Simplifying SSH

Tunneled

If you enter a new connection and click on Advanced below it, you will see another functionality of EasySSH: It is capable of establishing SSH tunnels, which means you can forward a local network port to another port or the same port on a remote computer. The data is routed through a secure SSH connection between the two computers.

Forwarding ends either at the remote computer (the gateway) or at another computer behind the gateway. Building a tunnel makes sense, for example, if you work on unsecured networks while traveling (e.g., in a hotel or Internet café) and therefore require an encrypted transfer option.

Many universities and companies also block outside access to important computers in the network, for which you can use a tunnel through which you first connect to a server. To do this, establish a tunneled connection manually in the terminal as shown in Listing 1. In EasySSH, enter the local and destination ports for Source Port and Destination.

Listing 1

Establishing a Tunnel Connection

ssh -L <local port>:<target computer>:<target port> -l <user name> <gateway>

Conclusions

EasySSH provides a single-click SSH connection manager. According to the developer, the program does not need any future improvements: The application does its job without any recognizable bugs. It quickly becomes apparent that the developer first took his own application scenarios into account in developing EasySSH. However, the repository on GitHub is very active, which gives hope for a quick remedy to this program's initial teething issues.

In practice, EasySSH is simple and easy to use. Although some important functions are still missing (e.g., password encryption), EasySSH is worth keeping an eye on for future developments.

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