If you use your public key to encrypt something, then only your private key can decrypt it. But how? The best way to understand them is to understand that the following components in this authentication system are mathematically related to each other: For instance, services like GitHub and Gitlab allow you to place your SSH public key on their servers to streamline the process of pushing code changes to remote repositories.Ī public key and a private key play an important role in enabling secure access. When a site or service asks for your SSH key, they are referring to your SSH public key ( id_rsa.pub). If someone else adds your public key to their server, you will be able to log in to that server. You can freely share your public key with others. The public key is placed on the server you intend to log in to. This guide explains how the SSH key login scheme works, how to generate an SSH key, and how to use those keys with a Linode Linux server.ĭo not share your private key with others.Ī public key, usually named id_rsa.pub. For example, you can set up periodic updates for your servers with a configuration management tool like Ansible, and you can run those updates without having to be physically present. If a server that uses SSH keys is compromised by a hacker, no authorization credentials are at risk of being exposed.īecause a password isn’t required at login, you can log into servers from within scripts or automation tools that you need to run unattended. Key-based login is not a major target for brute-force hacking attacks. Using key-based authentication offers a range of benefits: Password authentication is the default method most SSH (Secure Shell) clients use to authenticate with remote servers, but it suffers from potential security vulnerabilities like brute-force login attempts. This was a PITA to figure out, but that is what got it all done for me.Public key authentication with SSH (Secure Shell) is a method in which you generate and store on your computer a pair of cryptographic keys and then configure your server to recognize and accept your keys. Ssh you should be able to access your server via SSH with your newly created SSH key! Now you can quit the session by typing exit and try to login with just ssh by typing: Now you can change those settings back from Putty or Terminal by typing the following: sudo vim /etc/ssh/sshd_configĬhange the directives back to what they were and press esc, type : (colon), and type wq and hit enter Type in your droplet password and hit enter. You should now be presented with a request for a password instead of public key denied. Now go back to your terminal or putty and pick up at the step where it has you copying your local rsa public key to the server. Then press esc, type : (colon), and type wq and hit enter If UsePAM is set to ‘yes’ and PasswordAuthentication is set to ‘no’ change those to the opposite. Scroll down to the very bottom and look for the following directives: UsePAM yes While inside the console do the following: sudo vim /etc/ssh/sshd_config Log in to your DigitalOcean account and open the console for the drop you are trying to access. If you are getting the “Permission denied (publickey)” when trying to copy your public key to the server, you likely have password authentication disabled in your droplet. Once you have copied your SSH keys onto the server, you may want to completely prohibit password logins by configuring the SSH server to disable password-based authentication.įor those who are trying to add a new key to an existing droplet - READ THIS!!! Step 5 - Disabling Password-based SSH Authentication (Optional) This is your local ssh client asking you to decrypt the private key, it is not the remote server asking for a password. However, if you set a passphrase when creating your SSH key, you will be asked to enter the passphrase at that time. Once the command completes, you will be able to log into the server via SSH without being prompted for a password. Make sure to replace the example username and address: You can copy the public key into the server’s authorized_keys file with the ssh-copy-id command. Once the key pair is generated, it’s time to place the public key on the server that you want to connect to. Step 4 - Copying the Public Key to Your Server The private key is now located in /home/ sammy/.ssh/id_ed25519. The public key is now located in /home/ sammy/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub. SHA256:EGx5HEXz7EqKigIxHHWKpCZItSj1Dy9Dqc5cYae+1zc key's randomart image is: Your public key has been saved in /home/ sammy/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub Your identification has been saved in /home/ sammy/.ssh/id_ed25519 OutputGenerating public/private ed25519 key pair.Įnter file in which to save the key (/home/ sammy/.ssh/id_ed25519):Įnter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |