[Gllug] How do I do this?

[Ian Northeast]

Adrian McMenamin wrote:
> Sorry if this is ludicrously simple.
> 
> I want to write a script that I can run, via ssh, on the mail server to
> scp over spams and then get spamassassin to learn them.
> 
> All is fine except the scp command does not echo the password request to
> to the screen/standard input so it all fails.
> 
> Here is the script -- how do I change it so I can enter in the password
> for username?
> 
> #!/bin/sh
> 
> scp username at 192.168.0.22:/home/username/morejunk /home/usermail/

Assuming default sshd configuration options:

Generate a key pair on the machine the script is running on, with the 
user which is running the script, with ssh-keygen, with a null 
passphrase, and add the public one to 
192.168.0.22:~username/.ssh/authorized_keys.

Test this with "ssh 192.168.0.22 -l username". It shouldn't ask for the 
password, just let you straight in.

Be careful with permissions - ssh is picky and doesn't like it if they 
are too liberal, and its error messages aren't over informative. Use 700 
or 600 for .ssh and its contents. It's a bit picky about the permissions 
on $HOME and even $HOME/.. too. Neither should be writable by group or 
other IIRC.

And remember that "authorized" contains a "z":) Creating 
.ssh/authorised_keys is the most common error IME. This is a purely .uk 
issue of course.

Some people (including the authors of the O'Reilly ssh book) consider 
this insecure. Which is why this book does not describe it very well. 
Personally I think it's OK on a closed LAN. As long as you trust the 
user on the machine initiating the connection of course, which must have 
a good password and its private key have 600 permissions as it will when 
generated.

Regards, Ian

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