Setup of Key pairs in Windows and configuring putty

Generate SSH keys: Run the command ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 in your terminal. When prompted, save the keys to C:\Users\<username>\.ssh\rsa and do not set a password.
Check the generated files: Two files, id_rsa and id_rsa.pub, should be created in the directory you specified.
Copy public key to server: Copy the contents of id_rsa.pub into your mind.cs.cmu.edu:~/.ssh/authorized_keys file.
Download and install PuTTY: You can download it from the official website.
Launch PuTTYGen: Use this to convert your private key to a format PuTTY can use.
- Import and convert key: Go to Conversions>Import key, select your id_rsa file, then click Save private key. Save the new .ppk file as id_rsa2.
Configure PuTTY:
- Open PuTTY without connecting to a remote system.
- Navigate to Connection>Data and set the Auto-login username to your SSH username.
- Navigate to Connection>SSH>Auth>Credentials, click Browse under Private key file for authentication, and select your id_rsa2.ppk file.
- Set Session Host Name to mind.cs.cmu.edu.
- Save these settings under Saved sessions.
Log in: To log in, open PuTTY, load your saved session, and click Open. You should be automatically logged in to mind.

Updated on May 7, 2024

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