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Using the WinSCP Client on Windows to transfer files to and from a Linux server over SFTP

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This is a quick guide for people that do not know you can also transfer files over SSH connection to/from a server with SFTP. SFTP is a protocol that works over SSH/Secure Shell connections. I am using Windows 10 locally and want to transfer files to/from my Linux servers. In the past I have setup plain FTP servers but I do not set them up any longer.

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I have setup servers on UpCloud using this guide to setup servers with SSH. I recently blogged about using PHP Storm to transfer files over SFTP but how can I do it outside PHP Storm. I have an older guide on how to do this with the Forklift program on OSX.

Download WinSCP

Go to https://winscp.net/eng/index.php and download and setup WinSCP.

Ensure you have a working connection to your server over a SSH first.

I connected to my server and compressed a folder ready to transfer over SFTP.

I now had a 1.8 gigabyte file to download over SFTP.

Setting up a Connection in WinSCP

Open WinSCP

WinSCP Icon

You will see a window that will allow you to add a server server connection

WinSCP New Connection Screenshot

Add your server name and port for SSH, also ad your SSH username. I wont add a ‘password as I login with SSH keys (not passwords)

Screenshot showing a new connection to yourserver.com and port 22

Click on Advanced then Advanced to set more options like private keys.

WinSCP Advanced options menu

Enter the path to your SSH private Key

SSH Private key added

It is a good idea to set folders and to remember the last directory used.

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Remember last directory used tick box selected

Save the connection

Save Connection Screenshot.

Now you will have a quick access shortcut to your server.

shortcut to sshuser@yourserver.com

Connecting to your Server

I have a passphrase setup for my Private key so I need to enter that on each connection.

Prompt for private key passphrase

I have 2FA hardware one Time Passwords setup at login (read here) and WinSCP asks me for this passphrase. Nice.

WinSCP asking for my 2FA passphrase

Now I can see my remote server as if it was a local drive.

WinSCP now connected like a local folder

Nice

Download a file

I downloaded the backup file created earlier by dragging from the remote server window to my local computer window).

WinSCP Download Progress Screenshot

Downloads were not fast (about 1.5MB/s on a 50 megabyte connection.

Enable Right Click Shell Integrations

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It is a good idea to enable right shell extensions in Windows Explorer to upload a file via SFTP.

Select Options and Preferences once you connect to a server.

Click Add upload shortcut to Explorer’s ‘Sent To’context menu.

Click Add upload shortcut to Explorer's 'Sent To'context menu

Now when you right click on a file in Windows Explorer you can sent it to a server.

Right click Send to menu enabled

You will be asked by WinSCP what server to connect to, Select it and click Login.

Where would you like to upload to.

An upload progress bar will appear. When the upload done the WinSCP will disconnect

When done the WinSCP will disconnect

Nice.

Editing files in WinSCP

WinSCP is also good at editing files in WinSCP or using your preferred editor.

WinSCP editing robots.txt

I hope this guide helps someone. Apologies if you already know this.

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v1.0 Inital Post

Connecting to a server via SSH with Putty

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This post aims to show how you can connect to a remote VM server using Telnet/SSH Secure shell with a free program called Putty on Windows. This not an advanced guide, I hope you find it useful.

You will learn how to connect (via Windows) to a remote computer (Linux) over the Telnet protocol using SSH (Secure Shell). Once you login you can remotely edit web pages, learn to code, install programs or do just about anything.

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Common Terms (Glossary)

  • Putty: Putty is a free program that allows you to connect to a server via Telnet. Putty can be downloaded from here.
  • Port: A port is a number given to a virtual lane on the internet (a port is similar to a frequency in radio waves but all ports share the same transport layer frequency on the internet). Older unencrypted webpages work on Port (lane 80), older mail worked on Port 25, encrypted web pages work on Port 443. Telnet (that SSH Secure Shell uses) used Port 22. Read about port numbers here.
  • SSH: SSH is a standard that allows you to securely connect to a server over the telnet protocol. Read more here.
  • Shell: Shell or Unix Shell is the name given to the interactive command line interface to Linux. Read more about the shell here.
  • Telnet: Telnet is a standard on the TCP/IP protocol that allows two-way communication between computers (all communicatin issent as characters and not graphics). Read more on telnet here and read about the TCP protocols here and here.
  • VM: VM stands for Virtual Machine and is a name given to a server you can buy (but it is owned by someone else). Read more here.

Read about other common glossary terms used on the Inetre here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_Internet-related_terms

Background

If you want a webpage on the internet (or just a server to learn how to program) it’s easier to rent a VM for a few dollars a month and manage it yourself (with Telnet/SSH Secure Shell) than it is to buy a $5,000 server, place it in a data centre and pay for electricity and drive in every few days and update it. Remote management of VM servers via SSH/Secure Shell is the way for small to medium solutions.

