How to access your Linux VPS via SSH

A Linux VPS has no desktop: you manage the machine from the terminal, connected via SSH. It's an encrypted protocol already installed on every current system, and connecting boils down to a single command.

1. What you need

The three pieces of information the VirtFusion panel emailed you when the installation finished:

• The VPS's IP address.
• The username, which on a fresh install is root.
• The password generated during installation.

If the VPS doesn't have a system installed yet, start with How to activate your VPS and choose the operating system.

2. Connecting

The command is the same on all three systems. Open PowerShell or Command Prompt on Windows, or Terminal on macOS and Linux, and type:

ssh root@YOUR_IP

Replacing YOUR_IP with your VPS's address. On the first connection you'll be asked about the host's authenticity, with a long string of characters. That's SSH recording the machine's identity so it recognizes it next time. Type yes and press Enter.

Then it asks for the password. The terminal shows nothing while you type — not even asterisks. That's on purpose. Type or paste the password and press Enter.

If you prefer a graphical interface on Windows, PuTTY still works: enter the IP under Host Name, leave the port at 22 and click Open.

3. Changing the root password

The password generated by the panel is for your first login. Change it as soon as you're in:

passwd

The command asks for the new password twice, also without showing what you type.

4. Replacing the password with an SSH key

Passwords are the weakest method: an IP exposed to the internet gets thousands of automated login attempts a day, all of them trying passwords. An SSH key can't be guessed and also spares you from typing anything on each connection.

On your computer — not the VPS — generate the key pair:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519

Accept the default path and set a passphrase for the key if you want an extra layer. Then send the public key to the VPS:

ssh-copy-id root@YOUR_IP

On Windows, where ssh-copy-id may not exist, the equivalent is:

type $env:USERPROFILE\.ssh\id_ed25519.pub | ssh root@YOUR_IP "mkdir -p ~/.ssh && cat >> ~/.ssh/authorized_keys"

From then on, ssh root@YOUR_IP logs in without asking for a password. With the key working, disable password login by editing /etc/ssh/sshd_config:

PasswordAuthentication no

And reload the service with systemctl restart sshd.

5. When the connection fails

"Connection refused"

The VPS responded, but nothing is listening on port 22. Either the SSH service is stopped, the port was changed, or the firewall is blocking it. Log in through VirtFusion's VNC console and check with systemctl status sshd.

"Connection timed out"

There was no response at all. The VPS is off, still installing, or the firewall drops the packet without replying. Check in the panel that the status is Running.

"Permission denied (publickey,password)"

The IP and port are right; the credentials aren't. Check that the username is root and that the whole password was copied, with no trailing space. If it was lost, generate a new one in VirtFusion.

"REMOTE HOST IDENTIFICATION HAS CHANGED"

This warning appears after reinstalling the system: the machine is the same, but its identity changed. Remove the old record and connect again:

ssh-keygen -R YOUR_IP

6. First commands on a new VPS

Update the system before anything else. On Ubuntu and Debian:

apt update && apt upgrade -y

On AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux and CentOS:

dnf upgrade -y

This is the step that closes the flaws already fixed since the system image was built.

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