SSH’ing is a useful skill to know. It can help get apps to work, enable you to create custom backgrounds and icon images, copy content directly from your iPod, and so much more. Once you get used to the navigation, it is quite easy and will help you become a better hacker. Now, onto the steps.

1. What You Need

• A jailbroken iPod (read my previous posts on how to get your iPod jailbroken)
• In Settings, click general, auto-lock, never
• Make sure you have WiFi and a computer or this will not work

2. Install OpenSSH on your iPod

• In installer, go to install, all packages, OpenSSH

3. Download and install WinSCP

• Download WinSCP from http://superb-west.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/winscp/winscp407setup.exe
• Install it onto your computer
• It will ask you to restart your computer when it is done installing. Do it.
• Once restarted, run WinSCP

4. Enter your information

• To find your host name, turn on your iPod and go to settings, WiFi.
  • On your selected network, click the blue arrow on the right
  • The IP Address is your host name, type it in the box in WinSCP
• The Username is root
• The Password is alpine
• Click Login
• It will take awhile on your first try
• Always keep searching and waiting until it is found
• When the warning comes up, click Yes
• You are now inside your iPod

5. What to do now

• I know this is going to bug a lot of you, but I am not going to tell you what to do yet
• Keep reading the site to see what you actually did this and why it is extremely useful
• I guess you will have to keep coming back to the site to check for updates (which will be soon)
• Note: Don’t mess around with the fies you now are capable to edit. It could damage your hardware
• KEEP READING MY POSTS
• LEAVE COMMENTS TO ME

Lone Stag

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117 Comments

1. Chris, April 10, 2008:

   If you’re on a mac the app that i use is fugu and i works similarly to WinSCP

2. JESSE, April 12, 2008:

   I have a mac not a windows app. is the same using winSCP

3. rAwks, April 12, 2008:

   To Jesse…

   You would download Cyberduck…that’s what I use

4. help, April 15, 2008:

   i dont have openssh on installer what sould i do???

5. help, April 16, 2008:

   somebody plss help

6. The Lone Stag, April 16, 2008:

   To help:

   Check the uninstall tab in installer. See if it is already installed.

7. rAwks, April 16, 2008:

   To help…

   Adding to The Lone Stags comment, if you used Ziphone 3.0, Open SSH is already installed. That’s why Lone Stag asked you to check if it’s already installed. Also to let you know, Open SSH doesn’t show up on the home screen as an icon. Hope all goes well!

8. mike, April 20, 2008:

   i keep trying to get into the ipod but it keeps timing out

9. rAwks, April 20, 2008:

   To mike…

   Make sure you put in the right IP address, username, and password. I also keep my iPod awake when I SSH into it. Hope all goes well!

10. mike, April 22, 2008:

    yep thats cool it works now thanks but it seems like it just does it when it wants to i changed the way i did things when i was sshing it like instead of pressing the tab button when typing the ip add and user name i just pointed the mouse at it and that seemed to work stange but true

11. Happy iTouch User, May 8, 2008:

    IT works thanks a ton, now I have all these sweet apps andmy backround is pimped out!

    thanks

12. Quickie, May 12, 2008:

    Hey, i can seen to find openSsh in my “all Packages” in Installer. Is there Any specific source i need?

13. The Lone Stag, May 12, 2008:

    To Quickie:

    Sometimes OpenSSH is installed already, depending on which jailbreak you used. Check in the uninstall tab to see if you have it already.

14. Paul, May 12, 2008:

    Lone Star,

    Have you poster the updt to SSH’ing from April 10 post. I’m looking on the site and can’t find anything about it.

    Thanks,

    Paul

15. Lone Christensen, May 15, 2008:

    If you are on a mac you can just setup your on computer to computer network and access the ipod touch with filezilla

16. HackingNoob, May 16, 2008:

    can someone pls explain to me what SSHing is?

17. HackingNoob, May 16, 2008:

    thanks a gallon (cause a gallon of gas is now worth gold)

18. Kev, May 17, 2008:

    I tried using cyberduck, and filezilla, both doesn’t work for me. Finally tried using fetch… works instantly.

19. John Jensen, May 19, 2008:

    Hey can someone PLEASE help me I went download the open SSH app today but it wasn’t even there. what should I do??? SOMEONE PLAESE HELP ME!!!!!!!!!!!

20. Clank, May 20, 2008:

    To John Jensen
    YOU READ THE OTHER POSTS YOU BIG DUMB BIT***

21. Micelf, May 23, 2008:

    Ok…anyone care to share some nifty things to explore via ssh?

