On Sat, Feb 03, 2018 at 02:20:19PM +0000, mick wrote:
On Sat, 3 Feb 2018 09:40:53 +0000 Chris Green cl@isbd.net allegedly wrote:
I have a script that runs ssh several times to do some manipulations on a remote system and also runs rsync to the same remote system two or three times.
Is there some way to get a single entry of the ssh password to work for all the ssh and rsync calls?
I *could* use key authentication but that has some downsides so I'd prefer to remain with using a password.
What do you see as downsides? In my view ssh authentication should always be key based.
So how does one use a key based ssh from 'anywhere'?
Also, if I use a key based system, I need to keep the keys safe and that is something I am quite likely *not* to do.
For example my laptop stays on nearly all the time with personal logins open, if some steals it (or simply has access) they will be able to get at my keys which may very well be unlocked. If I use password access to remote systems there is *nothing* on my laptop which will help anyone break into those remote systems.