will trillich said: > at what point are the passphrases required? if passwordless > login/scp is the objective, where are the passphrases used?
ssh-agent is designed to prompt you for your passphrase, then it stores it in memory, and automatically 'inputs' it when you connect. That is until you logout or reboot or something. I have never used ssh-agent myself. for my personal account I use SSH w/passphrase and just input it every time. I use passphrase-less keys for mostly non interactive stuff. running w/o a passphrase is still probably the most common way to perform automated tasks. that is, stuff from cron etc. if the system is properly secured the chance of a key getting compromised is not that great. on my more secure systems I lock them down to key logins only, so even if they have my root password or account password they have no opportunity to input them. nate -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]