The Security Page (Preferences Dialog)

Check Use master passwords to create master password. Master password setting dialog will appear.

Uncheck Use master passwords to remove master password. You will be prompted for current master password, even if you already entered it in current session.

Use Change master password to change master password. Master password setting dialog will appear.

Uncheck the Remember password for duration of the session checkbox to avoid your password (or private key passphrase) being stored in the memory for a duration of the session. You will be prompted for your password/passphrase again, when reconnecting a lost connection and for background transfers.

By default, WinSCP uses PuTTY Pageant as an Authentication agent. You can configure it to use OpenSSH ssh-agent instead. This feature is available only in the latest beta release..

In some environments, the SSH host keys for a lot of servers will all be signed in turn by a central “certification authority” (“CA” for short). This simplifies host key configuration for users, because if they configure their SSH client to accept host keys certified by that CA, then they don’t need to individually confirm each host key the first time they connect to that server.1

In this section you can configure what CAs WinSCP will accept signatures from.

If you check Load authorities from PuTTY, WinSCP will load the trusted authorities from PuTTY.2 WinSCP will display loaded authorities in the list below. But you will not be able to configure the authorities in WinSCP. Instead you can press Edit in PuTTY button to open PuTTY’s trusted authorities configuration window.

If you want to configure new trusted authority in WinSCP, use the Add button. Trusted host certificate authority dialog will appear.

Use Edit button to edit the selected authority or Remove button to remove it.

Read more about Preferences dialog and its other pages.