MobaXterm: Terminal for Windows 10 with SSH Client and Network Utilities

Main features

This program incorporates a large number of functionalities for programmers, system administrators and network administrators. It incorporates all the necessary network tools to perform the job correctly, for example, it incorporates a very complete SSH client, X11, RDP client, VNC client, FTP client, Mosh and more, as if this were not enough, it also allows us to lift in the local computer an SSH / SFTP server to connect to us safely, in addition, we can also build a TFTP, FTP, HTTP, Telnet, VNC server and even an iperf server to check the speed in the local network. This program allows executing Unix / Linux commands based on bash within the Windows operating system itself, as if we were on Windows Subsystem Linux but without the need to have it installed on our computer.

MobaXterm has many advantages over all similar programs, for example, if we connect to a remote SSH server, we will get a console to enter commands, but on the left side we will get the whole directory tree to manage the files via SFTP, because this program also includes SFTP client for secure file and folder transfer. In addition, thanks to the support of X11, remote applications can also be viewed directly from this program.

One of the aspects that we liked the most about MobaXterm is its design, it has an intuitive user interface, although full of configuration options, this is ideal for both novice and more experienced users.

MobaXterm currently has two versions, MobaXterm Home is aimed at home users who want to manage their own equipment efficiently, we also have the MobaXterm Professional version that is aimed at professional environments, this latest version incorporates many more functions and allows you to customize the software. For example, in the free version we can establish a maximum of 12 remote sessions, a maximum of 2 SSH tunnels and 4 macros, however, in the free version there is no limit.

This program is only compatible with Windows operating systems, we have a “Portable” version that does not need installation and another version with an installer. If you are going to test the software, we recommend the “Portable” version, otherwise, if you are going to use it continuously, we recommend the version with installer because we can install additional software to increase its functionalities.

Download and install

The download of this software is completely free in the «Home Edition» version, we simply have to go to the official MobaXterm download website and click on «Download Now». Once we have clicked on “Download Now”, we can download two versions, the portable version and the version with installer, depending on what we want, we will choose one version or another. An important detail is that we also have the possibility of downloading previous versions, in case the current version has some kind of problem and we want to use the old one.

In our case, we have downloaded the Portable version, which is exactly the same as the version with installer, except that if we install the plugins that it gives us the possibility to install, we will lose the changes as soon as we close the program. For this reason, if you are going to use this program continuously, it is highly recommended that you use the installer to have the program fully installed on your Windows 10 operating system.

All MobaXterm options

The graphical user interface of MobaXterm is very elegant and clean, on the left side it automatically imports the sessions that we have saved in programs such as PuTTY, ideal for not having to enter the IP address or domain, port, user and user data again. key, or authentication via SSH keys. In the top menu we can see the different possibilities of this great software, and also all the available configuration options.

In the central part, the first thing we will see is a “Start Local terminal” button, this will open a console on the local Windows computer and we will be able to manage it through Linux-based commands (bash).

If we click on «Start local terminal», it will automatically open a console and we can navigate through the entire directory tree with the typical «cd» commands, in addition, if we want to access the hard drives we will simply have to put «cd / drives» and We will see both C and the rest of the partitions, if we have partitions or other disks on our computer.

As you can see, if we execute the “ls” command from bash, it will show us all the contents of the current directory, and we are using Windows commands, not using Windows commands such as “dir”.

Once we have seen the main menu and the local terminal, we are going to see all the clients that this great MobaXterm program incorporates, and we are going to be able to connect to local or remote computers with multiple protocols.

Session: all the possibilities

In the «Session» section we can see all the protocols that this MobaXterm program allows, specifically, we can open a session using the following protocols and utilities:

• SSH
• Telnet
• Rsh
• Xdmcp
• RDP
• VNC
• FTP
• SFTP
• Serial
• File
• Shell
• Browser
• Mosh
• Aws S3 (experimental)
• WSL (Windows Subsystem Linux)

In the following photo you can see where all these login possibilities are.

In the SSH section we can configure the remote host, either an IP or a domain, as well as the user name that we want and the port. If we click on the “Advanced SSH Settings” section, we have more options at our disposal, such as doing X11 forwarding, enabling compression, if we want interactive shell, if we want to use a private SSH key and even if we want to execute a macro when connecting to the server.

We can also configure the terminal options, such as the font options (letter), the type of terminal, the behavior of copying and pasting, etc. In the “Network Settings” section we can configure the proxy options, and we can also configure an SSH Gateway (to connect to a jump machine, and from here to the destination server). Finally, we can put this newly created profile in “Favorites” to always have it at hand and connect quickly.

The Telnet section is where we will configure all the sessions using this protocol, although it is an insecure protocol, therefore, it is not recommended to use it. We will have similar connection options as in SSH. We can also log in to remote computers using Rsh, Xdmcp and also RDP

If you need a VNC client, this MobaXterm program also includes it, therefore, you will not need to use an external program, just put the IP address and the port, as well as complete some options related to the network and the visualization, and we we will connect quickly. Of course, it also incorporates a fairly complete FTP client, we can configure if we want passive or active mode, if we want to use FTPES with different TLS protocols, and it even allows us to configure a proxy if necessary.

