- Generate A Ssh Key Naming The File Online
- How To Generate Ssh Key Pair
- Generate Ssh Key Linux
- Ssh Key Generation
I found a notable exception that in Windows 10, using the described route only wrote the files to the folder if the file names where not specified in the ssh-keygen generator. Giving a custom key name caused the files containing the RSA public and private keys not to be written to the folder. When prompted, enter the file name for the files that are to include the generated keys. Use the format clientIDcocuserID to name the file. The private key is stored in an OpenSSH format, while the public key is stored within a.pub file.; Enter, and then confirm, a passphrase to secure your generated private key. Add your SSH private key to the ssh-agent. If you created your key with a different name, or if you are adding an existing key that has a different name, replace idrsa in the command with the name of your private key file. $ ssh-add /.ssh/idrsa; Add the SSH key to your GitHub account.
Introduction
Sep 26, 2019 Choose to Import Public Key and paste your SSH key into the Public Key field. In the Key Name field, provide a name for the key. Note: although providing a key name is optional, it is a best practice for ease of managing multiple SSH keys. It will now appear in your table of keys under SSH. I don't like that kind of answer that say 'you shouldn't do that' but don't answer the question. While this may be correct and helpful for the context of the original question, other people may have the same question in a different situation. 'ssh keys should never be generated for another user': That is true in the simple case.
Secure Shell (SSH) is an encrypted protocol used by Linux users to connect to their remote servers.
Generally, there are two ways for clients to access their servers – using password based authentication or public key based authentication.
Using SSH keys for authentication is highly recommended, as a safer alternative to passwords.
This tutorial will guide you through the steps on how to generate and set up SSH keys on CentOS 7. We also cover connecting to a remote server using the keys and disabling password authentication.
1. Check for Existing Keys
Prior to any installation, it is wise to check whether there are any existing keys on the client machines.
Open the terminal and list all public keys stored with the following command:
The output informs you about any generated keys currently on the system. If there aren’t any, the message tells you it cannot access
/.ssh/id_*.pub
, as there is no such file or directory.2. Verify SSH is Installed
To check if thw package is installed, run the command:
If you already have SSH, the output tells you which version it is running. Currently, the latest version is OpenSSH 8.0/8.0p1.
Note: Refer to our guide If you need to install and enable SSH on your CentOS system.
Steps to Creating SSH keys on CentOS
Step 1: Create SSH Key Pair
1. Start by logging into the source machine (local server) and creating a 2048-bit RSA key pair using the command:
If you want to tighten up security measures, you can create a 4096-bit key by adding the -b 4096 flag:
2. After entering the command, you should see the following prompt:
3. To save the file in the suggested directory, press Enter. Alternatively, you can specify another location.
Note: If you already have a key pair in the proposed location, it is advisable to pick another directory. Otherwise it will overwrite existing SSH keys.
4. Next, the prompt will continue with:
Although creating a passphrase isn’t mandatory, it is highly advisable.
5. Finally, the output will end by specifying the following information:
Now you need to add the public key to the remote CentOS server.
You can copy the public SSH key on the remote server using several different methods:
- using the ssh-copy-id script
- using Secure Copy (scp)
- manually copying the key
The fastest and easiest method is by utilizing
ssh-copy-id
. If the option is available, we recommend using it. Otherwise, try any of the other two noted.1. Start by typing the following command, specifying the SSH user account, and the IP address of the remote host:
If it is the first time your local computer is accessing this specific remote server you will receive the following output:
2. Confirm the connection – type yes and hit Enter.
3. Once it locates the
id_rsa.pub key
created on the local machine, it will ask you to provide the password for the remote account. Type in the password and hit Enter.4. Once the connection has been established, it adds the public key on the remote server. This is done by copying the
~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub
file to the remote server’s ~/.ssh
directory. You can locate it under the name authorized_keys
.5. Lastly, the output tells you the number of keys added, along with clear instructions on what to do next:
1. First, set up an SSH connection with the remote user:
2. Next, create the
~/.ssh
directory as well as the authorized_keys
file:3. Use the chmod command to change the file permission:
chmod 700
makes the file executable, while chmod 600
allows the user to read and write the file.4. Now, open a new terminal session, on the local computer.
5. Copy the content from
id_rsa.pub
(the SSH public key) to the previously created authorized_keys
file on the remote CentOS server by typing the command:With this, the public key has been safely stored on the remote account.
1. To manually add the public SSH key to the remote machine, you first need to open the content from the
~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub
file:2. As in the image below, the key starts with ssh-rsa and ends with the username of the local computer and hostname of the remote machine:
3. Copy the content of the file, as you will need later.
4. Then, in the terminal window, connect to the remote server on which you wish to copy the public key. Use the following command to establish the connection:
5. Create a ~/.ssh directory and authorized_keys file on the CentOS server with the following command:
6. Change their file permission by typing:
7. Next, open the
authorized_keys
file with an editor of your preference. For example, to open it with Nano, type:8. Add the public key, previously copied in step 2 of this section, in a new line in (under the existing content).
