Skip to Content
SSH, The Secure Shell: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition
book

SSH, The Secure Shell: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition

by Daniel J. Barrett, Richard E. Silverman, Robert G. Byrnes
May 2005
Intermediate to advanced
666 pages
21h 5m
English
O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Content preview from SSH, The Secure Shell: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition

Client Configuration

Most SSH security pertains to the server, but SSH clients have security-related settings too. Here are a few tips:

  • Whenever you leave a computer while SSH clients are running, lock the computer’s display with a password-protected screen locker. This is particularly important if you’re running an agent that permits an intruder to access your remote accounts without a passphrase.

  • In your client configuration file, turn on some safety features as mandatory values:

        # OpenSSH
        # Put at the top of your configuration file
        Host *
          GatewayPorts no
          StrictHostKeyChecking ask
         ForwardX11Trusted no
    
        # Tectia
        # Put at the bottom of your configuration file
        *:
         GatewayPorts no
         StrictHostKeyChecking ask
         TrustX11Applications no

    The GatewayPorts value forbids remote clients from connecting to locally forwarded ports. Finally, rather than blindly connect, the StrictHostKeyChecking value warns you of any changed host keys and asks what you want to do. For X11 forwarding we elect to generate a new, untrusted xauth key rather than inherit the trust already in effect. [9.4.5.3]

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.

Read now

Unlock full access

More than 5,000 organizations count on O’Reilly

AirBnbBlueOriginElectronic ArtsHomeDepotNasdaqRakutenTata Consultancy Services

QuotationMarkO’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.
Julian F.
Head of Cybersecurity
QuotationMarkI wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.
Addison B.
Field Engineer
QuotationMarkI’ve been on the O’Reilly platform for more than eight years. I use a couple of learning platforms, but I'm on O'Reilly more than anybody else. When you're there, you start learning. I'm never disappointed.
Amir M.
Data Platform Tech Lead
QuotationMarkI'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.
Mark W.
Embedded Software Engineer

You might also like

Mastering Linux Security and Hardening - Second Edition

Mastering Linux Security and Hardening - Second Edition

Donald A. Tevault
Linux Fundamentals

Linux Fundamentals

Sander van Vugt

Publisher Resources

ISBN: 0596008953Errata Page