Knowledgebase

FTP General Information:

FTP connections on Eh+ servers are protected through a Secured Socket Layer (SSL) connection. This connection ensures that no third party will be able to intercept your passwords or files between the server and your computer making it the safest method to connect. There are two methods to connect to FTP. We STRONGLY recommend that you employ a SSH Key rather than a standard password for a connection using your cPanel account username. This is only available for your cPanel username and not any additional FTP accounts created through the FTP Account process in cPanel.

Note that you are able to set multiple keys per cPanel username and can individually authorize or deauthorize the keys from cPanel so this option may work out better than a standard password for you. With that in mind, never share your keys or passwords with any untrusted third party. Remember that you, as the account owner, are solely responsible for the content on your site. The following steps are based on WinSCP, though other FTP clients will work. Please note that any links on this page will open in a new browser tab or window so that you can keep these instructions open.

FTP via SSH Key:

To connect to FTP using an SSH Key, please follow these steps:

1. Setup an SSH Key:
   1. Login to cPanel at http://www.eh-plus.net/cpanel
   2. Scroll down to the "Security" grouping and click on "SSH/Shell Access"
   3. Click the button that says "Manage SSH Keys"
   4. At the top of the page, click "Generate a new Key"
   5. When the new page loads, set the fields to be:
      1. Key Name (defaults to id_dsa): The default is fine here, or choose a name to identify who is using this.
      2. Key Password: Enter a password, you will need this later.
      3. Password (Again): Re-enter the above password.
      4. Key Type RSA
      5. Key Size: 4096
   6. Click "Generate Key"
   7. You'll get a message saying "Key Generation Complete!", click "Go Back"
2. Authorize the Key
   1. If you've followed the above directions, you'll be back at the "Manage SSH Keys" page.
   2. Find the key you just created under "Public Keys" and click "Manage Authorization" to the right.
   3. To enable the key, click "Authorize". If you wish to disable a key that you've previously authorized, click "Deauthorize". You'll need to enable the key in order to connect.
   4. You'll get a confirmation screen, click "Go Back".
3. Translate and Download the Key
   1. You should, again, be back at the "Manage SSH Keys" page.
   2. Under "Private Keys" click "View/Download".
   3. On this next page:
      1. Enter the passphrase to unlock id_dsa for conversion: Enter the password you used in step 1-5-2.
      2. Click "Convert"
   4. Click "Download Key" and save the file somewhere you'll remember.
4. Setup Key in FTP Client (WinSCP)
   1. Open WinSCP
   2. Click New in top right corner
   3. Fill out details:
      1. File Protocol: SFTP
      2. Host: andromeda.eh-plus.net
      3. Port: 190
      4. Username: Fill in your cPanel username here
      5. Password: Leave blank
      6. Private Key File: You'll need to click the "..." button to the right and browse to where you saved the .ppk file in step 3-4
   4. Click "Save"

If you've followed the above directions, you can easily FTP into your service by double clicking the newly saved settings in WinSCP. Once connected, WinSCP will prompt you for the password that it needs to decrypt the key. The password is the same password used in steps 1-5-2 and steps 3-3-1. Other FTP clients will be similar, although their wording and methods may be slightly different.

FTP via Username & Password:

The steps above are a more involved, but much more secure, method of connecting to your site in order to transfer files. It is the preferred method, however, if you must use standard FTP, the connection will still use SSL to ensure an encrypted connection to your site. The settings are as follows:

• File Protocol: FTP
• Encryption: TLS Explicit Encryption
• Host: andromeda.eh-plus.net
• Port: 21
• Username: Username as setup in FTP Accounts in cPanel. Will appear like an email address: example@example-domain.com
• Password: Password as setup in FTP Accounts in cPanel

As always, if you have any issues, please feel free to open a support ticket and we'll get you up and running ASAP.