9. Save the changes and close the file.
10. Finally, log into the server to verify that everything is set up correctly.
Once you have completed the previous steps (creating an RSA Key Pair and copying the Public Key to the CentOS server), you will be able to connect to the remote host without typing the password for the remote account.
All you need to do is type in the following command:
If you didn’t specify a passphrase while creating the SSH key pair, you will automatically log in the remote server.
Otherwise, type in the passphrase you supplied in the initial steps and press Enter.
Once the shell confirms the key match, it will open a new session for direct communication with the server.
Although you managed to access the CentOS server without having to provide a password, it still has a password-based authentication system running on the machine. This makes it a potential target for brute force attacks.
You should disable password authentication entirely by following the outlined steps.
Note: Consider performing the following steps through a non-root account with sudo privileges, as an additional safety layer.
1. Using the SSH keys, log into the remote CentOS server which has administrative privileges:
2. Next, open the SSH daemon configuration file using a text editor of your choice:
3. Look for the following line in the file:
4. Edit the configuration by changing the
yes
value to no
. Thus, the directive should be as following:5. Save the file and exit the text editor.
6. To enable the changes, restart the sshdservice using the command:
6. To enable the changes, restart the sshdservice using the command:
Generate A Ssh Key Naming The File Online
7. Verify the SSH connection to the server is still functioning correctly. Open a new terminal window and type in the command:
In this article, you learned how to generate SSH key pairs and set up an SSH key-based authentication. We also covered copying keys to your remote CentOS server, and disabling SSH password authentication.
Next, You Should Read:
Introduction
SSH (Secure Shell) allows secure remote connections between two systems. With this cryptographic protocol, you can manage machines, copy, or move files on a remote server via encrypted channels.
There are two ways to login onto a remote system over SSH – using password authentication or public key authentication (passwordless SSH login).
In this tutorial, you will find out how to set up and enable passwordless SSH login.
- Access to command line/terminal window
- User with sudo or root privileges
- A local server and a remote server
- SSH access to a remote server via command line/terminal window
You may already have an SSH key pair generated on your machine. To see whether you have SSH keys on the system, run the command:
If the output tells you there are no such files, move on to the next step, which shows you how to generate SSH keys.
In case you do have them, you can use the existing keys, back them up and create a new pair or overwrite it.
1. The first thing you need to do is generate an SSH key pair on the machine you are currently working on.
In this example, we generate a 4096-bit key pair. We also add an email address, however this is optional. The command is:
2. Next, type in the location where you want to store the keys or hit Enter to accept the default path.
3. It also asks you to set a passphrase. Although this makes the connection even more secure, it may interrupt when setting up automated processes. Therefore, you can type in a passphrase or just press Enter to skip this step.
![Generate A Ssh Key Naming The File Generate A Ssh Key Naming The File](/uploads/1/2/5/8/125876014/950593910.png)
4. The output then tells you where it stored the identification and public key and gives you the key fingerprint.
5. Verify you have successfully created the SSH key pair by running the command:
You should see the path of the identification key and the public key, as in the image below:
You can upload the public SSH key to a remote server with the
ssh-copy-id
command or the cat
command. Below you can find both options.Option 1: Upload Public Key Using the ssh-copy-id Command
To enable passwordless access, you need to upload a copy of the public key to the remote server.
1. Connect to the remote server and use the
ssh-copy-id
command:2. The public key is then automatically copied into the .ssh/authorized_keys file.
Another way to copy the public key to the server is by using the
cat
command.1. Start by connecting to the server and creating a .ssh directory on it.
2. Then, type in the password for the remote user.
3. Now you can upload the public key from the local machine to the remote server. The command also specifies that the key will be stored under the name authorized_keys in the newly created .ssh directory:
With the SSH key pair generated and the public key uploaded to the remote server, you should now be able to connect to your dedicated server without providing a password.
Check whether the setup works by running the command:
The system should directly log you in to the remote server, no password required.
Note: Once you verify that you can SHH into the remote serve without a password, consider disabling SSH password authentication altogether. It will add another layer of security and secure your server from brute-force attacks.
Optional: Troubleshooting Remote Server File Permissions
File permissions on the remote server may cause issues with passwordless SSH login. This is a common issue with older versions of SSH.
If you are still prompted for a password after going through all the steps, start by editing file permissions on the remote server.
- Set permissions 700 for the .ssh directory.
- Set permissions 640 for the .ssh/authorized_keys directory.
Edit file permissions with the following command:
Enter your password when prompted. There will be no output if the action was successful. The issue should be resolved now.
If you want to automate updates and other tasks, or seamlessly SSH into a remote server, you should enable passwordless SSH login.
The instructions outlined in this article should have helped you to do so.
How To Generate Ssh Key Pair
For more SSH commands, check out these 19 common SSH commands in Linux with examples.
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