If you are aware of the SSH basics, you already know that SSH uses port 22 by default.

If it is some port other than the default port, you will need to connect to the SSH server using this port: $ ssh -p portnumber username @ ipaddress In order to check which on which port the OpenSSH server is listening to; use the following command in Terminal. Check for open ports and verify port forwarding setup on your router. What is Port Checker? Port Checker is a simple and free online tool for checking open ports on your computer/device, often useful in testing port forwarding settings on a router. For more details about rsync, check man pages: # man rsync Or refer our previous guide from the link below. Rsync: 10 Practical Examples of Rsync Command in Linux; Change SSH Port to Non-standard Port. As we all know, By default rsync uses default SSH port 22 to sync files over local to remote hosts and vice versa. We should change our remote. Simple explanation of SSH tunnels and port-forwarding. If you are not used with SSH tunnels, here is a simple graphical explanation on how a simple SSH-tunnel works: This screenshot explains local port-forwarding mechanism: local clients need to connect to a remote server which cannot be reached directly through network.

When you connect to a server via SSH, most of the time you don't provide any port information. And in such cases, your connection goes to the port 22 of the SSH server.

You can change the default port from 22 a port number of your choice using the following steps:

Open the /etc/ssh/sshd_config file for editing.
Locate the line that has Port 22 (if it is commented out with #, remove the # as well).
Change the line to Port 2522 (or any number of your choice between 1024 and 65535).
Make sure that the new port is allowed by the firewalls (if you have any).
Restart ssh daemon with sudo systemctl restart sshd.
From now onwards, you'll have to specify the port to make the ssh connection ssh user@ip_address_of_server -p 2522.

Let me show you the steps in details and also tell you why you may consider changing the

Why change the default SSH port?

Check Ssh Port Cpanel

One of the most elementary tricks for securing SSH server is to change the default SSH port number 22.

Why? Because a number of bot scripts try the brute force attacks on the default port 22. Most of these scripts don't always scan for open ports, and they target the default ports for various known services like SSH.

Changing the default SSH port reduces number of such attacks. There are other ways to improve the security of your SSH server. If interested, please follow these actionable tips for improving SSH server security.

Now that you know why you would change the default SSH port, let's see how to do it.

Allow traffic on the new port by changing the firewall settings

If you have a firewall set or custom ipconfig or ifconfig or if you are using selinux, you must allow the new ssh port before making the changes. Otherwise you may lock yourself out without an SSH access.

Now this part depends upon what kind of firewall or routing you are using.

If you are using UFW, you can use the following command to allow port 2522:

If you are using iptables, you should use this command:

On Fedora, CentOS, Red Hat, the firewall is managed by firewalld and you can use this command:

Check Ssh Port Windows

On CentOS and Red Hat, you may also have to change the SELinux rules:

Now that you have put the correct firewall settings, let's move on to changing the SSH port.

Changing the default SSH port

Usually, the ssh configuration file is located at /etc/ssh/sshd_config. You'll have to use a terminal-based editor like Vim or Nano or Emacs to edit the file.

Distributions like Ubuntu have Nano installed by default so you can use it for opening the file in edit mode like this: Web scraping requests.

As you can see, you'll have to be a sudo user or root to edit the ssh configuration.

Scroll down a bit and you'll see a line with Port 22. If it starts with #, it means the line is commented out. The commented out lines gives you the default settings.

So if you see # Port 22, it means that default port is 22.

Change this line with a port number of your choice. In Linux, port number 0-1023 are usually reserved for various services. It will be good to avoid using anything between 0 and 1023 to avoid conflicts.

You can use any other port number between 1024 and 65535. I am using 2522 in the example. Make sure to remove the # before the Port line.

Save your changes and exit the editor. If you are using Nano, use Ctrl+X to save and exit.

Ssh Specific Port

The next step is to restart the ssh service. Most modern system use systemd services so you can use the following command:

Now if you want to access the SSH server, you'll have to specify the port number:

Test Ssh

Was it helpful?

I hope you find this tutorial helpful in changing the SSH port. Now that you have changed the port, you'll have to use it all the time you want to connect to the server via SSH and that could be annoying.

This is why I recommend using SSH config file to save the settings for easy and quick access.

Become a Member for FREE

Check Ssh Port Online

Become a member to get the regular Linux newsletter (2-4 times a month) and access member-only contents.

Join the conversation.