PuTTY connects to SecureShell.
Yes, it is probably the router/Internet connection.
It is rare, but some high-class routers have the ability to drop outgoing connections.
I'm not familiar with Verizon, but it is possible they have some kind of proxy through which you connect to the Internet and this proxy doesn't allow outgoing connection.
I had similar problem at work. The work proxy was blocking port 22 (standard port for SSH). I changed it to 443 which is the HTTPS port, and it allowed me to connect to my server. To do this change, you have to modify /etc/ssh/sshd_config
and change default port from 22 to 443 and then connect through that. But this requires you to connect to a server in the first place which is impossible as I see it. Or you could very quickly run to the nearest library, modify the SSH configuration file to listen to the HTTPS port instead of the standard port 22 and run back home.
But I think your best bet is to call Verizon customer support and ask them about it.
i found this question today, and then realized that last night i have changed my router firewalls settings, from low to medium.. :) – ADM – 2015-05-21T06:12:04.197
@ultrasawblade has a great list of what could be wrong. You'll probably have to get into some specifics of your dad's network setup (i.e. test for some of those problems) in order to get specific help. – JoshP – 2012-07-18T22:48:45.600
Coincidentally, my campus had a power outage (which outlasted the long length UPS on the target machine) at the same time as my apartment. So when the power outage forced me to SSH in from my dad's for the first time, it also knocked the target computer out. Verizon was innocent (but they're still bad at math: http://verizonmath.blogspot.com/).
– Jeff – 2012-07-19T02:33:21.330Ack! Lol. Glad to hear it was something simple – JoshP – 2012-07-19T02:43:15.527
:) glad it worked out for you! – None – 2012-07-19T12:15:14.063