  • A simple web hosting site may cost < $5 a month but is very limited.
  • A self-managed VM costs about $5 a month
  • A website service like Wix, Squarespace, Shopify or WordPress will cost about $30~99 a month.
  • A self-owned server will cost hundreds to thousands upfront.

There are pros and cons to all solutions above (e.g cost, security, scalability, performance, risk) but these are outside this post’s topic. I have deployed VMs on provides like AWS, Digital Ocean, Vultr and UpCloud for years. If you need to buy a VM you can use this link and get $25 free credit.

I used to use the OSX Operating System on Apple computers. I was used to using the VSSH software program to connect to servers deployed on UpCloud (using this method). With the demise of my old Apple Mac book (due to heat) I have moved back to using Windows (I am never using Apple hardware again until they solve the heat issues).

Also, I prefer to use Linux servers in the cloud (over say Windows) because I believe they are cheaper, faster and more secure.

Enough talking lets configure a connection.

Public and Private Keys?

Whenever you want to connect to a remote server via Telnet/SSH Secure Shell you will need a public and private key to encrypt communications between you and the remote server.

The public key is configured on your server (on Linux you add the public key to this file ~/.ssh/authorized_keys).

The private key is used by programs (usually on your local computer) to connect to the remote server.


How to create a Public and Private Key on Linux

I usually run this command on Ubuntu or Debian Linux to generate a public and private SSH key.

The key below was generated for this post and is not used online. Keys are like physical keys, people who have them and know where to use them can use them.

Output:

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The two files were created

  • “server” is the private key
  • “server.pub“is the public key

Public/Private Key Contents

Public Key Contents (“server.pub”)

Private Key Contents (“server”), always keep the private key safe and never publish it.

The Public and Private keys is used to encrypt all Telnet/SSH connections and traffic to your server. Keep these key’s private.

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fyi: Putty can create SSH Keys too

If you do not have a Linux computer or Linux server to generate keys the Putty generator can create keys too.

Puttygen generating a key based on the randomness of mouse movements.

I did not know Putty can create keys.

Do save the public and private key(s) that were generated in Puttygen (tip: PPK files are what we are after along with the public key later in this post).

Public keys are added to your server when you deploy them. On Linux, you can add new Pulic keys after deployment by adding them to this file “~/.ssh/authorized_keys” to allow people to log in.

Puttygen does format the keys differently than how Ubuntu generates them. Read more here. I’ll keep generating keys in Linux over Puttygen.

Output of the public and PPK files from Puttygen

Putty SSH Client on Windows

Putty is a free windows program that you can use to connect to serves via SSH. Download and install the Putty program.

Open Putty

Putty Icon

Default Putty User Interface.

Screenshot of the Putty Program

To create a connection add an exiting IP address (server name) and SSH port (22) to Putty.

Screenshot of an IP and port entered into putty

In Putty (note the tree view to the left of the image), You can set the auto login name to use to log into the remote server under the Connection the Data in the tree view item

Screenshot showing the SSH usename being added to putty under Connection then Data menu,

You can also set the username under the Connection then Rlogin section of Putty.

Set the usernmae undser rlogin area of putty

OK, lets add the private SSH Key to Putty.

Putty Screehshot showing no support for standard SSH keys (only PPK files)

It looks like Putty only supports PPK private key files not ones generated by Linux. I used to be able to use the private key in the VSSH program on OSX and add the private key to connect to the server over SSH. Putty does not allow you to use Linux generated Private keys directly.

Convert your (Linux generated) private key to (Putty) PPK format with Puttygen

Putty comes with a Key Generator/Converter, you can open your existing RSA private key and convert it (or generate a new one).

TIP: If you generate a key in Puttygen don;t forget to ad’d it to your authorized host file in your remote server.

Open Puttygen

Puttygen icon

Click Conversions than Import Key and choose the private key you generated in Linux

Screenshot showing import RSA key to convert

The private key will be opened

Screenshot of imported RSA key

You can then save the private key as a PPK file.

Save the private key as a PPK file

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“server.ppk” Key contents

Now the PPK key can be added to Putty for any server connection that uses the public key. Use the right key for the right server though.

Add the private key to a Putty server by clicking Connection, SSH, AUTH section and browing to the PPK file.

Screenshot showing the PPK key file added to Putty

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Now we need to save the connection, click back on the Session note at the top of the treeview, type a server name and click Save

Save Putty connection.

Connecting to your sever via Telnet/SSH wiht Putty.

Once you have added a server name, port, usernames and private key to Putty you can double click the server list item to connect to your server.

