How Can I Change the Port SSH Listens On?

To change which port ssh listens on, you just need to edit the sshd_config file. The default directory for ssh configuration is /etc/ssh.

1. First, backup the current configuration and use your favorite editor to change the Port line:root@root [~]# cd /etc/ssh/
   root@root [/etc/ssh]# cp sshd_config sshd_config.save
   root@root [/etc/ssh]# vi sshd_config
2. Now, locate the following line:#Port 22
3. For this example, we’ll set it to port 4000, by replacing “Port 22” with “Port 4000“. *Note: Do not forget to remove the comment (#).Port 4000

   root@root [/etc/ssh]# diff sshd_config sshd_config.save
   13c13
   < Port 4000
   —
   > #Port 22
   root@root [/etc/ssh]#

4. Lastly, restart sshd and verify that it is now listening on the new port.root@root [/etc/ssh]# /etc/init.d/sshd restart
   Stopping sshd: [ OK ]
   Starting sshd: [ OK ]
   root@root [/etc/ssh]# netstat -anp | grep sshd
   tcp 0 0 0.0.0.0:4000 0.0.0.0:*
   LISTEN 1605/sshd

And there you have it! You can set the port number to whichever port you prefer, but keep in ming that port numbers between 0 and 1,023 are reserved for existing system services. For this reason, you’re typically better off choosing a number above Port 1023.