SSH - paste key file here?

johnvan · Nov 3, 2009, 2:13 PM

I've got SSH working well so I can tunnel from my laptop while on the road. I'd like to add an extra layer of security by using SSH keys instead of my password.
I generated the keys on my laptop and just did copy and paste of the public key into the proper spot on the pfsense advanced page. I'm still being prompted for my password.

What part of the key file do I need to copy, I open it in text editor? Is this the correct way?

Also, do I only change the settings in the router or do I also need to change things in the ssh config file of the server?

Thanks.

jimp · Nov 4, 2009, 3:55 AM

You also need to configure your ssh client to prefer key-based login over password-based.

johnvan · Nov 4, 2009, 4:30 PM

Everything's working great now. Thanks.

joebarnhart · Jun 20, 2010, 9:09 AM

@jimp:

You also need to configure your ssh client to prefer key-based login over password-based.

Excellent. For those reading this, one easy way is to add to your ssh command line this option:

ssh -o KbdInteractiveAuthentication=no ...

This has the effect of supressing interactive authentication for one session while leaving your default options untouched.