Secure SHell (SSL)

In this lab we are using your host machine as the ssh client and your Ubuntu VM as the ssh server. Download following applications

• PuTTY (the Telnet and SSH client itself)
• PuTTYgen (an RSA and DSA key generation utility

Password Based Authentication

• Start PuTTY utility, by double-clicking on its .exe file.
• In the Host Name field, enter the IP address/Hostname of ssh server

• Click open.
• It will ask for username followd by password.
• Username apnic and password training
• Logout/close this session.

Public Key Authentication

Generating OpenSSH-compatible Keys for Use with PuTTY

To generate a set of RSA keys with PuTTYgen

• Start the PuTTYgen utility, by double-clicking on its .exe file.
• For Type of key to generate, select SSH-2 RSA.
• In the Number of bits in a generated key field, specify either 2048 or 4096 (increasing the bits makes it

harder to crack the key by brute-force methods).

• Click the Generate button.
• Move your mouse pointer around in the blank area of the Key section, below the progress bar (to

generate some randomness) until the progress bar is full.

• A private/ public key pair has now been generated.
• In the Key comment field, enter your email address.
• The Key passphrase field & re-type the same passphrase in the Confirm passphrase field.9. Click the Save private key button and save as private_key .
• Right-click in the text field labeled Public key for pasting into OpenSSH authorized_keys file and

choose Select All.

• Right-click again in the same text field and choose Copy.
• Open notepad; paste the public key and save it as txt file.

Save The Public Key On The Server

Now, you need to paste the copied public key in the file ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on your server.

• Log in to your destination server using putty with username apnic
• If your SSH folder does not yet exist, create it manually

  mkdir ~/.ssh
  chmod 0700 ~/.ssh
  touch ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
  chmod 0644 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
  

• Paste the SSH public key into your ~/.ssh/authorized_keys file:

  sudo vi ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
  

• Tap the i key on your keyboard & right-click your mouse to paste.
• To save, tap the following keys on your keyboard (in this order): Esc, :wq Enter.

Create a PuTTY Profile to Save Your Server’s Settings

In PuTTY, you can create (and save) profiles for connections to your various SSH servers, so you don't have to remember, and continually re-type, redundant information.

• Start PuTTY by double-clicking its executable file.
• PuTTY's initial window is the Session Category (navigate PuTTY's various categories, along the left-

hand side of the window).

• In the Host Name field, enter the IP address/Hostname of ssh server
• Enter the port number in the Port field as 22 .5. Along the left-hand side of the window, select Connection > SSH > Auth
• Browse your file system and select your previously-created private key.
• Return to the Session Category and enter a name for this profile in the Saved Sessions field.
• Click the Save button for the Load, Save or Delete a stored session area.

Now you can go ahead and log in and you will not be prompted for a password. However, if you had set a passphrase on your public key, you will be asked to enter the passphrase at that time (and every time you log in, in the future).