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1.4. SSH Keys
SSH keys allow authentication between two hosts without the need of a password. SSH key authentication uses two keys, a private key and a public key.
To generate the keys, from a terminal prompt enter:
ssh-keygen -t rsa
This will generate the keys using the RSA Algorithm. During the process you will be prompted for a password. Simply hit Enter when prompted to create the key.
By default the public key is saved in the file ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub, while ~/.ssh/id_rsa is the private key. Now copy the id_rsa.pub file to the remote host and append it to ~/.ssh/authorized_keys by entering:
ssh-copy-id username@remotehost
Finally, double check the permissions on the authorized_keys file, only the authenticated user should have read and write permissions. If the permissions are not correct change them by:
chmod 600 .ssh/authorized_keys
You should now be able to SSH to the host without being prompted for a password.