MHOSTMHOST

VNC console and first connection (SSH/RDP)

Once a server is created, the first thing to do is get onto it: make sure everything is working, and configure it "from the inside." This article covers every way to make your first connection to a new mHost VPS: where to find the IP address and password, how to open the graphical console (VNC) in VMmanager 6, and how to connect over SSH (Linux) or RDP (Windows) from your own computer.

What you'll need

  • An active mHost server — already ordered and activated.
  • Access to the VMmanager 6 panel. If you haven't logged in yet, see "How to log in to VMmanager 6".
  • For SSH (Linux servers): on macOS and Linux the ssh client is already built in; on Windows 10/11 it's usually available out of the box too — or you can use PuTTY.
  • For RDP (Windows servers): on Windows the client is already installed; on macOS and Linux you'll need a separate app (see Step 4).

Step 1. Find your server's IP address and password

Every server has its own IP address and its own root password (on Windows, the password for the Administrator account). This is not the same as the username and password for the VMmanager 6 panel itself — those are sent only once, when your very first server is activated (see "How to log in to VMmanager 6" for details).

  1. Check your email — the server activation email usually lists its IP address and initial password.
  2. If you don't have the email or lost the details, open the VM's card in VMmanager 6: the IP address is on the "IP addresses" tab; to change the password, click the "⋮" (three dots) icon next to the server → "Change password" → enter a new password and save (this works on a running server — no reboot needed).
Tip: the exact contents of the email can vary, and it sometimes doesn't arrive at all at proton.me / protonmail addresses — the same quirk as with the panel login email (see "How to log in to VMmanager 6"). If the email doesn't have what you need, don't waste time searching — get it from the panel (method above) or contact mHost support.
Important: the password from the email is temporary. Change it on your very first login: the passwd command — for root on Linux, or "Change password" in the panel — for Windows.

Step 2. Open the VNC console in VMmanager 6

The graphical console is the fastest way to get onto your server: no SSH or RDP client needed, everything runs right in the browser. It's good both as a first check that the server is responding at all, and as a fallback if SSH or RDP aren't reachable for some reason.

  1. Log in to VMmanager 6 — see "How to log in to VMmanager 6".
  2. In the list of virtual machines, find your server and click the "⋮" (three dots) icon next to it.
  3. Select "VNC".
  4. The server's desktop opens in a new browser tab (using the noVNC HTML5 client).
  5. Log in to the OS itself with the credentials from Step 1: root and the password — on Linux, Administrator and the password — on Windows.

📷 screenshot: the "⋮" menu on a server with the "VNC" option

Tip: VNC doesn't share a clipboard with your computer — you can't copy text between your local machine and the server with Ctrl+C/Ctrl+V. SSH (Step 3) or RDP (Step 4) are more convenient for that — both support clipboard sharing.
Done: if you saw the server's desktop and logged in as root/Administrator, the server is responding — you can move on to SSH or RDP.

Step 3. Connect over SSH (Linux)

SSH is the main way you'll work with a Linux server day to day: faster than the VNC console, and it supports clipboard sharing and file transfer. Connect with a password first, then set up SSH key login — it's more convenient and more secure.

With a password

  1. Open a terminal: on macOS/Linux — the built-in Terminal app; on Windows 10/11 — PowerShell or Windows Terminal.
  2. Connect, substituting your server's IP address:
bash
ssh root@185.246.66.12
  1. On the first connection, SSH will ask about the server's key fingerprint — that's normal, answer yes.
  2. Enter the root password from Step 1 (the characters won't be shown — that's expected).

After logging in, the terminal prompt changes to something like root@vps:~# — you're inside the server.

No ssh on Windows? If the system says the command isn't found, add the component manually: Settings → Apps → Optional Features → Add a feature → "OpenSSH Client". Or use the graphical client PuTTY: in the Host Name field, enter the server's IP, port 22, connection type SSH.

With an SSH key

A key is more secure than a password and saves you from typing a password on every connection. Here's how, using the current Ed25519 algorithm.

  1. Generate a key pair on your own computer (not on the server):
bash
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "you@example.com"
  1. Copy the public key to the server:
bash
ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub root@185.246.66.12
  1. If ssh-copy-id isn't available (for example, in Windows PowerShell without the OpenSSH utilities), do the same thing manually:
bash
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub | ssh root@185.246.66.12 "mkdir -p ~/.ssh && chmod 700 ~/.ssh && cat >> ~/.ssh/authorized_keys && chmod 600 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys"
  1. Check it: the command ssh root@185.246.66.12 should now log you in without asking for a password.

For the path and passphrase prompts in step 1, you can just press Enter — the key is saved by default to ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 (private) and ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub (public); an empty passphrase means key-based login without an extra password on the key itself.

Done: key-based login is set up and working.
Important: only disable password login after you've confirmed key login works, and keep the VNC console from Step 2 handy — if anything goes wrong, you can use it to fix things.

Once key login is confirmed, you can disable password login: add (or uncomment and change) this line in /etc/ssh/sshd_config on the server:

bash
PasswordAuthentication no

and restart the service:

bash
# Ubuntu/Debian
systemctl restart ssh

# AlmaLinux/Rocky Linux
systemctl restart sshd
Important: port 22 is open by default on mHost — you don't need to allow it specially. But if you enable the ufw firewall yourself, make sure to allow SSH before ufw enable, or you'll lock yourself out of the server:
bash
ufw allow OpenSSH
ufw enable

See "Setting up a firewall (ufw)" for more.

Step 4. Connect over RDP (Windows)

RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) is the standard way to work with a Windows server: a full desktop, clipboard sharing, drive and printer redirection. RDP port (3389) is open by default on mHost Windows servers — all you need is the IP address and the Administrator password from Step 1.

From a Windows computer

  1. Press Win + R, type mstsc, and press Enter — or find the "Remote Desktop Connection" app from the Start menu.
  2. In the "Computer" field, enter the server's IP address and click "Connect."
  3. Enter the username Administrator and the password from Step 1.
  4. Confirm the warning about the server's certificate — it's self-signed, which is expected when connecting directly by IP.
Tip: you can do the same thing with a single command: mstsc /v:185.246.66.12.

From a Mac

  1. Install Windows App from the Mac App Store — this is Microsoft's current official RDP client, the successor to Microsoft Remote Desktop (on some Macs it may still be labeled with the old name).
  2. Click + → Add PC.
  3. In the "PC name" field, enter the server's IP address and click Add & Connect.
  4. Enter the username Administrator and the password from Step 1.

From Linux

  1. Install Remmina with the RDP plugin:
bash
# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install remmina remmina-plugin-rdp

# AlmaLinux/Rocky Linux
sudo dnf install epel-release
sudo dnf install remmina remmina-plugins-rdp
  1. Click + to create a new connection: protocol — RDP, "Server" — the server's IP address.
  2. Enter the username Administrator and the password, save, and connect.

📷 screenshot: the Remmina new-connection window with the RDP protocol and the Server field filled in

Can't connect? Double-check the IP and password (Step 1). If that doesn't help, open the graphical VNC console right in VMmanager 6 (Step 2) and check the server from there.
Done: if you see the Windows desktop, the server is set up and reachable — you're ready to get to work.

What's next

Next, you'll probably want to protect the server with a firewall — see "Setting up a firewall (ufw)" — and see what else you can install in one click: several popular pieces of software deploy in VMmanager 6 through ready-made recipes, see "Ready-made VMmanager 6 recipes".

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