You will see a message about accepting the public key from the server. Click Yes. This fingerprint will be the same fingerprint that was shown when you generated the keys (if not maybe someone is hacking in the middle of your local computer and server)

Putty messgae box asking to to remember the public key

Hopefully, you will now have full access to your server with the account you logged in with.

Screenshot of an Ubuntu screen after login

Happy Coding.

Alternatives to self-managed VM’s

I will always run self-managed server (and configure it myself) as its the most economical way to build a fast and secure server in my humble opinion.

I have blogged about alternatives but these solutions always sacrifice something and costs are usually higher and performance can be slower.

I am also lucky enough I can do this as a hobby and its not my day job. when you self manage a VM you will have endless tasks or securing your server and tweaking but its fun.

More Reading

Read some useful Linux commands here and read my past guides here. If you want to buy a domain name click here.

If you are bored and want to learn more about SSH Secure shell read this.

Related Blog Posts

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Version: Draft 1.0 Initial Draft

How to code PHP on your localhost and deploy to the cloud via SFTP with PHPStorm by Jet Brains

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This is a quick guide that will show you how you can connect to a cloud server via SFTP with the PHPStorm IDE from Jet Brians and deploy files from your localhost to the cloud. This is my opinion, I am not paid to promote PHPStorm or UpCloud.

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Pre-Requisites/Assumptions

This guide will assume you already have (or know how to)..

I am using Windows 10 Home (with IIS Web Server (document root redirected to S:\Code\) and a pre built Ubuntu Cloud servers.

IIS pointing to S:\Code

Why no FTP? I do not create FTP servers on my serves to increase security and I only access servers via SSH via white-listed IP’s and then authenticate with hardware 2FA keys from YubiCo (read me 2FA guide here and also how to secure *nix servers and WordPress with 2FA).

Background

2 years ago I used to use the Cloud 9 IDE to connect to, and code files on cloud servers and life was good. I could configure and connect to servers, drag and drop files, run bash scripts from a web page and close the Cloud 9 browsers tabs, travel hundreds of kilometres and log back into C9 and all code and bash scripts would reappear.

Here is the Cloud 9 IDE showing code on the left and a Browser on the right.

C9.IDE showing code on the left and web page on the right

With Cloud 9 code could be easily accessed, edited and run.

See screenshot of code running from a Cloud 9 hosted server with properties windows on the right.

C9 IDE showing a bash terminal windows and code

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Regrettably, I cancelled my $9/m subscription to Cloud 9 after a minor stroke and since then I have gone back to a terminal screen to code and transfer files. In the last 2 years.

Screenshot of the putty program connected to a Ubuntu box editing a file with nano

Uploading and downloading files on mass is painful via pure SSH.

AWS has since purchased Cloud 9 and I am not sure if it will ditch support of non-AWS servers in the future. AWS is good but servers are very expensive for what you get IMHO. I have found Disk IO on UpCloud is awesome (also UpCloud support is great (I am not paid to say that)).

PHPStorm IDE?

A quick Google of IDE’s like Cloud 9 mentioned PHPStorm from Jet Brains. I have used IntelliJ IDEA from Jet Brains before and PHPStorm seems to be very popular.

Go to
https://www.jetbrains.com/phpstorm/ and see the features of PHPStorm

Watch PHPStorm in action

Whats new in PHPStorm 2019.1

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Install PHPStorm

Visit https://www.jetbrains.com/phpstorm/download/ and download and install PHPStorm (free trial 30 days)

System requirements

  • Microsoft 10/8/7/Vista/2003/XP (incl. 64-bit)
  • 2 GB RAM minimum
  • 4 GB RAM recommended
  • 1024×768 minimum screen resolution

Pricing

PHPStorm is $8.90/m for individual use (or $19.90/m commercial). For the first 12 months of uninterrupted subscription payments qualify you for receiving a perpetual fallback license (20% discount for an uninterrupted subscription for a 2nd year, 40% discount for an uninterrupted subscription for 3rd year onwards).

PHPStorm work on Windows, OSX or Linux. This great an I use Windows locally and Linux remotely but I’m keen to use Linux locally to match local and remote dev environments.

Official PHPStorm Pricing Page:
https://www.jetbrains.com/phpstorm/buy/#edition=commercial

fyi: Jet Brains has free licencing for individual use for Students and faculty members.

Creating a Project

Open PHPStorm and select “Create New Project”.

Create New Project screen

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Choose a project type on the left (e.g “PHP Empty Project“) and choose a location to save too (I chose “S:\code\php001) on my local machine. I chose “S:\code\php001” on my local machine.

New Project screenshot asking for a name and save location

Choose a folder to save to.

Choose a project and location to save to locally

Click “OK” to create the project.

PHPStorm will have created a project for you. You will notice a “.idea“folder under the location you saved with these files.

  • misc.xml
  • modules.xml
  • php001.xml
  • wordspace.xml

Do not delete these files.

