Ssh keys problem

[Gordon Messmer]

Anne Wilson wrote:
>>
> OK - so something else, somewhere, must have been starting ssh-agent without 
> those variables.  I rebooted, and no longer get the messages I saw before.  I 
> am asked for the password, though, every time I transfer files.  There 
> doesn't seem to be a conf file where you can set the key to remain active for 
> a specific time, as there is with gpg.

These are also good resources, if you'd like to learn more about the SSH 
agent:

http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/library/l-keyc.html
http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/library/l-keyc2/
http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/keychain/

I dislike keychain, personally, but if you find that it's secure 
*enough* for your environment, then it may be useful.

I prefer to use ssh keys with no passphrase, bound to a single command 
on the remote host using this syntax:

command="do something specific" ssh-rsa ....