Comparison of SSH clients

From CryptoDox, The Online Encyclopedia on Cryptography and Information Security

Template:Incomplete

Template:Details An SSH client is a software program which uses the secure shell protocol to connect to a remote computer. This article compares a selection of popular clients.

Contents 1 General 2 Platform 3 Technical 4 Features 5 See also 6 External links

General

Name	Developer	Status	First release	Based on	License	Source available
Template:Rh| AbsoluteTelnet [1]	Brian Pence	Template:Active	August, 1996		Proprietary	Template:No
Template:Rh| cURL	Daniel Stenberg	Template:Active	January, 2007	libssh2 [2]	MIT	Template:Yes
Template:Rh| eSSH Client	Ecode Software	Template:Active	July, 2002		Proprietary	Template:No
Template:Rh| Dropbear [3]	Matt Johnston	Template:Active	January, 2005		MIT	Template:Yes
Template:Rh| Ganymed SSH-2 [4]	Christian Plattner, ETH Zurich	Template:Active	June 27, 2005 (build 205)		BSD variant	Template:Yes
Template:Rh| IVT [5]	BearStar Software	Template:Active	1998	PuTTY (for SSH-implementation)	Proprietary	Template:No
Template:Rh| JSch/JCTerm [6] [7]	JCraft, Inc.	Template:Active	December 18, 2002		BSD-like/LGPL	Template:Yes
Template:Rh| JTA	Matthias L. Jugel, Marcus Meissner	?	1996		GPL	Template:Yes
Template:Rh| lsh	Niels Möller	Template:Active	May 23, 1999 (0.1)		GPL	Template:Yes
Template:Rh| MacFusion [8]	MacFusion Project	Template:Active	2007 (1.0)	MacFUSE	Apache License 2.0	Template:Yes
Template:Rh| MacSSH [9]	Jean-Pierre Stierlin	Template:Terminated	2000 (2.1d4)	lsh	GPL	Template:Yes
Template:Rh| MindTerm [10]	AppGate AB	Template:Active	September 14, 1998		Proprietary	Template:Yes
Template:Rh| OpenSSH	The OpenBSD project	Template:Active	December 1, 1999	ossh	BSD	Template:Yes
Template:Rh| ossh [11]	Björn Grönvall			ssh 1.2.12	BSD-like	Template:Yes
Template:Rh| PocketPuTTY [12]	Aleš Berka	Template:Active	2006	PuTTY	BSD	Template:Yes
Template:Rh| Poderosa [13]	Daisuke OKAJIMA	Template:Active	?		Apache License	Template:Yes
Template:Rh| pssh [14]	Greg Parker			OpenSSH/PuTTY	BSD and MIT	Template:Yes
Template:Rh| PuTTY	Simon Tatham	Template:Active			MIT	Template:Yes
Template:Rh| Red Bird SFX - Secure File Transfer [15]	Kandmtech, LLC	Template:Active	2005	Original	Proprietary	Template:No
Template:Rh| S-Term [16]	Pred (Rui Wang)	?			Freeware	Template:No
Template:Rh| SecureCRT [17]	VanDyke Software	Template:Active	June 30, 1998	original	Proprietary	Template:No
Template:Rh| SSH Secure Shell [18] (original)	SSH Communications Security	Template:Terminated	1995	N/A	Proprietary	Template:Yes
Template:Rh| SSH Tectia Client [19]	SSH Communications Security	Template:Active		original	Proprietary	Template:No
Template:Rh| SFTPPlus	Pro:Atria Ltd	Template:Active	2005	OpenSSH/PuTTY	Proprietary	Template:Yes
Template:Rh| SwitchTermJ [20]	CyberAccess, Inc.	Template:Active	2005		Proprietary	Template:No
Template:Rh| Tera Term	TeraTerm Project	Template:Active	2004	TeraTerm 2.3 (1994-1998)	BSD	Template:Yes
Template:Rh| TN3270 Plus [21]	SDI	Template:Active	2007		Proprietary	Template:No
Template:Rh| Tunnelier [22]	Bitvise	Template:Active	2001		Proprietary	Template:No
Template:Rh| TuSSH [23]	Angus Ainslie	Template:Active	2003		Freeware	Template:No
Template:Rh| WinSCP	Martin Prikryl	Template:Active	2000	PuTTY	GPL	Template:Yes
Template:Rh| Xshell [24]	NetSarang Computer, Inc.	Template:Active	2001	original	Proprietary	Template:No
Template:Rh| Reflection [25] (formerly F-Secure SSH)	Attachmate Corp.	Template:Active	?		Proprietary	Template:No

