of them reported that the intimidating part, is that they can’t visualize how a remote vps server works (ie, they understand that typing in five short command lines is easy enough, but they don’t understand how to get to that point). This page is an attempt to clear that up.

* NOTE: A virtual private server (VPS) is basically just a really really cheap bare-bones dedicated remote server that you rent from a hosting company for your own personal use. It already has it’s own ip address on it, and you can have the hosting company add extra ip’s onto it if you want your proxy server to have multiple ip addresses). From this point forward I’ll just be referring to it as a “remote server”.

How a Remote Server Works

: To understand how this works, it first helps to understand what a webpage actually is. Every webpage on the internet is nothing more than a file stored on a remote server (in this case, a remote “web” server). The most common format for a webpage is (.html).

On your own home computer, you also store files, but typically not in (.html) format. For example, a simple text file would be in (.txt) format. An image file might be in (.jpeg) format. A music file might be in (.mp3) format.

In order to view, access, use, those files on your own computer, you need a program specifically designed to open that particular format. For example, an (.mp3) formatted file is opened with a music program like windows media player.

The program specifically designed to open (.html) formatted files is a called a “web client” (ie, web browser) (ie, web browsing program) like Firefox, or Internet Explorer.

But since webpages are not stored on your home computer, the web browser has to first connect to the remote server that the (.html) file is stored on before it can open the (.html) file.

When a remote server is used to store a collection of web page files (slang = a “website”), we then call it a “web” server (ie, NOT a “proxy” server). And, as discussed, you then need a special program to connect to it and open it’s files (a web browser). So when you “see” a webpage in your web browser, it’s the result of your web browser connecting to and opening that particular (.html) file from the remote server “hosting” it.

In order for your web browser to know where to find the file (web page) you want, you need to type in the address of the file you want. The first part of the address is the domain name, and the last part of the address is the file name itself.

For example, the address of the page you’re reading right now is: http://www.elite-proxy-server.com/how-to-connect-to-a-remote-vps-server-via-ssh-putty.php * Note: My files are in (.php) format instead of (.html) format, but that’s just a different type of webpage format (like a photo file can be in different formats like .jpeg, or .png, or .gif).

A domain name is actually just a translation of the server’s real “address”. It’s real address is an “ip” address (internet protocol address). Every machine connected to the internet has it’s own “ip” address. So just like your home computer has it’s own ip address, a web server also has it’s own ip address. So when you type (http://www.elite-proxy-server.com) into your web browser, your web browser first has to look up the ip address associated with that domain name in order to connect to it. It does this using what’s called a DNS (domain name server). A domain name server translates a domain name to it’s respective ip address.

Typically, web pages (ie, .html files) are stored in a certain directory (folder) on the web server, designed to store files that are open for public viewing. This “public directory” (public folder) is often named (www). Above the www folder is the “root” directory, basically it’s just the top level directory. To compare this to a home computer, the top level directory on your home computer might be the C:\ drive, and you might have a folder named “My_Photos”. So a photo named (pictureofmydog.jpeg) for example, would be stored here: C:\My_Photos\pictureofmydog.jpeg. On a remote web server, a webpage named (about-us.html) for example, would be stored here: root/www/about-us.html (this is over simplified, but you get the idea).

In Short: In order to view a “webpage”, you need to connect to the remote web server where that particular file is “hosted” (stored). And you accomplish that by using a program called a “web browser”.

But now, what if you want to connect to a remote server for a reason other than viewing it’s web pages?

… like if you want to install a proxy server script on it, for example.

How to Configure a Remote VPS Server into a Proxy Server Using the Free SSH Client (PuTTY)

A web browser won’t work for this task, so you need a different program; a program specifically designed to connect to the “root” directory of the remote server. The program that does this is called an “SSH client” (ie, SSH program). SSH stands for “secure shell”. The most popular SSH client is called “PuTTY”, and it’s FREE (for mac it’s OpenSSH or jellyfiSSH).

So as a comparison, PuTTY is to connecting to a remote server’s “root” directory, as Firefox is to connecting to a remote server’s “www” directory. Connecting via Firefox, allows you to “view” the files stored on the remote server’s public “www” folder. Connecting via PuTTY, allows you to alter (“configure”) the remote server itself (ie, it’s “root folder”). For example, using PuTTY you can connect to the remote server and load a “web server” script on it, or (in our case) you can load a “proxy server” script on it instead.

So now (to continue the “remote web server” comparison) if you want to build a website; you rent a remote server and install a “web server” script on it. * NOTE: building websites is obviously very popular these days, so you don’t usually have to actually install the web server script yourself anymore; these days web hosting companies have the web server scripts pre-installed on the remote server for you already.

