what I did was I login in as a root user from my virutal machine linux box. On the terminal I issued the ifconfig command. I note down the ip address of my virtual machine linux box. I also enable communication for port 22 on the virtual machine linux box. On my windows xp box, I downloaded putty. The box field that requires a host or ip address I input the ip address I noted on my virtual machine linux box and the rest is history. I am guessing it works fine because all of the machines are on the same networks. Let say, the windows xp box is on a totally different network --- for instance the windows xp box is located at your office on a different network from the virtual machine linux box at my home. how do I establish a communication? Please Help!!