Why can't I access my Linode using Putty and Winscp?

It's likely that the root of this issue is related to your firewall configurations. To verify this, let's start by making sure that sshd is running.

Use this command:

ps -ef|grep ssh

Next let's see which ports are listening:

netstat -al|grep "LISTEN 

Let's check for any firewalls that could be blocking the connection by using telnet

telnet ip-address port number

For instructions on opening and closing specific ports, you can use our UFW (Uncomplicated Firewalls) guide.

Additionally, please note that WinSCP defaults to SFTP protocol in case you're trying to use an FTP protocol as mentioned in this document.