1. Visit https://www.putty.org and download the full PuTTY package.
2. This includes PuTTYgen.exe, the key generator tool needed for SSH key creation.
3. Open the PuTTYgen.exe application.
4. Under Key type to generate, select RSA.
5. In the Number of bits in a generated key field, enter at least 2048 (4096 recommended for strong security).
6. Click the Generate button under the Actions section.
7. When generation completes, a Public key will be populated into the Public key for pasting into OpenSSH authorized_keys file text box.

8. In the Key comment field, enter your CSUF campus Login ID (same login/username as your CSUF campus portal) followed by the date. 

   
   Format: <your-login-ID>-yyyymmdd

   Example:

   If your CSUF campus Login ID is student1 and today is June 13, 2025, enter:

    9. Click Save public key and save the file with this format:

<your-login-ID>-yyyymmdd.pub

Example:

   10. Click Save private key and when asked "Are you sure you want to save this key without a passphrase?", click Yes to skip. Save the private key with the this format:

<your-login-ID>-yyyymmdd.ppk

Example:

   11. The text box labeled "Public key for pasting into OpenSSH authorized_keys file" contains the public key you just generated. This is the key you’ll need to provide to your instructor or system administrator, or paste into remote servers to enable password-less SSH access. Copy the entire contents of the box and save it temporarily in a plain text editor (like Notepad) for easy access.