Platform

The operating systems or virtual machines the ssh clients are designed to run on without emulation; there are several possibilities:

• No indicates that it does not exist or was never released.

• Partial indicates that while it works, the client lacks important functionality compared to versions for other OSs but may still be under development.

• Beta indicates that while a version is fully functional and has been released, it is still in development (e.g. for stability).

• Yes indicates that it has been officially released in a fully functional, stable version.

• Dropped indicates that while the client works, new versions are no longer being released for the indicated OS; the number in parentheses is the last known stable version which was officially released for that OS.

• Included indicates that the client comes pre-packaged with or has been integrated into the operating system.

The list is not exhaustive, but rather reflects the most common platforms today.

Name	Mac OS X	Mac OS Classic	Windows	Cygwin	BSD	Linux	Solaris	Palm OS	Java	OpenVMS	Windows Mobile	IBM z/OS	AmigaOS
Template:Rh| AbsoluteTelnet	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:N/a	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:No
Template:Rh| Dropbear	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:No
Template:Rh| eSSH Client	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:N/a	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:No
Template:Rh| Ganymed SSH-2	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:Yes	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:No
Template:Rh| IVT	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No
Template:Rh| JSch/JCTerm	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:Yes	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:No
Template:Rh| JTA	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:Yes	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:No
Template:Rh| lsh	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:PartialTemplate:Refun	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:No
Template:Rh| MacFusion	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No
Template:Rh| MacSSH	Template:No	Template:Terminated (2.1fc3)	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:No
Template:Rh| MindTerm	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:Yes	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:No
Template:Rh| OpenSSH	Template:Included	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Included	Template:Included	Template:IncludedTemplate:Refun	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:N/a	Template:Yes	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:Yes
Template:Rh| ossh		Template:No	Template:No		Template:Yes	Template:Yes		Template:No	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:No
Template:Rh| PocketPutty	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:N/a	Template:No
Template:Rh| Poderosa	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:No
Template:Rh| pssh	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:No
Template:Rh| PuTTY	Template:Partial	Template:Partial	Template:Yes	Template:N/a	Template:Yes	Template:Yes		Template:No	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:No
Template:Rh| Red Bird SFX - Secure File Transfer	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No
Template:Rh| S-Term	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No
Template:Rh| SecureCRT	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:N/a	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:No
Template:Rh| SFTPPlus	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:No
Template:Rh| SSH Secure Shell (original)	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Terminated (3.2.9)	Template:No	Template:Terminated (3.2.9)	Template:Terminated (3.2.9)	Template:Terminated (3.2.9)	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Included	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:No
Template:Rh| SSH Tectia Client	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:Yes	Template:No
Template:Rh| SwitchTermJ	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:Yes	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:No
Template:Rh| Tera Term	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:No
Template:Rh| TN3270 Plus	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:N/a	Template:No
Template:Rh| Tunnelier	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:N/a	Template:No
Template:Rh| TuSSH	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:No
Template:Rh| WinSCP	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No
Template:Rh| Xshell	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:N/a	Template:No

• Template:Note lsh supports only one BSD platform officially, FreeBSD.
• Template:Note The majority of Linux distributions have OpenSSH as an official package, but a few do not.

Technical

Name	User interface	SSH1	SSH2	Additional protocols		Tunneling			Session MultiplexingTemplate:Refun	Kerberos	Services		FTP/SFTP bridge	IPv6
				TELNET	rlogin	Port forwarding	SOCKS	VPNTemplate:Refun			Terminal	SFTP/SCP
Template:Rh| AbsoluteTelnet	GUI	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:NoTemplate:Refun	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes
Template:Rh| eSSH Client	GUI	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes
Template:Rh| Ganymed SSH-2			Template:Yes			Template:Yes					Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No
Template:Rh| IVT	GUI (multi-session, single-window)	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No
Template:Rh| JSch/JCTerm	Java applet	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No		Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No
Template:Rh| lsh	command line	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes		Template:Yes		Template:No	Template:No
Template:Rh| MindTerm	GUI or command line	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:Yes
Template:Rh| OpenSSH	command line	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:Yes
Template:Rh| ossh	command line	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No								Template:No	Template:No
Template:Rh| PocketPutty	GUI	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes							Template:Yes		Template:No	Template:No
Template:Rh| Poderosa	GUI	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:NoTemplate:Refun	Template:No		Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No
Template:Rh| pssh		Template:No	Template:Yes										Template:No	Template:No
Template:Rh| PuTTY	GUITemplate:Refun or command line	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:YesTemplate:Refun	Template:No	Template:Yes
Template:Rh| S-Term	GUI	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes			Template:Yes
Template:Rh| SecureCRT	GUI or command line	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:Yes
Template:Rh| SFTPPlus	GUI or command line	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:YesTemplate:Fact	Template:YesTemplate:Fact	Template:No		Template:No		Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No
Template:Rh| SSH Secure Shell (original)	GUI or command line	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes		Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No
Template:Rh| SSH Tectia Client	GUI or command line	Template:NoTemplate:Refun	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:YesTemplate:Fact	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes
Template:Rh| SwitchTermJ	GUI or command line or Java applet	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes		Template:YesTemplate:Fact	Template:YesTemplate:Fact	Template:No	Template:Yes		Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:Yes
Template:Rh| Tera Term	GUI	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No		Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes
Template:Rh| Tunnelier	GUI or command line	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No
Template:Rh| TuSSH	GUI	Template:Yes	Template:PartialTemplate:Refun	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No
Template:Rh| WinSCP	GUI or command line	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:Yes
Template:Rh| Xshell	GUI	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No		Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No

• Template:Note The ability for the SSH client to establish a VPN, e.g. using TUN/TAP.
• Template:Note The PuTTY developers provide a command line capable SSH client called PLINK.
• Template:Note The PuTTY developers provide SCP and SFTP functionality as binaries for separate download.
• Template:Note SSH Tectia versions prior to 5.0 have SSH1 support; 5.0 and later do not support SSH1.
• Template:Note AES encryption only with third-party library.
• Template:Note Poderosa supports connection via SOCKS5 proxy, not dynamic port forwarding as local SOCKS proxy!
• Template:Note Accelerating OpenSSH connections with ControlMaster.
• Template:Note AbsoluteTelnet supports connection via SOCKS5 proxy, not dynamic port forwarding as local SOCKS proxy.

Features

Name	Smart card support	Hardware encryption	FIPS 140-2 Validation
Template:Rh| AbsoluteTelnet	Template:Yes	Template:No
Template:Rh| MindTerm	Template:No	Template:No
Template:Rh| OpenSSH	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No
Template:Rh| PuTTY	Template:Yes	Template:Dunno	Template:Dunno
Template:Rh| SecureCRT	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:Yes
Template:Rh| SSH Tectia Client	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes

• OpenSSH needs to be patched to ask for the pin of the smartcard.
• PuTTY needs patches for the smartcard http://www.opensc-project.org/scb/.
• SecureCRT 5.1 and later uses a FIPS 140-2 validated cryptographic library.

See also