Cygwin: Setting up a trusted ssh-relationship

If you are frequently connecting via ssh to the same server or if you are using rsync to backup your files as will be described in a later guide, you might want to set up a trusted relationship between your local computer and the remote server.

Start by generating a private/public key set.
Run the following command:

$ ssh-keygen -t rsa

Now go to your local .ssh folder.
Then download the "authorized_keys" file from the server

scp user@server.com:/home/user/.ssh/authorized_keys .

then make a backup copy of the file:

$ cp authorized_keys authorized_keys.backup

now merge public key id_rsa.pub into the authorized_keys file

$ cat authorized_keys id_rsa.pub

and upload the authorized_keys file to the server

$ scp authorized_keys user@server.com:/home/user/.ssh

Now try and connect via ssh:

$ ssh user@server.com

It should now not prompt for password.