UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

Originally Posted by admin_xor

1. Generate private and publick key on ssh1 machine. Press ENTER when prompted for passphrase which means you will be using empty passphrase.

Code:

ssh-keygen -t dsa -b 1024

2. Get the id_dsa.pub file from /home/your_user_name/.ssh/ directory on ssh1 machine and copy/append that to /home/your_username/.ssh/authorized_keys file on ssh2 machine.

You can now do ssh into ssh2 machine without password.

~/.ssh/
This directory is the default location for all user-specific configuration and authentication information. There is no general requirement to keep the entire contents of this directory secret, but the recommended permissions are read/write/execute for the user, and not accessible by others.

~/.ssh/authorized_keys
Lists the public keys (RSA/DSA) that can be used for logging in as this user. The format of this file is described in the sshd(8) manual page. This file is not highly sensitive, but the recommended permissions are read/write for the user, and not accessible by others.

~/.ssh/config
This is the per-user configuration file. The file format and configuration options are described in ssh_config(5). Because of the potential for abuse, this file must have strict permissions: read/write for the user, and not accessible by others.