Using Keys Generated by PuTTYgen

Generating a SSH Key Pair Using PuTTYgen

PuTTY Key Generator, a.k.a. PuTTYgen, is a free utility which generates keys for use with PuTTY SSH client, PuTTY authentication Pageant, and other programs in the PuTTY line. In order to access your SSH Control repositories, you will need an SSH key pair, which you can generate through the SSH Control online key generator, or, if you're a Windows user, with PuTTYgen. Here's how:

  1. Download PuTTYgen from http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html

    If you prefer, you can choose to download the Windows Installer instead at http://the.earth.li/~sgtatham/putty/latest/x86/putty-0.60-installer.exe which has PuTTYgen as well as several other PuTTY applications packaged into one.

  2. Launch the PuTTYgen application.

  3. Review key generation parameters. Defaults are fine to use. Generally we recommend SSH-2 RSA keys at 1024 or 2048 bit encryption.

  4. Click 'Generate'. You will then need to move the cursor around a bit to generate randomness.
    Puttykeygen

  5. Save your public key. Before you click 'Save public key', you may customize the key comment field so you can better identify the key in the future (i.e., the comment text 'user@sshcontrol.com' can signify that will use the key for SSH Control repositories).

  6. Save your private key. Before you click 'Save private key', we recommend you select a passphrase for better security. Otherwise, other people with access to your private key can use it freely.

Uploading PuTTYgen Generated Keys

We have found that saving your public key (step 5 above) in PuTTYgen will save it in a format that is not compatible with the SSHControl.com website. Therefore, if you copy the raw contents of the public key file and paste it into one of the public key forms on SSHControl.com, the website will not recognize it as a valid public key. The best way to get around this is to do the following:

  1. Launch the PuTTYgen application.
  2. Click 'Load'.
  3. Navigate to your PuTTYgen private key and click 'Open'.
  4. Copy the text in the box labeled 'Public key for pasting into OpenSSH authorized_keys file'. This is the format that is compatible with SSHControl.com.

You may now paste the public key into the public key field on SSHControl.com.