Public Key Properties Dialog

The Public Key Properties dialog can be accessed by clicking on the Properties button in the Authentication group of the Connection/SSH2 category of the Session Options dialog. This dialog is not available when the sessionA session is a set of options that are assigned to a connection to a remote machine. These settings and options are saved under a session name and allow the user to have different preferences for different hosts. is connected .

Use global public key setting/Use session public key setting

Select whether SecureCRT should use the global identity fileIdentity files are two files containing the public-private key pair used to connect to an SSH server using RSA or DSA authentication. The Identity file contains the public and private key pair and is used by SecureCRT. The Identity.pub file contains only the public key which is usually appended to the authorized_keys file. or a specified session identity file as your method of authentication for this session. Your choice will determine the options available in the group below.

Global/Session settings group

Use identity or certificate file

Selecting this option instructs SecureCRT to use the specified identity , OpenSSH certificate, or PKCS #12 file as your method of authentication. To use an existing file, enter the full path to the file or click on the browse button to open a file browser to locate the file. For more information on configuring your system to use identity files, see Public-Key Authentication for SSH2.

To use an Amazon EC2 "key pair" with SecureCRT, specify the private key file of the key pair generated by Amazon as the identity or certificate file. This file typically has a .pem extension.

Fingerprint

This entry box will be filled in automatically when an identity file is entered above.

Create Identity File...

Press this button to start the Key Generation wizard and create identity files which contain your public-private key pair .

Note: SecureCRT supports RSA, Ed25519, ECDSA, and DSA key types.

Upload...

Press this button to open the Upload Public Key dialog and upload the specified identity file to the serverA computer program that provides services to other computer programs (called clients). Often the computer on which a server program runs is also called a server. The term host is often used as a synonym for server. configured for this session.

Public keys are uploaded using the public-key assistant. Uploads are only available on servers that support the public-key assistant (such as VanDyke Software's VShell® server 2.1 or newer).

Export Public Key...

Press this button to export your public key. You will be prompted for the certificate to use and where to save the public key.

Change Passphrase...

Press this button to change the passphraseA password used to protect a private key from unauthorized use. It is recommended that a passphrase be assigned to all private keys to prevent unauthorized use, especially in environments where multiple individuals have access to the machine on which the private key files are stored. When using public-key authentication, a private key with an assigned passphrase will not be available if the correct passphrase is not supplied during the authentication process. for your identity file.