22. Please, May 23, 2008:

    Yes…please share things of interest to launch using SSH

23. SEAn, May 23, 2008:

    I can’t find OpenSSH in my installer section!….what do i do?

24. phil, May 24, 2008:

    I downloaded all the youtube applications possible from the installer, and yet when I turn on my youtube this little message pops up saying “cannot connect to youtube” what am i doing wrong, better yet what should I be doing?? PLZ help I rlly suck at hacking—

25. phil, May 24, 2008:

    To SEAN

    Go to all packages on the installer and type in openssh in the searchbar it should be there

26. kay, May 28, 2008:

    hey sean if you just started on installer chances r u dont have it so u add sources I have already jailbroken my ipod a couple of times and again today and i dont have it so install community sources and add the source ride4.org/shai.xml then install all sources and be patient

27. kay, May 28, 2008:

    phil, uninstal all those youtube packages they dont work i had the same problem and it s probably ur wifi connection

28. Twinkletoes29, May 28, 2008:

    Hi Ya Guys! Since I found this site, I havent left it!! I got an ipod touch for my birthday… but itunes doesnt allow the country I stay in (Mauritius) to really have access to all the benefits I should have for my ipod touch. Ive done all the hacking… following carefully over the last few days… I am sooo proud of myself! Ive just done the instructions involving the computer regarding How to use OpenSSH.. I am apparently inside my ipod now… but not sure what to do from here…. any ideas… I see some guys have pimped their ipod… Im not a boff, but with good instructions, Im sure I will be fine… help guys??? – What do with the open screen of whats on my ipod…. can I close this???

29. help me, May 28, 2008:

    i need help i cant get into my pod with cyberduck

30. exge, May 29, 2008:

    actually just use installer.app …. you can get that by ziphone ..
    best app ever

31. AlD, May 30, 2008:

    Does anyone have a list of where files are stored on an ipod. I am particularly interested in where the photos are stored. Can they be copied off the ipod or are then embedded or encrypted somewhere??

32. LittleNicky, May 31, 2008:

    this seems really hard and I don’t wanna ruin my ipod… Which way is the easiest and most fool-proof? Thx to all who respond. =)

33. fuckoff, June 1, 2008:

    Does your PC have to be connect to the router wirelessly? cuz my PC is wired into my lynksys wireless router, but i cant connect to it.

34. LittleNicky, June 1, 2008:

    Plz read my previous post

35. Kenny, June 2, 2008:

    hi guys! just wanna ask u about using WinSCP. I tried about ten times and double checked my IP adress and everything. Still doesn’t work. Just Says “Network Error. Connection Timed Out” Are there any settings that i have to do? Which protocol on WinSCP do i use? SFTP? SCP? FTP?
    My computer internet and the wireless for my iTouch is a different line. Do they have to be the same? HELP!!

36. Igor I., June 2, 2008:

    Hi, is there any ssh client available for iPod?

    Thanks!

37. phil, June 4, 2008:

    Ya thx kay, but i deleted all the crap for youtube and even with a full connection, it still doesnt work….

38. Matt, June 4, 2008:

    i already jailbroke my ipod touch 16, and also installed some applications (like iZoo) , but i wasnt able to open it because i dont know where to find the application. help please..

39. MonkeyBoy, June 4, 2008:

    Anyone got any idea what “Network Error: No route to Host” is to with…cos i am stuck…its probably damn obvious but i suck at hacking so i haven’t seen it. The SSHing worked the first time round just not now for some reason.

40. phil, June 5, 2008:

    ya again with the youtube problem…help anyone?

41. Paul, June 7, 2008:

    I have Community Sources 3.84 but no OpenSSH program is listed for download. Is there any other working source for it?

42. BisHhH, June 8, 2008:

    Same problem here Kenny, pls help!

43. BisHhH, June 8, 2008:

    YOu probably have already installed it, check in uninstall tab, it should be there

44. headbangerssss, June 8, 2008:

    i have the exact same problem as phil, my youtube never works, even when ive got a great connection HELP

45. Steven, June 9, 2008:

    with ssh u can put roms on your ipod for all the emulators and put apps that aren’t on installer onto your ipod! I love it!!!

46. brandon, June 11, 2008:

    so,I’ve got installer and all that good stuff, but when I try and install something, it gives me an error…what’s going wrong???

