REGEDIT4 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\OpenSSHD] "DisplayName"="OpenSSHD Cygwin" "ObjectName"="LocalSystem" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\OpenSSHD\Parameters] "Application"="f:\\cygwin\\usr\\sbin\\sshd.exe" ; normal case: the '-D' means don't fork. ;"AppParameters"="-D" ; For additional debugging, specify "interacts with desktop" in the ; service panel and enable the following. The '-d' means debug. "AppParameters"="-f f:\cygwin\etc\sshd_config -h f:\cygwin\etc\ssh_host_key -d -d -d" "AppDirectory"="f:\\cygwin\\bin" ; Other notes: ; - when starting as a service make sure the /etc/ssh* files belong to "system" ; - prevent accounts from using SSH by setting their shell to /bin/false