OpenSSH - Website for Students

How to Install and Use SSH on Ubuntu 20.04 | 18.04

This brief tutorial shows students and new users how to use the ssh command in Ubuntu to connect to establish secure communication to a remote system over SSH protocol.

Secure Shell (SSH) is a cryptographic network protocol that provides encrypted compunction between and clients and servers. It replaces previously unsecured network clients in a networked environment.

If you’re a student or new user looking for a Linux system to start learning on, the easiest place to start is Ubuntu Linux OS…. It’s a great Linux operating system for beginners and folks looking for easier Linux distribution to use.

Ubuntu is an open source Linux operating systems that runs on desktops, laptops, server and other devices…

When using Ubuntu, you will find that Linux isn’t so different than Windows and other operating systems in so many ways, especially when it comes to using the system to get work done.

Both Ubuntu and Windows systems allow you to be productive, easy to use, reliable and enable you to install and run thousands of programs from gaming to productivity suite software for individuals and businesses.

This tutorial is going to show you how.

How to Create Self-Signed SSL Certificates on Ubuntu 20.04 | 18.04

This brief tutorial shows students and new users how to setup self-signed SSL certificates on Ubuntu 20.04 | 18.04.

Self-signed certificates are mostly used internally within labs or business environments where the certificates are created by a person or company and not a trusted third-party.

These certificates, although not created by trusted third party certificate authority (CA), it has the same level of encryption as trusted certificates.

Certificates that are self-signed that are being used to protect a resource will display warning in all web browsers that the certificate can’t be trusted.

How to Use SSH Command on Ubuntu 18.04 with Examples

This brief tutorial shows students and new users how to use the ssh command in Ubuntu to connect to establish secure communication to a remote system over SSH protocol.

Ubuntu is an open source Linux operating systems that runs on desktops, laptops, server and other devices…

When using Ubuntu, you will find that Linux isn’t so different than Windows and other operating systems in so many ways, especially when it comes to using the system to get work done.…

This tutorial is going to show you how….

How to Mount Remote Directories over SSH via SSHFS on Ubuntu 18.04 | 16.04

When it comes to accessing remote directories on Linux systems, including Ubuntu, there are many different methods available to you. If you want to make folders accessible to remote users, and do it securely, you can use sFTP.

For Linux clients, SSHFS (SSH Filesystem) is another great too to use. It is a sub-system that comes with SSH server and enabled by default, based on FUSE for mounting remote directories over an SSH connection.

Instead of setting up an entirely new server or process for making remote directories and folders available to users, you can use your existing SSH server to do that. No need for additional configurations or FTP servers.

This brief tutorial shows students and new users how to install and configure SSHFS on Ubuntu 18.04 | 16.04 LTS servers.

Manually Install the Latest OpenSSL Toolkit on Ubuntu 16.04 | 18.04 LTS

OpenSSL is an open source project that develop full-featured toolkit and tools for the Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocols on Linux and other systems.

The project is managed by a worldwide community of volunteers that use the Internet to communicate, plan, and develop the OpenSSL toolkit and its related documentation.

Most network communication apps and tools that use TLS / SSL protocols may have some OpenSSL tools installed in them. If you’re going to be using applications and packages that depend on the latest versions of OpenSSL, you may have to manually install it on Ubuntu systems.

The default toolket of OpenSSL that comes with Ubuntu isn’t the latest. To get the latest, you must download it your self and install. and this brief tutorial is going to show you how.

This post shows students and new users how to install the latest version of OpenSSL on Ubuntu 16.04 | 18.04 LTS servers and desktop. To get started with installing OpenSSL, follow the steps below:

Setup OpenSSH Key Authentication (Passwordless) on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Server

Are you tired of typing passwords each time you logon to your OpenSSH sessions on your Ubuntu servers? The steps below can help you setup SSH key authentication where you never have to type a password again, (Password less).

If you’re reading this post then you probably know a thing or two about OpenSSH. Without going into too much details, SSH, which is an acronym for Secure Shell, is a communication protocol that allows for secure communication between networked computers.

