so i am new to linux and working on setting up a htpc that will download files using a transmission daemon. i installed lubuntu onto a small barebones system without issue, and successfully got a transmission daemon up and running. after struggling for a while setting up my vpn i finally got that working, but now i am have two problems:

i used to ssh into my linux machine using putty but now i cannot connect to it locally

i also cannot connect to the transmission web interface any more

i understand how this problem would happen, if the computer is connected to a vpn and all of its internet is sent through that then it makes sense that i would not be able to connect to it from my local network. i figure that the solution to this could be very simple, all i should need to do is to find the ip address that the vpn connects to and connect to both the transmission web interface and ssh using that.

could somebody give me simple instructions on figuring out what the right ip address is for my linux system? i am pretty literate when it comes to computers but my knowledge of linux and how ip addresses work is pretty limited. any help would be appreciated!

thanks!

If you need your outward facing ip then try
http://whatsmyip.net/

You may also find 'Sheilds up' handy at:
https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

To check open ports

thanks for responding keith!

so i got the ip address from whatsmyip and tried to ssh into the computer. the ip address worked, and it accepted my login name, but it keeps on saying "access denied" when i try to log in. i feel like theres some sort of setting or command that i need to enter on the linux computer, you wouldnt happen to know what that setting or command is do you?

thanks!

so i did a little internet digging and followed these instructions:

http://superuser.com/questions/53372...-via-ssh-putty

i added "#AllowUsers tempuser" to the file /etc/ssh/sshd_config, one weird thing is that i was unable to figure out how to restart the ssh service, so i tried rebooting. still getting "access denied". i feel like there might be something wrong or missing from my computers ssh? i did just do a clean install of lubuntu so perhaps i still need to set up ssh. is there a good way to find out whats wrong?

You also need to tell your router to fowrd port 22 to whatever local ip is running the ssh service, this will vary from router to router but is usually faily straight forward, just make sure you secure the local machine, no open ports no root login via ssh, use ssh keys and disable password logins, no unnessaccry services running etc