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Creating your first PHP file

You can right click on the project root and select New then PHP File

Right click on the root in the tree view then new PHP File

Or clicking the File then New menu choosing PHP File.

File new PHP File dialog

Name the file (e.g index.php)

Naming a file index.php

The file has been created and its available in my localhost web server.

Screenshot showing PHPStorm with index.php, S:\Code showing index.php and http://localhpst/php001/index.php loading

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Creating a Deploy Target

Now we need to specify a deploy target in PHPStorm to push the file changes to the cloud. Backup your server (yes backup your server just in case).

Open your PHPStorm project and click Tools, Deployment and then Configuration.

Click Tools, Deployment and then Configuration.

Click the plus icon near the top left and choose SFTP

Screenshot showing add new deployment server (SFTP)

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Name the deployment target (e.g “server (project)”)

Screenshot of an input box showing a server name
  • Enter your “server name” or IP and port
  • Enter your “ssh username” (ensure the SSH user had write access to the wwwroot folder and the web server can read the files written by this user)
  • Under password I chose “Key pair OpenSSH or Putty (as I had SSH details already setup in Putty details
  • You can add your ppk private key from Putty (use the puttygen program to conbvert ssh public and private kets to ppk format)
  • If you have a passphrase on your SSH key add it now
  • Enter your web servers remote path (for the project)
  • Enter your web server URL
Screenshot showing a server name, port, username, password, ssh file passphrase, root path and web server url.

I did SSH to my remote server and created the destination folder. This will ensure I can deploy code here (PHPStorm does not create the remote path fpor you ).

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Click Test Connection

Test Successful screenshot

No we need to click the Mappings tab and add a mapping.

  • Local path is your local path
  • Deployment path is / (the web root path is carried forward from the previous tab)
  • Web path is the web path that is entered in the browser
Screenshot showing a manual file mapping of local and remote file locations

Click Add New Mapping. Now we are ready to deploy

Deploying code to the cloud

I right clicked on the root note in PHPStorm and created an index.php file.

Creating an index.php file by file new

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I edited the index.php on my local machine and then click the Tools then Deployment and choose “Upload to fearby.com (php001)” menu.

Manual upload available in Tools menu then Deployment menu

The File Transfer output window showed the transfer progress.

Screenshot showing the file transfer window output saying the file uploaded.

I loaded https://fearby.com/php001/index.php in Google chrome. It worked.

Screenshot showing https://fearby.com/php001/index.php loaded in a bowser

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Don’t forget to turn off Automatic uploads under Tools, Deployment menu.

'Screenshot showing Automatic updated turned on

Now when I create new files or change existing files they will auto upload.

Sourc Control

I will add this soon.

Shell Command

You can also open an SSH console to the server and run commands

e.g zip files

I can also open a folder window in PHPStorm and show all remote files by clicking Tools then Deployment then Show Remote Files, Zip files can be easily downlaoded or other files uploaded. Nice.

Screenshot showing remote files

Linux Client

I will review the Linux PHPStorm client soon.

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Troubleshooting

Watch the Official guide on Deployment and Remote Hosts in PhpStorm – PhpStorm Video Tutorial

Good Luck. I hope this guide helps someone.

Version

1.2 Removed advertisements

1.1 Minor Updates

1.0 Initial Version

Using the Yubico YubiKey NEO hardware-based two-factor authentication device to improve authentication and logins to OSX and software

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This post aims to show you how you can use a Yubico YubiKey NEO hardware-based two-factor authentication device to improve authentication and logins to OSX and other software and services.

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Background

Although I am a developer I do like security related topics and I try and do as much as I can to secure my systems and applications. Reading the Multi-Factor Authentication Wikipedia page has all the details on Multi-Factor authentication.

I have been a big fan of 1Password to generate strong and unique passwords for separate accounts for a while now. Read my guide on upgrading from a standalone 1Password licence to a 1Password subscription. I love generating unique and complex passwords with 1Password.

Screenshot of the 1Password.com software generating a complex password with 63 chars

But what happens if someone gets access to my 1password vault? Yubico has a catalogue of support services that I can use Yubikeys with to have, 1password is one supported service 🙂

I want to add Yubico protections with these services.

  • macOS Logins (DONE)
  • macOS Screensavers (DONE)
  • 1Password (DONE)
  • Dropbox (DONE)
  • Twitter (DONE)
  • Google (DONE)
  • Google GSuite (DONE, WAITING TO VERIFY)
  • Google GMail (DONE)
  • Google Analytics and AdSense (DONE)
  • Github (DONE)
  • Thunderbird Email (DONE)
  • Debian servers in the cloud (SSH) (DONE)
  • Ubuntu servers in the cloud (SSH) (DONE)
  • Securing WordPress (DONE)

Etc

Final Warning

Do not attempt to activate Two Factor Authentication on a system unless you…

  • A) Have backups of your data
  • B) Have backup methods of getting into your account(s)

Murphy’s Law: “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong”

You never know when a Two Factor Authentication Key may die or an Authenticator app or a Mac/PC may stop working so always have a backup method just in case.