Prior to SSH, the most common way one could connect to a remote terminal was via Telnet programs. Telnet provided a means to connect to remote servers but didn’t do it securely.

OpenSSH is now the primary means to remotely connect to your terminal sessions and manage your servers. the steps below show you how to configure SSH to only allow key as means of authentications.

To get started, continue below:

Disable Remote Logon for the Root Account on Ubuntu 17.04 | 17.10

Ubuntu root account isn’t disabled. it just doesn’t have a password. And without passwords, there will probably be no way for the root account to logon remotely either via SSH or other remote tools.

When you install openSSH server, the root account is allowed to logon. Again, it’s not a problem while the root account doesn’t have a password assigned. but if someone mistakenly assign a weak or temporary password to the root account, that can create a security hole on your systems.

This brief tutorial is going to show students and new users how to disable the root account from logging on remotely to your server. S0 even if the bad guys attempt to brute force their way in, they will not succeed.

To disable the root account from logging on remotely, follow the steps below:

How to Enable Windows 10 Built-in OpenSSH Client

Microsoft has finally add OpenSSH client on Windows 10 machines. although still a beta feature, it works. As of now, you’ll probably still want to use your favorite SSH client instead of the Windows 10 version.

To use Windows 10 SSH client you must add or install it. it’s part of Windows but not enabled by default. Also, apparently, the built-in Windows 10 SSH client only support ed25519 keys. so might not work with all SSH server settings.

OpenSSH has always come with Linux and other operating systems by default. but not Windows. This is a small change for Windows users. Hopefully Windows users should not have to use third-party SSH clients like Putty and others to connect to SSH servers.

This brief tutorial is going to show students and new users how to enable Windows 10 optional OpenSSH client.

Setup SSH Server for Key Authentication on Ubuntu 17.04 | 17.10

This brief tutorial shows students and new users how to setup OpenSSH server for key authentication or password-less authentication. This setup allows users of the Ubuntu server to logon via SSH without typing passwords.

This is a much more secure alternative to SSH password authentication. With password authentication, each time a user wants to logon, he/she must always type a password. Another weakness is password can be guessed any anyone.

With key authentication, no password is ever typed. Only client computers with the correct matching key pair to the server are allowed.

Setup OpenSSH Password Authentication on Ubuntu 17.04 | 17.10

SSH password authentication is the default settings that get installed after installing SSH server on Linux systems, including Ubuntu 17.04 | 17.10. When you install SSH server and make no additional changes, all account holders on the system will be able to logon to the SSH server except the root user.

This brief tutorial shows students and new users how to install OpenSSH Server for users to logon to the system. If you need to allow the root user to logon, the steps below will show you, too. The default settings for OpenSSH configuration is password authentication.

To get started with installing OpenSSH server on Ubuntu, follow the steps below:

Remotely Transfer Files via SSH using SCP on Ubuntu

Want to transfer files between two Ubuntu servers? If you ever needed to transfer files quickly between two Ubuntu servers, the best way to it is via SSH using Secure Copy (SCP).

SCP uses SSH encryption and authentication to securely transfer files between servers quickly and easily. This brief tutorial is going to show students and new users how to use SCP via SSH to transfer files between two Ubuntu servers.

Secure copy is a means of securely transferring files between a local host computer and a remotely host or between two computers via SSH protocol.

Setup Passwordless Login with PuTTY and Connect to Ubuntu

PuTTY is a free terminal emulator that supports various network protocols like Telnet, SSH, Rlogin and SCP. It’s probably the most use SSH terminal emulator available today.

It’s been around for a very, very long time. Although that are other terminal emulators with more features and lots of protocol support, PuTTY is always going to be the one for quick and easier connection.

This brief tutorial is going to show students and new users how to use PuTTY and connect to a SSH server on Ubuntu 17.04 | 17.10 without passwords. Passwordless authentication provides better security than the standard SSH authentication.