Regarding SFTP, we have similar options as SSH, but it is specifically oriented to SFTP client and not to execute commands. We must remember that, when we establish an SSH connection, an SFTP session is also automatically established, therefore, it is not necessary to use this unless you only want to transfer files.

In the «Serial» section you will be able to establish communication through the serial ports of our equipment, as if we were using PuTTY to connect via console to a switch or router that allow management via console.

In “File” we can open a certain folder in Windows explorer, and we can even launch URLs using the default web browser. In “Shell” we can choose which console to use, if bash, cmd, Windows Powershell or Powershell, by default it is “Bash”, also, you can execute commands when we start a new session on a local or remote computer. Other options are the “Browser” which will basically launch the web browser, we can also connect to a “Mosh” server for the terminal, and even to AWS S3 (experimental). Finally, we can make use of WSL that incorporates the Windows 10 operating system.

Servers, Tools and Games

Something that has caught our attention about this program is that it will also allow us to build servers on the local computer. Specifically, we can build the following servers:

• TFTP
• FTP
• HTTP
• SSH / SFTP
• Telnet
• NFS
• VNC
• Cron
• Iperf

Thanks to all these servers, we will be able to have clients connect to us, an important detail is that we will not have very advanced configuration options either, so the most normal thing would be to raise these servers temporarily, if you need to mount a SSH server to always have it, it would be better to use other programs with more configuration options, such as OpenSSH-Server for Windows 10.

In the «Tools» section we can have access to all the program’s utilities, such as lists the hardware devices, see the processes, open a cmd as administrator, open the basic text editor, configure an SSH tunnel, create new SSH keys for our server and client, view the list of open ports, run the network scanner and even scan the ports, as well as capture network packets.

In the «Games» section we will have at our disposal different typical and very basic games, in our opinion, these games are left over from a program so focused on system and network administrators like this one.

Sessions (Favorite), View, Split, Multiexec

In the «Sessions» section we will see the saved favorite sessions, we must remember that this program is capable of importing PuTTy session profiles. In the «View» section we can customize how we want to see the sessions, if we want to customize the buttons, show the menu or not, and even change the different position buttons, this is ideal to customize how we want the program to look.

In «Split» we can configure the main panel to show several console sessions simultaneously, in this way, if we are managing several computers remotely by SSH, we can do it simultaneously in all of them. The “Multiexec” will allow us to execute the same command on multiple servers simultaneously.

Tunneling, Packages

A very important feature of this program is the “Tunneling” option, we will be able to establish different really configurable SSH tunnels, to reach a computer through a jump machine. In companies, the most normal thing is to have a very fortified server to later “jump” to other computers within the local network. This program will allow us to perform the SSH tunnel technique to get to the destination correctly.

If we click on «New SSH Tunnel» we will get a new menu, we will have to choose between three main options:

• Local port forwarding (it will be the most normal)
• Remote port forwarding
• Dynamic Port forwarding (SOCKS Proxy).

Depending on what we are going to choose, the program will allow us to configure the ports, the different IP addresses (of the jump machine and the destination machine), as well as their ports and also the login. Something that has caught our attention is that we will get a simple diagram of how the connection is going to be made through the firewall, the SSH server and the remote server to which we want to connect.

In the “Packages” section, what we will be able to do is install additional packages to expand the program’s functionalities. If we had few configuration options in MobaXterm, we can expand them almost unlimitedly, because we have hundreds of additional packages that we can easily install. An important detail: if you use the portable version, any installed program will be deleted when you close MobaXterm. If you are going to install a package that you need, we recommend that you install the program and not use the portable version.

Settings

In the “Settings” section is where we can configure the options of the program itself, we can set the home and root directories, as well as the management of passwords, how we want the terminal configuration to be (font, color, bash-type shell and more), we will also configure the X11, the global SSH options, the program’s graphical user interface, the toolbar and how we want it to be ordered, and even the possibility of opening multiple instances of MobaXterm.

Connecting to an SSH and SFTP server

Making an SSH connection is as simple as double clicking on the sessions previously saved by PuTTY, or clicking on “Session” and establishing a new SSH connection to a server. When connecting via SSH, a tab will appear as if it were a web browser, and on the left side it will show us the directory tree because it also establishes an SFTP session to transfer files quickly and easily. In the next screen you can see the connection to a QNAP NAS server:

In the next screen you can see the connection to a pfSense operating system:

As you have seen, this MobaXterm program is one of the most complete and recommended programs for system and network administrators. It incorporates a large number of clients to connect us, we also have several servers to connect to us, and a huge amount of advanced configuration options for clients and customization of the program itself, ideal to adapt it to our tastes and needs.