Personal “Proxy” Servers however, aren’t quite as common as Personal “Web” Servers (ie, websites) so if you want your own personal proxy server, you have to install the proxy server script onto the remote server yourself (which is why I’m here obviously). The entire purpose of this website and my 10 minute proxy tutorial, is to show you exactly how to do that (in about 10 minutes). I’ve already pre-written the proxy script for you, so what you have to do is rent the remote server (see screen shot below), and install my scripts onto it.

* Remote VPS Server Hosting Website (example)
** Note: We use a Linux server, but that has NO effect whatsoever on who can connect to it.
*** Also Note: you can’t see it in this screen shot, but you can also elect to add “extra” ip’s onto the server (typically extra ip’s on the same VPS cost about an extra dollar or two each).

So in order to do that (ie, in order to install my proxy script onto the remote server you rented, and thus, turn that remote server into a proxy server) you need to be able to connect to that rented remote server. So, as explained above, you do that using an SSH client (PuTTY).

You connect to the remote server with PuTTY by entering the address of the remote server. But since you’re NOT putting a website on the remote server, it doesn’t have a domain name. So instead, you have to use the server’s ip address.

* Connect to Remote VPS Server via PuTTY

So it’s that simple; you open the PuTTY program (see screen shot), paste in the ip address of the remote server you rented (the hosting company will send it to you in an email after you place the order, along with a password to login to the “root” directory of that server), and then click the “open” button (as in “open a connection”). PuTTY will then open a secure connection to your new remote server. What you actually see is basically just an empty black “shell” (window) asking you to login. People get nervous at this point because the background color is black, and the text color is white; but it’s nothing to be worried about, it’s just a little different than you’re used to.

* Type the Commands into PuTTY (SSH)

You will then be asked to login (login as:). Just type the word “root” and hit the “enter” key on your keyboard (you’re logging in as “root”). It will then ask you for the root password (from the email the hosting company sent you when you placed the remote server hosting order). Paste in the password, hit the enter key again, and you’re in (ie, you’re now securely connected to the “root” directory of your remote server).

Step by Step Proxy Tutorial

: Now just follow the simple instructions in my tutorial (which mostly just involves typing in the five command lines). Those command lines will do all the work of installing my pre-written proxy script for you. So basically you just type in the first command line, hit enter, and then wait a few seconds. Then type in the next line, hit enter, and then wait again. Do this until you’ve typed in all five lines. At one point the script will ask you to create a password; just make up a password you want to use, and type it in. At another point while the script is running, it will ask you a couple of unimportant questions, for which you just type the letter “y” (for “yes”) and hit enter again. And then the only other thing to do is; at one point the script will open up a file, in which you will have to use the arrow keys on your keyboard to move the cursor down to a specific line in the file and type in the ip address the hosting company emailed you, then hit the CTRL key & the letter “x” on your keyboard.

And that’s it … that’s the entire process of setting up an undetectable elite proxy server, ie; turning a rented (less than $10/month) remote VPS server, into your own personal elite proxy server using my 10 Minute Proxy Server Tutorial

* Note: PuTTY has NOTHING whatsoever to do with USING your private proxy server. PuTTY is ONLY used to SET UP the proxy server. Once the proxy server is set up, you don’t use PuTTY anymore. To USE the proxy server see below…

Now just use that ip address in your device (web browser, torrent client, etc.) instead of your real ip address. All modern web browsers have a “Proxy Server Settings” section where you can change the ip address your web browser uses to surf the internet. For example, in Firefox, go to: Tools >> Options >> Advanced (tab) >> Network (sub-tab) >> Settings (button), and then check the “Manual Proxy Configuration” option. In the “HTTP Proxy” text box, paste in your new ip address, and it’s port number. Click “OK” twice and you’re done. Now just refresh the page and you’ll now be using your new proxy server’s ip address instead of your real one. Undo it by putting it back the way it was (ie, select the “no proxy” setting). — You Are Here: How to Connect to a Remote VPS Server via SSH PuTTY

OPTION #1:

Standard Version

Use this option to set up as many elite proxy servers as you want to for the rest of your life. It will never become outdated because the script automatically updates itself every time you use it.

  $14.99

OPTION #2:

Advanced Version

Same as option #1 above but also includes instructions for putting multiple ip addresses on the same proxy server. Don't bother with this option if you only need 1 new ip address (most users) but if you want to put lots of different ip addresses all on the same proxy then this is the option for you.

  $27.50