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How to Set Up Key-Based and Password-Based SSH for a Newly Created User on an EC2 Instance
Guide to Setting Up SSH Keys and Passwords for Fresh EC2 User Accounts
Table of contents
- How to Set Up Key-Based SSH for a Newly Created User on an EC2 Instance
- 1. Create a New EC2 Instance
- 2. Login to EC2 Instance
- 3. Gain Root Privileges
- 4. Create a New User
- 5. Set a Password for the New User
- 6. Change to the New User’s Home Directory
- 7. Create the .ssh Directory
- 8. Generate a New SSH Key Pair
- 9. Convert PEM to PPK (for PuTTY)
- 10. Copy the Public Key to the Authorized Keys File
- 12. Log in Using SSH
- How to Set Up Password-Based SSH for a Newly Created User on an EC2 Instance
How to Set Up Key-Based SSH for a Newly Created User on an EC2 Instance
1. Create a New EC2 Instance
- First, create an EC2 instance using the AWS Management Console. Once the instance is running, you can log in via SSH.
2. Login to EC2 Instance
- Use an SSH client (e.g., PuTTY, Terminal) to log in to your EC2 instance using the appropriate
.pemkey file.
3. Gain Root Privileges
Once logged in, enter the following command to switch to the root user:
sudo su
4. Create a New User
Create a new user by running:
adduser username
5. Set a Password for the New User
Set a password for the new user:
passwd username
6. Change to the New User’s Home Directory
Navigate to the new user's home directory:
cd /home/username
7. Create the .ssh Directory
Create the
.sshfolder for the new user:mkdir .ssh
8. Generate a New SSH Key Pair
- Go to the EC2 console and create a new PEM key.
9. Convert PEM to PPK (for PuTTY)
Open PuTTYgen and click on Load.
Select the PEM key you created and click Open.
Save the key as a
.ppkfile for use with PuTTY.
10. Copy the Public Key to the Authorized Keys File
In PuTTYgen, copy the public key to your clipboard.
Back on the EC2 instance, navigate to the
.sshfolder for the new user:cd /home/username/.sshOpen the
authorized_keysfile using a text editor:vi authorized_keysPaste the public key into the
authorized_keysfile, then save and exit.
12. Log in Using SSH
Open a new session in your SSH client (e.g., PuTTY).
Enter the public IP address of your EC2 instance, select your private key file (
.ppk), and use the new username you created to log in.
Now, you should be able to log in to your EC2 instance as the new user using key-based authentication.
How to Set Up Password-Based SSH for a Newly Created User on an EC2 Instance
In this tutorial, we'll guide you through the steps to set up PasswordAuthentication for SSH access to a newly created user on your EC2 instance.
1. Create a New EC2 Instance
- First, create an EC2 instance using the AWS Management Console. Once the instance is running, log in via SSH using your
.pemkey.
2. Login to EC2 Instance
- Use an SSH client (e.g., PuTTY, Terminal) to log in to your EC2 instance.
3. Gain Root Privileges
Once logged in, switch to the root user:
sudo su
4. Enable Password Authentication
Open the SSH configuration file:
vi /etc/ssh/sshd_configFind the line containing PasswordAuthentication and change it to yes:
PasswordAuthentication yesSave and exit the file.
5. Restart SSH Service
To apply the changes, restart the SSH service:
systemctl restart ssh
6. Create a New User
Create a new user:
useradd username
7. Set a Password for the New User
Set a password for the new user:
passwd username
8. Login Using Password Authentication
Open a new SSH session, and enter the public IP address of your EC2 instance.
Enter the username and the password you set for the new user.
You should now be able to log in to the EC2 instance as the new user using password-based authentication.