But even without Ubuntu, SSH keys can also be generated with the free and open source OpenSSH client built into Windows 10 or with PuTTY for Windows 8.1 and earlier.

Generating these keys from Linux is easy, and thanks to Ubuntu on WSL, you can follow the same process from Windows 10. But its authentication mechanism, where a private local key is paired with a public remote key, is used to secure all kinds of online services, from GitHub and Launchpad to Linux running on Microsoft’s Azure cloud. SSH, the secure shell, is often used to access remote Linux systems.