 

General

General Yubico YubiKey Setup guides https://www.yubico.com/setup/

 

Buying a Yubico YubiKey

International visitors can buy a YubiKey from the official store here. Australian readers can buy a key locally here. I grabbed 2x YubiKey YubiKey Neo 4 (with NFC) for $50 USD (about $75 AUD) each.

This blog post will aim to show how you can set up a primary key and backup key for use on macOS and other apps to add hardware-based two-factor authentication to logins.

 

Authenticator Apps

You can use Google Authenticator, Yubico Authenticator or freeOTP from https://freeotp.github.io

 

Plugging the YubiKey into macOS Mojave

First I read this guide: https://www.yubico.com/works-with-yubikey/catalog/macos/

1) I plugged in my Yubico Neo key into my USB slot.
2) I closed the Keyboard setup window that appeared (I guess the YubiKey is a kind of a keyboard to allow inserting of challenge-response character streams into apps and websites).

Picture of macOS Mojave wrongly detecting the eYubiKey as a keyboard device type.

3) I followed the basic troubleshooting page and confirmed that the key was being detected (yes it was.)

macOS device list showing the Yubico YubiKey was detected

4) I followed this guide to test U2F functionality and this guide to test OTP functionality. Web pages and Google Chome can talk to the plugged-in YubiKey(s).

I was prompted to register a UTF deice (and create an account)

Register a Device

I was prompted to (insert) and touch my Yubico key.

picture of the browser asking me to insert my YubiKey

Google Chome asked for some permissions first.

FYI: Chrome 67 is recommended to securely allow the reading of UbiKey’s from web pages. Only allow sites you trust access to your USB devices and use a modern browser.

Picture of Google Chrome browser asking for permissions to read the inserted YubiKey

Success, Chrome could now see my YubiKey and my device was now verified.

Picture showing YubiKey registration success in a browser

Technical data is available to let you know what is going on in the background. I am not going to break down how this works but Yubico has in-depth whitepapers and documentation if you are interested.

Nice

 

Configuring OSX

I logged into my Mac with the account that I was going to secure.

I performed a complete time machine backup before proceeding. If you lock yourself out you will need to restore OSX from a Time Machine backup.

I Read the “Using Yubico Pluggable Authentication Module (PAM) with Challenge-Response” login guide: https://www.yubico.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/yubico_YubiKeyMacLoginGuide_en.pdf

I downloaded the Download the YubiKey Manager

I downloaded the yubikey-manager from here so I could configure the keys to use “HMAC-SHA1 Challenge-Response”.

Oops, I downloaded the wrong tool, good to know this one exists though.

Screenshot of the Yubikey Manager Software showing firmware update and OTP configuration settings

I will update what this tool does in future (update firmware?)

I Downloaded the Yubikey Personalization Tool

I went back to the Yubico download page and downloaded the Personalization tool.

Picture of the Yubico Personalisation tool showing it's available software options

Many options are available here.

It’s time to configure a primary and backup (duplicate YubiKey) for use with macOS etc.

 

Enable Challenge Response

I opened the YubiKey Personalization Tool, Inserted my primary key, clicked the Settings tab, and in the Logging Settings group, selected Log configuration output and Yubico format.

I then clicked on the Challenge Response Tab, clicked the HMAC-SHA1 button, selected Configuration Slot 2, ticked “Program Multiple YubiKeys“, changed the “Parameter Generation Scheme = Same for all Keys“, Selected “Fixed 64 byte input” under “HMAC-SHA1 Parameters” and generated a new key (wrote it down).

Under “Configuration Protection” then I selected Enable Protection” I then visited here and generated a 6 digit string to convert to hex array (with spaces (e.g: “70 61 73 73 77 64”)).

Warning: If you set an access code and later forget it, you cannot make any programming changes to this YubiKey. You would need to buy another YubiKey.

I clicked on Write Configuration

If you chose Configuration Slot 1 you will receive a warning about not saving over Configuration Slot 1 due to Yubico VIP/Symantec, I personally do not trust Symantec or the https://vip.symantec.com/ service due to Symantec issuing non-compliant certificates for use on websites. Yubico allows you to swap configuration slots if want to keep the configuration data.

YubiCo Prompt asking for permissions to overwrite slot 1

On the output of the first write, I was prompted to save a file. I saved this to “secretkey.csv” onto the Desktop.

