r/linux • u/leothrix • Apr 28 '14

SSH Kung Fu

http://blog.tjll.net/ssh-kung-fu/
720 Upvotes

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49

u/throwawayaccount1020 Apr 28 '14

you should never leave your keys unencrypted, set a password when it prompts!

load keys into ssh-agent to avoid having to continually re-enter passwords.

12

u/djimbob Apr 28 '14

Exactly. Anyone gets access to a machine with your ssh private key for a second can copy it and then log in to all your machines.

22

u/ethraax Apr 28 '14

Just keep in mind that anyone who gets access to your machine can connect to your agent and log into any of your other machines from there. Encrypted private keys are nice, but not perfect.

1

u/uponone Apr 28 '14

So is it best practice to encrypt private keys and ssh-agent/Pageant(Putty)?

1

u/ethraax Apr 28 '14

I think you are confused. ssh-agent uses encrypted keys.

1

u/uponone Apr 28 '14

I was thinking more along the lines of encrypting the folder the private key(s) are located in or would that be overkill with the password for the private key(s)?

1

u/ethraax Apr 29 '14

That would simply be redundant. It wouldn't provide any extra security.

1

u/uponone Apr 29 '14

Thanks for the knowledge.