Generate SSH key in Windows

You can generate your SSH key on Windows using PuTTY.

To generate a key pair (public and private keys) with PuTTY do the following:

•  Download and start the puttygen.exe generator

• In the “Parameters” section choose SSH2 DSA and press Generate

• Move your mouse randomly in the small screen in order to generate secure and truly random key pair

• Enter a key comment, which will identify the key (useful if you’re using multiple SSH keys)

• Type in the passphrase and confirm it, you will be asked for it every time you connect via SSH from your Windows PC

• Click “Save private key” and “Save public key” to save your keys.

That’s it.

[alert style="danger"]You should never disclose your private SSH key. It’s only legitimate to ask for a public SSH key, it is absolutely safe to provide it.[/alert]