smarTTY connection failure

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  • #653
    IMHO
    Participant

    While trying out the SmarTTY program on a 64-bit Win7 Pro machine, in the “SmarTTY – New SSH Connection” dialogue box as I attempt connecting with a Linux machine on the LAN, I can see an error popup box showing a red colored circle with an “X” in it and the following:

    “Cannot connect: LIBSSH2 returned LIBSSH2_ERROR_FILE”

    In the setup screen I had entered the IP address for the other machine in “Host name” and the logon ID in “User name”. The authentication method used was “OpenSSH key from file: /path/to/.ssh/id_dsa”. This same key has been used frequently with Cygwin connections from this machine to the other one. I tried googling this message but found nothing helpful. Without more of a clue, I am stuck in moving forward with this program, and any help would be appreciated because I want to give it a try. Incidentally, I got the same result while trying with both the portable and the regular versions.

    #2664
    ket
    Participant

    Hi,

    Most likely the key file format is not supported by libssh2 that SmarTTY uses. Please try other authentication methods.

    #2665
    IMHO
    Participant

    @ket wrote:

    Hi,

    Most likely the key file format is not supported by libssh2 that SmarTTY uses. Please try other authentication methods.

    Okay, fair enough. If so, then the next logical step for me to try would be to make a new key, one such that your program can recognize it, would it not? Since I can assume that it does not want either the PuTTY standard format or the Cygwin standard format, kindly advise as to which procedure should be used precisely?

    :ugeek:

    #2666
    IMHO
    Participant

    I’ll give the support channel one more chance before writing it off. I need to use a secure connection with keys. Does the lack of a response mean this program will not support public key authentication methods? It would be swell to hear from someone else whether they have ever gotten this to work with public key authentication. How so.

    #2667
    support
    Keymaster

    Hi,

    SmarTTY supports 2 types of key-based authentication: using the Windows key container and using OpenSSH format. The Windows key container-based authentication is configured automatically: the key is stored securely (Windows guarantees that only logged on user can access it).
    Here’s an example of an id_dsa file in OpenSSH format:

    
    
    BEGIN DSA PRIVATE KEY
    
    MIIBuwIBAAKBgQDLYaFjKw55dEKXr9fRYxJyNd3FtZNNbkIydZY6biVlMjkMia1j
    n2W9AxEMADG+7qEiiJtdK07kj8KGNxebjYqN92iKXJvJ/cD0kwGfqjHa2MyV09ns
    E9YypM9Z19CnLTXpxTXkDWuG6TviH0kwFCaQ96EijsxMPlU3MfRS8rF9nQIVAPE2
    CsyxFEwDNl8hIuDIpupCWzCfAoGARAnujVr0FtjFNU8ovtBCn73MKbt3ttuk5+ad
    NEaQktN+QQvip0urD2ns4t8DRIKg394oli2lhacr4uP5TTmUXLegtXSLp6vvbe0o
    i4x2VfcRZq5P7Zo4nypFnx/umaIZLICD5h3/uY5ulVAIDVHvQmPvq0xShVyWbjbf
    rJ4TxPoCgYEAhOHazGkNOQLvcguFOvKTgHmJxv+0GpzEYLP8nXj0OllR6cMWdWe4
    OoKZ+XHGI7WoC9HcC5mQbIMcAJqxXn/+l3eiHgXfiI/8draqVr/hMDHCZ1np5bJx
    9SDl0w6iD42/GqykvWiTtIEOXMo9S/jH50eQngoUKUfBOxfVxP9Qu1ACFEFqLgau
    o6+UGQuog0uq/syNmtKl
    
    END DSA PRIVATE KEY
    
    

    Please note that key files with passphrases are currently not supported.

    #2668
    IMHO
    Participant

    Great answer. I do appreciate your succinct reply. Clearly, the problem arose from this cause: “Please note that key files with passphrases are currently not supported.” I believe that this point should be noted prominently on the FAQ or download pages, or even in a “readme” with the program itself so that users do not have to wonder and waste time seeking the cause of the problem. The arcane error message does nothing to edify this point.

    Since I use ssh frequently to access Linux machines on my LAN, I am familiar with the OpenSSH format, but the Windows “key container-based” method is not one I have had occasion to use. Frankly, I am not at all convinced with reassurances from MS that “(Windows guarantees that only logged on user can access it).” I will look into it. Perhaps someone can point to a reference concerning how one would undo the effect of making use of a Windows container-based key when uninstalling the program because I did not see anything mentioned about it here while looking over the documentation.

    #2669
    support
    Keymaster

    Hi,

    Note that we have added support for SSH key passhprases to SmarTTY 1.1 (http://smartty.sysprogs.com/download/)

    #2670
    IMHO
    Participant

    Thanks a lot for the update on this. I noticed that the portable version is still at the same version number #1.0. Will it be upgraded too, and, if so, whenabouts?

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