SFTP: support private key authentication

[hnsz2002]

Please add sftp support... I need for that to sync my documents to server...

Thank you!

[Zenju]

Done

[riccard0]

Please add public/private key authentication to sftp !
Thank you

[tsoifun]

I use Syncplify.met server but it is not possible to connect to sftp...It does not show in status the user's name.
If I try to use windows explorer then I am able to connect to server.
Solved - forgot to use authentication for SFTP.
Agree with the above - would be nice to have possibility to use pub/pri key authentication as well.

[pcause]

also would like key based support as my server usses this for login. thanks.

PS: support of pageant type login is a big plus. i think the library you use already can do this.

[jmfeist]

thanks for the SFTP support, this is great!
however, saving the password in the history in base64 (in LastRun.ffs_gui and GlobalSettings.xml) is an awful security hole.
it would be great to have at least a check box that allows to remove the password from the history. or simply not store the password at all.

[fappp]

My voice for the private/public key feature, I cannot access my servers without it!

[fappp]

My voice for the private/public key feature, I cannot access my servers without it!

... any news from Zenju, any hope that public/private key authentication will be implemented in a near future?

It would be very much appreciated!

[fappp]

... still not implemented in 7.7.

Would be great.

[fxshpac]

Have been patiently waiting for key auth as well. Can't wait to get rid of base64 encoded password. Please give us some update on this. Keep up the good job.

[fappp]

... and not in 7.8 too.

Some work colleagues and me need bitterly this function to get rid of our terrible VPN... and we wouldn't like to go back so SyncBack.

@Zenju: could you please tell us if a) this function is on your list for development in a near future and, if yes, b) how the time scale looks like.

Tanks

[vargabesz]

Please add public/private key auth!
And thanks a lot for your efforts so far!

[snoopcat]

+ 1 for requesting public/private key authorization support

Thanks :)

[fappp]

... the public/private key feature in SFTP is still not available in 8.0.

And still no feedback if and when it will be implemented.

@Zenju: your feedback would be appreciated!

Thanks

[Zenju]

There's no ETA yet, but public/private key authentication is a todo for a future version. But first the requirements need to be nailed down, as it seems there are a number of authentication methods and it needs to be decided which ones FFS should support.

[SomeCallMeTim]

Just rely on native SSH clients on non-Windows and PuTTY/PLink on Windows (plink.exe can act almost like ssh on Linux/Mac), or use sftp/Psftp directly.

There aren't a "number of methods" that way: You just connect to an existing, well-tested client and have it handle the public/private key interaction and the key agent for you.

[LapisLazuli]

Hi,

Post by riccard0 » 31 Aug 2015, 07:40
Please add public/private key authentication to sftp !
Thank you

+1
:-)

Post by Zenju » 05 Apr 2016, 15:10
[...] But first the requirements need to be nailed down, as it seems there are a number of authentication methods and it needs to be decided which ones FFS should support.

Do you mean RSA, DSA, etc. ? Or something else ? Couldn't a good first step be to implement any first one (eg. RSA), that would at least meet some needs.

In the meantime, may I suggest a workaround ? IAfter various products downloads and trials, I found that the free version of Sftp Net Drive, despite a number of restrictions, would meet the needs. It creates a Z: (or any other letter) on Windows, which points to the remote folder via SSH. FFS can then use this Z: location as any local directory.

Just in case it helps.

And again, congratulations : FFS does perfectly the job, even better (multiple folder pairs sync, real time sync), than the commercial version of another product I was using previously.

Best regards.

[Zenju]

Does support for PEM or PPK private key + password suffice?

[Zenju]

I've added support for authentication via OpenSSL PEM private keys:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/zkfs9bczqn4ib03/FreeFileSync_8.6_beta_Windows_Setup.exe

[snoopcat]

This is great Zenju, I can't wait to try it out. I was looking for private key plus password. Thanks!

[fappp]

Great, thank you Zenju.

I just tested it and it works well. For a sync of about 45'000 files over a 6Mbps/6Mbps link, the file comparison was 20 times faster using SFPT than my VPN!

Regards
Patrick

[LapisLazuli]

Hi,

I've added support for authentication via OpenSSL PEM private keys:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/zkfs9bczqn4ib03/FreeFileSync_8.6_beta_Windows_Setup.exe

I'm just reading - with delight :) - this post.

Unfortunately, the link is not active any more.

When do you plan to release the 8.6? I'm eager to use the feature!

Thanks and regards.

[LapisLazuli]

Hi Zenju,

Congratulations, I've just downloaded V8.6. Private keys SFTP works fine. Almost 100 times faster than the workaround I was using!

Thanks a lot for this great job!

[dandimat]

FFS is a very great tool.

Anyway in my opinion is important hiding the password from the configuration file.

I use FFS to synch a bunch of production servers. I don't like saving passwords, keys or passphrases locally.

I'd like simply writing the password on the fly, or a reasonably simple way to remove the password or the passphrase from FFS files.

Is there a way to do it?

Thanks again.

[Zenju]

I'd like simply writing the password on the fly, or a reasonably simple way to remove the password or the passphrase from FFS files.

You can use the standard FTP syntax with FreeFileSync, i.e.

sftp://username:password@yourserver.com/foldername|keyfile=c:\mykeyfile


and enter the password directly into the folder input field before starting sync.

[Ralpho]

Dear Zenju,

also from my side thank you for the great job and great software FFS!

I am using already the sftp sync for my privat server but on our business side we are using sftp access via shared keys. The key is provided via putty and is a ssh-dss 1024 key. Would it be possible to integrate this quite common way of authentication of sftp server?

Would be perfect for us and was already asked some posts above...

[mopani]

Having private key authentication via Pageant would be most helpful.

Since I use PuTTY, the private key doesn't appear to work with FFS. I *think* that the agent forwarding is standard (based on my reading of the PuTTY manual), just not the key storage format.

Working with Pageant and OpenSSH Agent would make for a secure solution, since individual public keys can be restricted on the server to certain actions (unlike a common username/pw login), and FFS would not need to store the private key password.

For what its worth, the PuTTY authors strongly recommend only using RSA keys; DSS/DSA keys have an inherent weakness which *might* allow a signature to give away the private key. (PuTTY manual section 8.2.2)

[Ralpho]

May I please repeat this wish, mopani brought it to the point. This would be such a mandatory feature and it would be great if you can include it.

Software like https://winscp.net/ are using this authentication method and it is secure and easy to use.

[Zenju]

I've added Pageant support! Let me know in case there are any issues:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/y9dg473jpmxpv31/FreeFileSync_9.2_beta_Windows_Setup.exe