How to change the default SSH port in Mac OS X

I made this tutorial using Mac Os X 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard).

In this example, let’s say you want to change the default port 22 to port 2222

1. Open the terminal window
2. Enter:
   sudo nano /etc/services
3. Enter the root password, it will open the ‘services’ file. Be careful to avoid modify anything else.
4. Press CTRL+W and search “ssh”.
5. You will find to lines assigned to port 22. Something like this:
   

   ssh	22/udp	# SSH Remote Login Protocol
   ssh	22/tcp	# SSH Remote Login Protocol

   Change the number 22 in both cases to 2222 or whaterver the port you want to use. Press CTRL+X and then enter ‘Y’ to accept saving the file.

6. Now we need to restart SSH. Enter the following command to stop it:
   sudo launchctl unload /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/ssh.plist
7. Now enter the following command to start SSH again:
   sudo launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/ssh.plist
8. That’s it, you must be ready to go. You can verify if is working by trying to access locally, just enter:
   ssh localhost -p 2222