Screenshot of save configuration to CSV

When the write to my primary key was successful, I ejected it then inserted my backup key and wrote the same configuration data to it too (on Configuration Slot 2).

Screenshot of a list view showing the successful Write of information to two keys

Testing the HMAX-SHA1 Challenge

I open the YubiKey Personalization Tool, then click the Tools tab and click Challenge Response. Choose Configuration Slot 2, I selected HMAC-SHA1. I typed a sample input challenge (e.g “hello world”) and clicked Perform.

I noticed the Yubico key touch panel was flashing. I pressed the button, then a response appeared below the input textbox. I copied this response text then insert your second key and perform the same test so I could compare the responses (they should be the same). They were.

If the responses don’t match rewrite the configuration to your primary and secondary keys and ensure the same key and secret was used for both keys.

FYI: I rewrote configuration a few times until I got it right.

Installing the Pluggable Authentication Module (PAM) on macOS

I re-read the Mac login guide here as I don’t want to lock myself out of my Mac.

I opened the Yubico Software Download page here and clicked Computer Login Tools and downloaded the PAM for Mac.

Screenshot of the YubiCo PAM Module download page

I installed the PAM package and verified the package installation with this command.

Output:

Screenshot of the PAM Module Installed (ls on a folder)

Text Output:

> drwxr-xr-x 3 root wheel 96 9 Oct 10:29 .

> drwxrwxr-x 74 simon admin 2368 9 Oct 10:29 ..

> -rwxr-xr-x 1 root wheel 143172 20 Apr 21:13 pam_yubico.so

 

Backup macOS

Again I ensured my Mac was backed up with Time Machine.

Screenshot of backing up my Mac with Time Machine

I logged in to my Mac with the account I wanted to be protected with the Yubico YubiKeys.

I ran the following command in terminal

I double checked that my Yubico key(s) were set up for challenge response (above).

I inserted my Uubico key and ran this command

Feel free to read the “ykpamcfg” manual here. The yubico-pam source code is located here.

Output:

Screenshot of the output of ykpamcfg -2

The contents of “/Users/simon/.yubico/challenge-#######” looked like (I replaced 232 random chars with #’s below). The filename ended with my keys serial number.

v2:########################################################################################################################################################################################################################################:10000:2

Next, I was supposed to copy the challenge output from ykpamcfg to /var/root/.yubico/challenge-[YUBIKEY SERIAL NUMBER] with this command..

But I had this error.

Weird as the source file existed?? macOS issues?

I Opened /Users/[USERNAME]/.yubico/challenge-[YUBIKEY SERIAL NUMBER] in the nano editor (sudo elevated process) and saved the file to /var/root/.yubico/challenge-[YUBIKEY SERIAL NUMBER].

I reopened my terminal and verified the contents of /var/root/.yubico/challenge-[YUBIKEY SERIAL NUMBER]. The file is now there.

Permissions on the file is “-rw——-“. Good.

I inserted my second backuP key and re-ran “ykpamcfg -2” and copied the file to “/Users/simon/.yubico”

I verified the file contents

Output

ls -al output of /var/root/.yubico/

Text Output:

> drwxr-xr-x 4 root wheel 128 9 Oct 09:50 .
> drwxr-x— 12 root wheel 384 9 Oct 09:39 ..
> -rw-r–r– 1 root wheel 244 9 Oct 09:50 challenge-#######
> -rw-r–r– 1 root wheel 244 9 Oct 09:42 challenge-#######

Snip from: https://www.yubico.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/yubico_YubiKeyMacLoginGuide_en.pdf

“Program at least two YubiKeys when implementing a requirement for authentication with a YubiKey on your Mac. If you configure only one YubiKey and something happens to the YubiKey, you must restore the Mac from a Time Machine backup that you created before editing the authorization file before you can log back in to your account. ”

Reading the guide regarding multiple accounts (setting up a Key for each login). I have 5 logins on my Mac but when this works I will disable the other accounts from logging in.

 

Enable the use of the Yubico key when the screensaver is deactivated on macOS

I opened a terminal and edited “/etc/pam.d/screensaver ” (I use the easier nano editor)

I added this line

auth[7 spaces]required[7 spaces]/usr/local/lib/security/pam_yubico.so mode=challenge-response

editing /etc/pam.d/screensaver added auth required /usr/local/lib/security/pam_yubico.so mode=challenge-response

I saved the file ( [CTRL+O], [CTRL+X] ) and exited nano.

I tested my screensaver and no extra protection was provided (the screensaver just exited).

I rebooted, still no change?

I reinstalled the PAM module.

Silly me, I needed to enable the password on the screensaver to then activate the /etc/pam.d/screensaver entries.

I enabled the screensaver passwordsEnable screensaver password in macOS

I am now prompted to enter my password and inset and tap my Yubico Key on screensaver exit (on both keys). Awesome.

