Create users & configure SSH on Debian

12th of August, 2017 in guide

Quick guide to create new users on Debian and to create and configure SSH keys for remote access.

1. Create new user
2. Add user to group
3. Create SSH key on Windows
4. Configure unix account with the private SSH key

Create new user

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adduser <USER_NAME>

Fill in the user data.

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Enter new UNIX password:
Retype new UNIX password:
passwd: password updated successfully
Changing the user information for <USER_NAME>
Enter the new value, or press ENTER for the default
        Full Name []:
        Room Number []:
        Work Phone []:
        Home Phone []:
        Other []:
Is the information correct? [Y/n]

Add user to group

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adduser <USER_NAME> <GROUP_NAME>

Create SSH key on Windows

• Download the puttygen.exe tool.
• Click on “Generate”
• Save public & private keys

Configure unix account with the private SSH key

• Log on to the server
• Create .ssh folder and the file .ssh/authorized_keys in the corresponding user home
• Paste the key from the Puttygen field “Public key for pasting into OpenSSH authorized_keys file”
• The key must begin by ssh-rsa
• You can now log on with SSH to the remote server.