SSH and Telnet not working (Vista)

[nsnoonan]

I've had this computer for about 3 months now. I have been using putty to
connect to various linux servers and networking equipment via ssh and telnet.

Recently, I haven't been able to connect to anything for about a week. I've
checked logs to try to troubleshoot my issue, and they suggest the
connections aren't even getting to the servers I'm trying to connect to.
I've now tried several different programs all with the same result.

Putty's error is:
"network error: permission denied"

ssh from windows display's the following error:
"operation not permitted"

Poderosa's error:
"failed to connect to the port 22 on SERVER"

I've also tried uninstalling and reinstalling programs, google searches,
disabling UAC, and random registry tooling, though I'm sure my ability in the
registry isn't up to par for the task. I have no firewalls up, nor virus
protection software that would cause anything like this.

I have a feeling it was caused by a few open source modification packages
for putty I've recently tried out. Support for them are non-existent and I'm
sure I can handle it via the registry, at the very least.

I've resulted to using a terminal server for any administration tasks that
need ssh or telnet. I would really like not to have to wipe and reinstall if
not entirely necessarily. This is my last resort before doing so.

Any help is much appreciated.

 

[Robert L. \(MS-MVP\)]

You may need to re-enable SSH and telnet. This how to may help.
How to: Enable telnet on Vista
Mar 8, 2007 ... For security reason, telnet is disabled on Vista by
default. To enable telnet, please follow these steps: 1. Open the Control
Pane>Programs ...
www.chicagotech.net/netforums/viewtopic.php?t=495


--
Bob Lin, MS-MVP, MCSE & CNE
Networking, Internet, Routing, VPN Troubleshooting on
http://www.ChicagoTech.net
How to Setup Windows, Network, VPN & Remote Access on
http://www.HowToNetworking.com

 

[nsnoonan]

I've tried that tool as well (windows built-in telnet) and have the same
results as all Telnet and SSH tools I've tested. The particular message I'm
getting from that tool is:

"could not open connection to the host, on port 23: connect failed"

To reiterate, I have no firewalls or protection softwares on (including
windows firewall). And I am getting the same results from any communications
softwares I use. So I'm thinking it must be a windows thing (registry or
other).

 

[Robert L. \(MS-MVP\)]

Can you ping the remote computer by IP? Or try to start the system with
clean boot.
Windows general
How to run Windows OS with a clean boot · How to Run Windows Safe Mode
with Networking · How to setup DHCP for IP Phone How to sort programs in
Start ...
www.howtonetworking.com/Windows/windowsgeneral.htm



--
Bob Lin, MS-MVP, MCSE & CNE
Networking, Internet, Routing, VPN Troubleshooting on
http://www.ChicagoTech.net
How to Setup Windows, Network, VPN & Remote Access on
http://www.HowToNetworking.com

 

[nsnoonan]

Can you ping the remote computer by IP? Or try to start the system with
clean boot.
Windows general
How to run Windows OS with a clean boot · How to Run Windows Safe Mode
with Networking · How to setup DHCP for IP Phone How to sort programs in
Start ...
www.howtonetworking.com/Windows/windowsgeneral.htm

I can connect to these machines both from my machine on different protocols
(http, https, ftp, ping, etc...) and i can also connect to them on the
problem protocols (telnet and ssh) from different computers. So it is
machine and protocol specific.

Running from a clean boot yields the same results.

As far as I know, PuTTY doesn't use any registry entries. Is the server
actually running on the remote end? Has the configuration on the remote
end changed, perhaps to disallow all but specific IP addresses? Can you
connect to the server using other machines?

PuTTY does use registry entries to save sessions, which is what one of the
modifications I tried to install was used for. To save them as files in a
subfolder. But, I'm not thinking PuTTY itself did any registry changes that
ruined my SSH/Telnet connectivity. I'm thinking about the modifications I
installed just prior to the problem. As stated before, they are open source
and have no support, thus me coming here.

The servers are running and accessible from other computers and even
accessible by my machine on different protocols. The configs are only
handled by me, so they should not have changed, but I will check anyway just
to be sure.

 

[nsnoonan]

Any router or wireless access point between you and the internet? These
devices may also have a firewall or port forwarding enabled. How about
your ISP? Have they made any changes in what ports they allow you to use
for outbound connections? Can you make a connection on a non-priveleged
port (i.e. > 1024)?

Router, yes and no. I've tried to access both inside and outside the
company with the same results. I get these results with all SSH and Telnet
connections, regardless of server, network, or even program used to connect.

ISP is not a part of the problem because I can't access inside either, and I
can access outside from different machines.

No changes have been made router-side on port connections. I manage that as
well.

I'll try to make connections using other non-privileged ports, although I'm
not entirely sure how to set the servers up to allow those kinds of
connections.

What packages? Although formal support may not be available, most
open source projects are at least well documented about what they do.

I believe the culprit is one of the following:

http://www.raisin.de/putty-tabs/putty-tabs.html

http://jakub.kotrla.net/putty/

http://puttysm.sourceforge.net/

By the way, thanks for all the help thus far. Even though it's not yet
resolved, I greatly appreciate it.

 

[nsnoonan]

Yes, i actually have

I've tried OpenSSH, Poderosa, windows built-in telnet, and Putty. All are
giving the same types of errors.

I'd like to reiterate that I have absolutely no firewall going (including
windows firewall), but the symptoms are as if I did. This is what leads me
to believe it's a registry-type problem, being that it's universal to any
client.

I would think a test on a clean boot with no windows firewall would work
unless it was a registry entry.

 

[nsnoonan]

Ok, after more tests, I've gotten some additional information. Here's what
I've discovered:

* It's not user specific (profile-based). I've created users with varying
security levels and all display the same results

* It's not driver based. I've uninstalled and reinstalled both with windows
and the manufacturer's install package with the same results

* It's not network based. I've run wireshark captures on all interfaces and
all telnet and SSH (among other protocols of which i can't name) don't even
reach the interface, let alone get denied by the server

* I've tried a few other things that have had issues with network
connectivity of which are not SSH or Telnet protocol based. Web-enabled
applications like songbird (the browser inside) and Firefox 3.0.1 have no
connectivity. The install package for the new google chrome will not
complete, since it uses a connection of some type to install.

I will run more captures on those other applications to see what i can come
up with. I'll also also probably run a hijackthis log or something...

 

[nsnoonan]

The problem has been solved.

As I said, it was as if there were a firewall installed (certain
programs/protocols blocked, all new programs/protocols blocked).

I was checking through my installed programs and spotted Zone Alarm, of
which I had thought I had uninstalled. I checked my startup programs, my
services, and my currently running processes, all of which indicated Zone
Alarm was not running. Just to be on the safe side, I went ahead and
uninstalled Zone Alarm.

Everything works after uninstalling. I know that I had made absolutely no
changes to Zone Alarm in quite some time, and I couldn't find it running
anywhere. So at this time I would suggest others running Vista to either pay
close attention to Zone Alarm if you chose to run it or not use it at all.