47. rAwks, June 11, 2008:

    To Brandon…

    This shouldn’t be in the SSH post, but it’s all good. When there’s an error…usually it means the site is down or it just doesn’t work anymore. So…some sources tend to do that. When you click on it and it comes up as an error, make sure to clear your queue after. If you don’t…you’ll be trying to install that one and another one…which causes you not to be able to install anything else. Hope all goes well!

48. WorstHackerEver, June 11, 2008:

    Anyone who thinks OpenSSH isn’t in the Install directory then check the Uninstall directory. Same happened with me but then I realised it was already on meh iPod. =P

49. Matt, June 12, 2008:

    You can use just about any ftp program. Thats right isnt it?

    I also use cyberduck. Very simple piece of software for the mac.

50. Ally, June 12, 2008:

    i can not download the ssl thing on my ipod touch i dont know what to do

51. J Man, June 14, 2008:

    Any news on when you will explain step 5?
    thanks

52. The Lone Stag, June 14, 2008:

    To J Man:

    Read new posts. They tell you when you need to SSH.

53. Kelko, June 16, 2008:

    Been looking in the iPod to see where the music files, etc. are located but can’t find them. Should it be possible to transfer mp3’s ect. back and forth with this tool, or is it just for apps and hacks?

54. dan, June 17, 2008:

    ive downloaded a pdf from the internet and im trying to use pdf viewer to open it it wont open so i used openn ssh to move the file into the correct directory and i did so. however it still will not view it even though it did download and it did move tot he correct path

55. Shrigg, June 18, 2008:

    Mac users: Transmit works great!

56. Shrigg, June 19, 2008:

    Mac users: Terminal works great, too! Just open a new Terminal window, and type in

    ssh root@192.168.x.x

    where 192.168.x.x is your ipod’s ip address. Wait for it to ask you for the password. Enter alpine and you’re in!

57. Anthony, June 19, 2008:

    When I install the WinSCP thing it does not tell me to restart my computer and when I open it it is just a file with a bunch of numbers and letters and stuff in it so that happens whenever I open the file on my computer so someone please HELP!!!!!!

58. Korla, June 20, 2008:

    I have one everything that was told I have the program on my desktop and on my ipod touch. I made my summerboard/themes folders and put all themes into my ipod and when i go into the installer then summerboard I only see one of the themes i downloaded and when I install it it iinstalls and thats it. Now where do go to see it and how to change my theme on the ipod touch. I can see it in my uninstaller also.

    Please help

    Korla

59. kiss my apple, June 21, 2008:

    i just wanted to know if this is extra risky because i love my iPod Touch and don’t want to ruin it was anybody not satisfied when they jailbroke their iPod here.

    p.s. i am sorry i put this in the wrong catagory of posts

60. bob, June 24, 2008:

    were do i go now to find out how to change ttr to guitar hero

61. Bob, June 25, 2008:

    Any idea why I keep geting this error…”Connection closed by remote host.” Also according to Boss Prefs, ssh turns itself back off every time I go back to the springboard. Thanks!

62. riC-, June 27, 2008:

    well i got the OpenSSH installed, but just wondering, what can i do with it? Are there any websites teaching me how to use it? im new to such things, if anyone of you happen to know please kindly help me, thank you!

63. derik, June 27, 2008:

    how do i set my own backround? and what does SSH stand for

64. Matt, June 29, 2008:

    When are you going to post your next segment??
    Im experienced enough to learn SSH and would really love to hear more of your tutorials.

65. derik, June 29, 2008:

    where do i find his tutorials…im not sure on how to use the tool

66. floppy, June 29, 2008:

    hey have a question how come when i followed all the instructions, it lead me to “C: Local Drive” ? isnt it supposed to get me in my ipod touch?

67. floppy, June 29, 2008:

    nevermind, i worked it out. thank you very much the lone stag

68. ar6557, July 15, 2008:

    thank you thank you thank you. ive been trying to figure out how to install this.

69. chriz, July 15, 2008:

    Ive tried to ssh my ipod over and over agin.. ive checked the ip, username, password and everything…. but i cant ssh my ipod.. note that i’ve been doing this for the last 4 days…….

70. MechanicalMind, July 16, 2008:

    Chriz

    What program are you using to sftp? Are you sure you’ve selected SFTP in the client you’re using, and not FTP etc? It’s normal for it not to work for the first few times, but certainly not for 4 days!

71. SenorSwanky, July 19, 2008:

    got one problem, it doesn’t work with my wayport access. Just a heads up, unless anyone has a tip

72. keen, July 22, 2008:

    Guys, can we copy MP3s from PC to our Itouch using SSH?? If so can someone post where in the directory to do it?? Thanx….

