Categories: Windows

How to enable key based authentication

Enable key based authentication

1. Generating Keys

Key generator is available with Putty to generate private and public keys. You can download PuttyGen from here, download Putty.Gen.

1.1 Open PuttyGen and click on Generate button to create your keys.

1.2 Generate randomness to create keys.

The key passphrase option enables additional security.

1.3 Save private key on the local machine.

2. Adding the public key to server

After generating keys we need to add the public key into the server’s authorized_keys file. This file is in the location “/root/.ssh/authorized_keys“;

2.1 Adding key

# vi /root/.ssh/authorized_keys

If it’s not there, create it.
For security reasons, change the file and folder permissions as follows:

[root@hostripples ~]# chmod 600 /root/.ssh/authorized_keys [root@hostripples ~]# chmod 700 /root/.ssh/
Windows

vi /etc/ssh/sshd_config
.
AuthorizedKeysFile      .ssh/authorized_keys
.

If you need to enable only key based authentication in your server, disable password authentication.

PasswordAuthentication no

2.3 Restart SSHD

[root@vps ~]# /etc/init.d/sshd restart
Stopping sshd:                                             [  OK  ]
Starting sshd:                                             [  OK  ]

3, Final step : Connecting to server

Now we have to check whether the keys are working. Please follow the steps to connect server using key.

3.1 Create a “Saved Session”

Here you need to create a new saved session for your key based connection. Mention server IP address, SSH port and session name.

3.2 Add user name

Under “Connections >> Data” add user name to connect to server.

3.3 Add private key

Under “Connections >> SSH >> Auth” you can select the private key that we saved in our machine.

That’s it! Then come to session and save.

Try to connect now 

 

 


Vishwajit Kale
Vishwajit Kale blazed onto the digital marketing scene back in 2015 and is the digital marketing strategist of Hostripples, a company that aims to provide affordable web hosting solutions. Vishwajit is experienced in digital and content marketing along with SEO. He's fond of writing technology blogs, traveling and reading.

Recent Posts

AI – Powered Customer Support in Hosting: Chatbots & Virtual Assistants

Customer support has always been the backbone of the web hosting industry. From helping users set up domains to troubleshooting…

2 weeks ago

ChatGPT: Your Ultimate AI Content Generation Tool

Content is the most vital asset for businesses navigating the digital era. But creating high-quality, engaging content consistently can be…

4 weeks ago

Discover Ollama: How It Works, Features & Everything?

Welcome to the exciting world of Ollama, a revolutionary open-source tool that's democratizing access to Large Language Models (LLMs). If…

1 month ago

Connecting to Amazon EC2 via WinSCP (SFTP): A Complete Guide

Managing files on your Amazon EC2 instances can often feel like navigating a complex maze, especially when you prefer a…

2 months ago

How Can I Connect to a Database with MySQL Workbench?

Welcome to the world of database management with MySQL Workbench! If you're new to databases or looking for a powerful,…

2 months ago