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Introduction

SSH can handle authentication using a traditional username and password combination or by using a public and private key pair. The SSH key pair establishes trust between the client and server, thereby removing the need for a password during authentication. While not required, the SSH private key can be encrypted with a passphrase for added security.

The PuTTY SSH client for Microsoft Windows does not share the same key format as the OpenSSH client. Therefore, it is necessary to create a new SSH public and private key using the PuTTYgen tool or convert an existing OpenSSH private key.

PuTTY Download - Free SSH & Telnet Client. PuTTY is a popular SSH, Telnet, and SFTP client for Windows. It is typically used for remote access to server computers over a network using the SSH protocol. This is the download page. For more information on PuTTY, see the PuTTY page. For information on SSH (Secure Shell), see the here. PuTTYgen doesn't give me the option for SSH-2 RSA. Ask Question Asked 3 years. PuTTYgen can generate: An RSA key for use with the SSH-2 protocol. A DSA key for use with the SSH-2 protocol. An ECDSA (elliptic curve DSA) key for use with the SSH-2 protocol. Browse other questions tagged amazon-web-services putty pem or ask your own question. Download PuTTY. PuTTY is an SSH and telnet client, developed originally by Simon Tatham for the Windows platform. PuTTY is open source software that is available with source code and is developed and supported by a group of volunteers. PuTTYgen is an key generator tool for creating SSH keys for PuTTY. The basic function is to create public and private key pairs. PuTTY stores keys in its own format in.ppk files. However, the tool can also convert keys to and from other formats. PuTTYgen Download and Install. May 05, 2019 This tutorial explains how to generate SSH keys on Windows with PuTTYgen. We will also show you how to set up an SSH key-based authentication and connect to your remote Linux servers without entering a password. Download PuTTYgen # PuTTYgen is an open-source utility that allows you to generate SSH keys for the most popular Windows SSH client PuTTY.

Requirements

PuTTY SSH client for Microsoft Windows
Remote server accessible over OpenSSH

Install PuTTY and PuTTYgen

Both PuTTY and PuTTYgen are required to convert OpenSSH keys and to connect to the server over SSH. These two tools can be downloaded individually or, preferably, as a Windows installer from the PuTTY Download Page.

Once the PuTTY Windows installer is downloaded, double-click the executable in the Download folder and follow the installation wizard. The default settings are suitable for most installations. Both PuTTY and PuTTYgen should now be accessible from the Windows Programs list.

Use Existing Public and Private Keys

If you have an existing OpenSSH public and private key, copy the id_rsa key to your Windows desktop. This can be done by copying and pasting the contents of the file or using an SCP client such as PSCP which is supplied with the PuTTY install or FileZilla.

Next launch PuTTYgen from the Windows Programs list.

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Click Conversions from the PuTTY Key Generator menu and select Import key.
Navigate to the OpenSSH private key and click Open.
Under Actions / Save the generated key, select Save private key.
Choose an optional passphrase to protect the private key.
Save the private key to the desktop as id_rsa.ppk.

If the public key is already appended to the authorized_keys file on the remote SSH server, then proceed to Connect to Server with Private Key.

Otherwise, proceed to Copy Public Key to Server.

Create New Public and Private Keys

Launch PuTTYgen from the Windows Programs list and proceed with the following steps.

Under Parameters, increase the Number of bits in a generated key: to a minimum value of 2048.
Under Actions / Generate a public/private key pair, click Generate.
You will be instructed to move the mouse cursor around within the PuTTY Key Generator window as a randomizer to generate the private key.
Once the key information appears, click Save private key under Actions / Save the generated key.
Save the private key to the desktop as id_rsa.ppk.
The box under Key / Public key for pasting into OpenSSH authorized_keys file: contains the public key.

Copy Public Key to Server

The OpenSSH public key is located in the box under Key / Public key for pasting info OpenSSH authorized_keys file:. The public key begins with ssh-rsa followed by a string of characters.

Highlight entire public key within the PuTTY Key Generator and copy the text.
Launch PuTTY and log into the remote server with your existing user credentials.
Use your preferred text editor to create and/or open the authorized_keys file:
Paste the public key into the authorized_keys file.
Save the file and close the text editor.
Adjust the permissions of the authorized_keys file so that the file does not allow group writable permissions.
Logout of the remote server.

Connect to Server with Private Key

Now it is time to test SSH key authentication. The PuTTYgen tool can be closed and PuTTY launched again.

Enter the remote server Host Name or IP address under Session.
Navigate to Connection > SSH > Auth.
Click Browse... under Authentication parameters / Private key file for authentication.
Locate the id_rsa.ppk private key and click Open.
Finally, click Open again to log into the remote server with key pair authentication.

SSH keys are a means of authenticating a user to an SSH server without using a password. Each “key” is actually a key pair consisting of a public key and a private key.

Keys are more secure than passwords because they are significantly more complex. While a password of eight characters is 72 bits long, SSH keys are often 2048 bits or longer. This longer string has many more possible permutations and therefore takes much more time to crack with a brute force attack.

If you require SSH access for multiple users, the use of SSH keys instead of individual logins can bypass many of the headaches involved in user management without violating PCI DSS. For details, see What are the advantages of using SSH keys to control access for multiple users?

Method

The process involves generating a pair of SSH key files containing a private key and a public key. The private key is known only to the user’s computer; the public key will be known to the server. Each key is useless without the other; therefore, only individuals with both the private and the public key can gain access to the server, and the private key is never revealed to the server.

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Take special care to not lose the private key. A lost private key cannot be replicated; therefore, users cannot access the server until an administrator generates a new key pair. If you lose access to your server due to a lost key, contact our Support Team for assistance.

Though there are varying methods of generating SSH keys on machines using Windows, this one uses PuTTY Key Generator.

1: Generate the key

ATTENTION: The procedure and screen captures in this section reflect the latest version of PuTTY as of July 21, 2017 (0.70). If you use a different version, your interface may differ from the one pictured.

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