73. feyenoord0808, July 23, 2008:

    u need also wifi on ur PC or can it just use LAN?

74. dylan, July 25, 2008:

    keen,

    yes you can. To play them, open up mobilefinder, and find the file and click open with avplayer(make sure you have it installed)

75. joel, August 6, 2008:

    what to do with openssh??? what can i do, and how??

76. josh, August 10, 2008:

    hey there.. ive followed all ur instructions on ur videos and on ur page to jailbreak my ipod touch however when its come to actually installing appsnapp i get to the page click install appsnapp and my ipod touch doesnt freeze or wotever it takes like 4 minutes and then just goes back to the homepage of my ipod with nothink happening. my ipod touch is connected to my computer and i tunes is open please help :S

77. Rajan Singh, August 10, 2008:

    I have a request:
    Well, it’s something that would be quite helpful, i’d really like to see an open SSH for iTouch that requires no wi-fi connection to detect the device (like iphone browser) but has the same functions as WinSCP (which requires wi-fi). by same functions, i mean that upon right click on a folder or file the same properties box appears when we right click on a folder or box in winscp, so that we can change the permissions,etc. This will really be an advancement ipod touch/iphone modding where no wi-fi is required to mount the device.

78. diana, August 18, 2008:

    Hi,
    I have a problem viewing PDF files on iphone. I have both, ipod Touch and iPhone, but when I SSH pdf filles on ipod Touch, and then on iPhone, I can see only pdf filles on the first one. I can connect to both separatelly, and I can see that PDF filles are there in Filezilla, but no sigh of them on my iPhone.
    Can anybody help with that problem?

79. drag, September 5, 2008:

    Motherlover! … I figured it out. I kept getting timeout on WinSCP, then I disabled my wired connection to the network and enabled wireless. It would seem that you need to be accessing the iPod wirelessly from your computer not through the router.

    Go figure!

80. Matt Charbonneau, September 25, 2008:

    what if the wifi isnt coming from your own computer? like i use my neighbors wifi cuz theres is free and i dont have wireless.

81. trudavy, October 2, 2008:

    im no pro at this at all, and it is refusing my connection, my home network does use WEP protection w/ 10 hexadecimal tho, so is there a way to set this in winscp so it can get through it?

82. chivisrta, October 10, 2008:

    can u edit all items on ipod

83. Pynqlydz, October 11, 2008:

    hie.. i need help.. i can’t connect to it.. i checked every thing, the ip add is correct but it still wont connect.. it said time out

84. new iPod user, October 12, 2008:

    Is there anyway you can search your files on your jailbroken iPod touch 1.1.4 without a computer?

85. new iPod user, October 18, 2008:

    ^CAN ANYONE ANSWER MY QUESTION??? PLEASE???^

86. Shad, October 31, 2008:

    Nope

87. mastertog, November 4, 2008:

    Ok so here is where this whole thing is so fucked up. I have read all the post on this stuff then came across yours. I followed your instructions and it all worked out fine the very first try. However you left me/us hanging out there by our shwankies with our thumbs up our asses! Ok so ssh is installed in my itouch through Cydia now what. I am mainly looking to get app store apps for free and crash nitro cart.

    Ok sorry for the swearing, but frustrated by the come back latter to find out part!!
    Who can help me
    Write to me directly in my yahoo junk mail box= dtroyan@yahoo.com you can also try yahoo chat I am invisible on there most times!

    Some please help me get crash bandicoot. There is many instructions out there on how to but confusing to me. I have it already downloaded on the computer now I need help with the fuse part and all that other shit. Please help

88. deanne, November 6, 2008:

    hi!i really need your help!!!i have an ipod touch 8 gb it`s my first one so..i have internet wirelles on my pc but it`s not my internet it`s a shared one and the owner doesn`t want to tell me the password so i cand connect with the wifi from the ipod…what can i do in this case if i want to jailbreak it?cause i really don`t know how to transfer files fron pc to ipod…i really don`t know anything!i really can use your help!thanx

89. Randy, November 12, 2008:

    okay i have jailbroke my ipod touch tryd to downlaod games and apps but something is wwrong they dont work

90. Moxa, December 6, 2008:

    I have installed all the programs. I have worked with my firewall to make sure that WinSPC is allowed. However I still get the “Network error: Connection Timed Out”. Anyone got any ideas to why is that? Do I have to change something on my router?

