SSH can be configured so that you are not prompted for a password when you slogin or ssh to another host managed by the Computer Support Group in Mathematical Sciences.
1. Generate a set of private and public keys:
ssh-keygen -t rsa
You will be asked for the file in which to save the key. Take the default by
simply pressing the Enter key. You will then be asked for a
passphrase. You do not need to supply a passphrase; you can simply press
Enter again, and then once more, to confirm the passphrase. Then,
your key will be generated.
2. Make your new public key an authorized key.
If you do not need to use public key authentication from any host outside of Mathematical Sciences, then you can link the public key file to the authorized keys file:
ln -s ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
If you are using public key authentication from a host outside of Mathematical
Sciences, then you will need to copy the contents of ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub into
the file ~/.ssh/authorized_keys. You can use a text editor to do this, or you
can use the command:
cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub >> ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
3. Make sure your SSH files are not publically readable.
To ensure security, change permissions on your SSH files so that they are not readable by any other user:
chmod og-rwx ~/.ssh/*
