Secure Shell (SSH) Setup - AFS

Secure Shell (SSH) authentication is an alternative security protocol that you can enable to further protect SFTP uploads. In this process, you create a secret key that is shared with AFS, so when you go to transfer files over the SFTP, we can verify that it’s you by checking your key against the key we have. An SSH offers a more secure method of transferring files over an FTP because the public key is only known by the “client” and the “server”; in this case, you and AFS. .

There are a few ways to generate an SSH key, depending on the software you use. The easiest way to do so without downloading any external software is using Windows Command Prompt. This requires OpenSSH Client, which should be installed by default. If it isn’t for whatever reason, you can follow the steps below to get it installed.

Installing OpenSSH

1. Open the Windows Start menu and search for “Apps & features.”
   
2. In the Apps & features menu, click on “Optional features” near the top.
   
3. Under Optional features, look for “OpenSSH Client” to see if it’s installed. If it isn’t, click the “Add a feature” plus sign and search for it there.
   

Once you verify that OpenSSH is set up, here’s how you use Command Prompt to generate your SSH key.

Generating an SSH Key using OpenSSH and Command Prompt

1. Open the Windows Start menu and type “cmd.” Look for “Command Prompt” under “Best Match” and open it.
   
2. In the command prompt, type, “ssh-keygen” and press Enter. You will see the message, “Generating public/private rsa key pair. Enter file in which to save the key,” followed by a file path.
   
   
3. Press Enter to keep the default file path. Once you do this, you will be prompted to enter a passphrase. You can type one out if you want a password or leave it blank if you don’t.
4. Then, press Enter again. You will be prompted to enter the passphrase again. If you left it blank, simply press Enter again.
   
5. Once you’ve finished with the passphrase, the key will be generated. You can find it in the file path you say in step 2. This will usually be a folder called “.ssh” under Users -> [Your Account].
   

In this folder, you will have two files: a Private Key with no file extension, and a Public Key with a .pub extension, also known as a Microsoft Publisher Document. You will use the extension-less Private Key when logging in on your SFTP client, and the .pub Public Key will be uploaded to the TrueChecks portal.

The steps to upload your SSH Public Key to the TrueChecks portal are found below.

How to use your SSH Key with TrueChecks

1. Log on to the TrueChecks portal and navigate to Administration -> Client -> SFTP Account
2. In the field “Public Key File,” click the “Choose File” button.
3. Select the Public Key from your saved files and click “Open.” If you followed the steps for setting this up with Windows command prompt, the file name will likely be “id_rsa.pub.”
4. Once you have uploaded the file, you can begin logging in using SSH key authentication on your SFTP service of choice. This will vary from program to program, but you will use the Private Key