91. Sam, December 29, 2008:

    You can also use FireFTP in Firefox 3. Just click on Tools > Addons and search fireftp. Make sure that in the settings you specify SFTP when connecting to the ipod.

92. Sam, December 29, 2008:

    When using FireFTP you have to click reconnect 2 or 3 times because it takes a while for the ipod touch to respond.

93. retired one, January 1, 2009:

    youre the man

94. Ryan, January 10, 2009:

    Hey guys, good job on all your work and apps. I was playing around with SSH on the ipod touch, and thought I would see what would happen issuing the “reboot” command. Well, it rebooted it for sure and came back up, but now my Home Screen is in a loop telling me how I can move the icons. Any ideas for remedy?

95. Ryan, January 11, 2009:

    Looks like I wasnt the only one with the problem.

96. Random Guy, January 16, 2009:

    You can’t damage your hardware with software, unless you do, oh say about 40000 (I think that’s the number) full formats and get a bunch of bad sectors.

97. GamingFanaticzzz, February 4, 2009:

    TO PHIL,

    Try correcting your date and time settings. That always works for me

98. MastaB, February 28, 2009:

    it’s the bomb B!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

99. Johnson, March 8, 2009:

    I use a software called touch copy and it works great. You can see all the folders in the iPod touch with it and you can get ur songs from iPod to ur computer

100. 78897889, March 10, 2009:

     Post 100, Sorry! Had to take it =)

101. pissedoff, March 16, 2009:

     u stupid fuck how bout tellin us what to do next

102. Will, March 22, 2009:

     Hey can u help me when i connect it says connection refuesed im really not sure what to do please email me at will.hgg@btinternet.com

103. dyann, March 25, 2009:

     How about for ipod touch 2G.. any idea on how to install/download free games? thanks!!!

104. chef ohboy, March 28, 2009:

     ok so i have everything installed.. what do i do now? how do i install apps and stuff?????

105. Brandon, April 7, 2009:

     Thank You So Much Jessy

106. Brandon, April 7, 2009:

     *Jesse

107. hunter, April 17, 2009:

     ok when i open winSCP it all works but then it says that it requires a different password but i dont know what it is!!! PLZ HELP

108. Marley, April 22, 2009:

     hey anybody know any good apps to hack i have already hacked imob throegh ssh wich worked pefectly but i’m not sure of any other apps that are good to hack using ssh

109. kym, May 11, 2009:

     hi i done step 1 im a bit confused with step 2 and ipod is jailbreak

110. john, May 30, 2009:

     Hey guys… Problem.. I have used ssh a million times and now suddenly after having installed a few paid apps with jailbreaked version 2.2 ipod 1G it says connection refused….WTF? Anyone please HELP!!!

111. E. Franco, June 14, 2009:

     does WinSCP work with windows vista?

112. White Albino, June 30, 2009:

     Do a search for this file: iphonebrowser
     The latest rev is 1.91
     It makes it very easy to get into a jailbroken iPod.

     Now just download ipa files to your computer.
     Open the ipod using the iphonebrowser.
     Then open another window of the folder on your computer
     that contains the downloaded ipa files.
     Just drag and drop the ones you want to the Downloads folder on the ipod.
     The path is Root/User/Library/Downloads/

     Now run Installous on the ipod and select the Downloads folder.
     Select the newly copied program(s) you want to install. Done!

     This works both ways. You can select ipa files on the ipod and
     drag and drop them to a folder on your computer. An easy way to
     backup all your apps.

     Enjoy!

113. John, August 8, 2009:

     HELP! I have the itouch generation 2, and all the jailbreaks are for 1, help.. cuz jailbreakme.com got shutdown!

114. John, August 8, 2009:

     whenever i download the quick pawn thing , quicktime doesn’t recognize it

115. Kyle, August 27, 2009:

     I use ifunbox that is the fastest at uploading to the iPod.

116. Gatillo, October 1, 2009:

     XHTML: You can use these tags:
     

117. x0r-lord, October 14, 2009:

     1. if you own a mac, it comes with Secure Shell, goto terminal type LOCAL-USER$ ssh username@deviceIP
     itll prompt you about the RSA keys being generated for an untrusted connection. and then prompt you for your password.

     otherwise there are a slue of OpenSSH programs available for windows (i dont use WinSCP, and i connect to my samba server using ssh)

     to the author of this article…
     did you know you can download whatever you want once connected by typing Local-User$ sudo cd /;rm *

     oh, and btw, if this ANY of this is too hard. go get linux, and say hello to your first REAL computer…