Next, I need to enable this at macOS login.

 

Enable the use of the Yubico key at macOS Login

I edited /etc/pam.d/authorization file with nano in the terminal

I added the same line as was added to the file /etc/pam.d/screensaver

auth[7 spaces]required[7 spaces]/usr/local/lib/security/pam_yubico.so mode=challenge-response

/etc/pam.d/authorization

I saved the file ( [CTRL+O], [CTRL+X] ) and exited nano.

Now let’s log out and test this.

It’s working.

Excellent

 

Add Two Factor Authentication to 1Password

Here is a guide on using the Yubico YubiKey with 1Password. This directed me to https://support.1password.com/yubikey/

I downloaded the Yubico Authenticator app on macOS and installed it.

Authenticator app

After I inserted my primary Key I received a “No Credentials Found”message.

No Credentials Found

I logged into https://my.1password.com/signin and clicked My Profile.

I clicked More Actions then Turn On Two-Factor Authentication

Enable 1Password Two Factor Auth

I added the generated QR code details to the Android Authenticator and macOS Yubico Authenticator app. At first, I could not scan the QR code in macOS (was Mojave blocking this?), I manually entered the details (after confirming them from the Android app QR code scan).

Details:

  • Issuer: 1Password
  • Account Name: my.1password.com
  • Secret Key: ###################
  • Time: 30
  • Algorithm: SHA-1
  • Period: 30
  • Digits: 6

Add 2nd Factor Details

Now, 1Password web and the desktop app are asking for the 2-factor code (generated in the Yubico Authenticator app after I insert my YubioKey).

Nice

2 Factor Auth enabled on 1password

I logged off and I was not prompted for my Two Factor code?

Snip from: https://support.1password.com/two-factor-authentication/

“Your 1Password account is now protected by two-factor authentication. From now on, you’ll need to enter a six-digit authentication code from your authenticator app when you sign in to 1Password on a new device.”

I logged in to 1Password from Google Chrome on Android and indeed I was prompted for a two-factor auth code form the Yubico Authenticator app (with a KubiKey inserted).

2nd Factor prompted on new devices

 

Add Two Factor Authentication to Dropbox
I read https://www.yubico.com/works-with-yubikey/catalog/dropbox-personal/. Dropbox also has setup instructions here.

I logged into Dropbox and went to Settings then Security then clicked Add next to Security Keys

Dropbox 2 factor auth

I started the Wizard, entered my Dropbox password, then inserted my YubiKey.

Add YubiKey to Dropbox

Name the Key

Name the YubiKey

I added my Primary and Backup Key(s)

Added Two Keys

I logged out and back in and no Security Key prompt?

I am using Chrome and had cleared past browsers from the Dropbox list of web browsers at https://www.dropbox.com/account/security

I discovered that I need to set the primary authentication method to Use Mobile App (My Bad, it would be nice if Dropbox set this as default after I added the keys).

Set Primary Method of Two Factor Auth

I added the Dropbox QR code to the Yuboico Authenticator app

Add Dropbox Two Factor Auth to Authenticator

I was asked to enter a 6 digit code from my Yubico Authenticator app to verify the working link. I inserted my YubiKey into my machine to show the code.

Now Dropbox is configured 🙂

Dropbox is configured

Success

I now have to insert my primary key when logging into Dropbox

Dropbox now demands a YubiKey is inserted
I need to find a way to copy my Authenticator credentials to my Backup Key from my Primary key

Authenticator Credential not on both keys

 

Add Two Factor Authentication to Twitter

I read https://www.yubico.com/works-with-yubikey/catalog/twitter/ (Setup Instructions)

1) Login to Twitter

2) Open your Settings and Look For Security

Twitter Security

3) Click Start

Start Wizard

4) Enter Your Password

5) Accept and enter any SMS codes if you set up SMS Two Factor codes via SMS

6) Click “Review your login verification methods”

Review Login Methods

7) Click “Setup Key”

Setup Key

8) Insert Your YubiKey and follow the prompts to activate it.

Insert Key

9) Now the key will be requoted to log in to Twitter

Activated Key

 

Testing Two Factor Login to Twitter

I logged out of and back into Twitter but the SMS Two Factor Authentication method was still active?

SMS Two Factor Still Activated

I tried to disable the SMS method in Twitter but two factor was disabled altogether and the registered key was deleted. I re-added my key 🙁

I solved this by choosing “Choose a different verification method” when logging in then choosing “Use your security key“, Twitter then accessed my YubiKey and further login attempts used the key instead of SMS 🙂 I could use an Authenticator code but they YubiKey touch method is quicker.

Alternate Two Factor Options

Done

It would be nice if Twitter allowed multiple keys to be used to log in?

 

Add Two Factor Authentication to Google, Google cloud, Gsuite etc

I read https://www.yubico.com/works-with-yubikey/catalog/google-accounts (Instructions https://myaccount.google.com/).

Adding two Factor authentication details to Google was not easily accessible at Google so I Googled (lol) this https://support.yubico.com/support/solutions/articles/15000006418-using-your-yubikey-with-google

I loaded: https://myaccount.google.com/signinoptions/two-step-verification/enroll-welcome

I clicked Get Start

Add Two Factor to Google Get Started

I clicked Choose Another Option (not SMS Two factor)

Add Other Two Factor

Clicked Security Key

Add Security Key

As prompted I inserted my key and allowed access to it.

Insert Key

I named the Key

Name the key

I repeated the steps and added my 2nd key.

Add 2nd Key

Done

I logged out my https://myaccount.google.com and logged back in and I was prompted to insert my YubiKey

Insert YubiKey

Nice

I did try and login to my google GSuite account at https://admin.google.com but it did not prompt me to insert a key. I will do this next.

 

Add Two Factor Authentication to GSuite

I logged into the GSuite admin interface at https://admin.google.com/ I generated some backup codes in case I need them in the future.

I checked my main admin user account and I could see the 2 google security keys synced through from Google.

Check Securiy Keys

I then searched GSuite for “Two Factor” and loaded the “Enforcement” Page

I enabled “Turn On Enforcement Now”

I enabled “Only Security Keys”

I logged out and back into https://gsuite.google.com/ TWICE and no security key prompt.

Silly me: I forgot to click save at the bottom of the screen and it appears there is a 24-hour delay?

Don't forget to press save

Add Two Factor Authentication to GMail

This is already done (above), GSuite email takes up to 24 hours to become active, GMail is instant.

Gmail two factor auth working.

Add Two Factor Authentication to Google Analytics

I can’t see an option to turn Two Factor Auth on in Google Analytics 🙂

I did send feedback to the Google Analytics team.

Adsense Feedback

 

Add Two Factor Authentication to Google Adsense

I can’t see an option to turn Two Factor Auth on in Google Adsense either 🙂

I did send feedback to the Google AdSense team.

No AdSense 2FA

Add Two Factor Authentication to Github

I logged into Github, opened my Settings and clicked Security then Enable two-factor authentication

GitHub

Click Setup using an app save the recovery codes.

Open the Yubico Authenticator app (ensure you can see the QR Code in GitHub)

In the Yubico Authenticator, App click File then Scan QR Code

The GitHub details should be added to the Authenticator

Authenticator App

Two Factor via authenticator tokens is enabled and now I can see a Keys options,

Add Keys

I clicked Add next to security keys then Register New Device, I gave the key a name then clicked Add.

Add 2 Keys

I added both keys then I Logged out and back in and two factor was enabled by YubiKey 🙂

Two Factor Enabled

Add Two Factor Authentication to Debian servers in the cloud (SSH)

Read Setup two-factor authenticator protection at login on Ubuntu or Debian

 

Add Two Factor Authentication to Ubuntu servers in the cloud (SSH)

Read Setup two-factor authenticator protection at login on Ubuntu or Debian

 

YubiKey Support

There are loads of Yubico support articles here: https://support.1password.com/yubikey/

 

Yubico Developer Info

A GitHub repository of source code is located here: https://github.com/Yubico

Other developer related pages here

 

Securing WordPress

Read this guide on Securing WordPress with 2FA (YubiKey insertion or Authenticator app).

I found a good WordPress plugin to handle 2FA logn methods.

Set all desired 2FA login methods

I am prompted to insert my YubiKey after logging into WordPress.

Nice

 

Java Code to use the Yubico YubiKey in software (challenge mode)

todo: I will add this section soon.

Yubico has Java repository that contains a Java library with an accompanying demo server, as well as a JAAS module, to validate YubiKey OTP’s (One-Time Passwords).

https://developers.yubico.com/yubico-java-client/

 

PHP Code to use the Yubico YubiKey in software (challenge mode)

todo: I will add this section soon.

Yubico has PHP library ad source code but it has not been updated in 3 years. I cannot get this working on PHP 7.2.

https://github.com/Yubico/php-yubico

 

Using Yubico YubiKeys as 2fA with one-time Passwords.

The YubiKeys can be used to store and generate one time passwords.

Read more about 2fa here

Here is a good plugin to tell you what sites use 2fa as you browse: https://2fanotifier.org

I have used my YubuKeys to store dozens of 2fa One time password son sites

e.g Namecheap

Namecheap enable 2fa

I enabled 2fa OTP (over phone/SMS 2fa) at Namecheap

2fa enabled at namecheap

Recovery info and backup

Always setup, and obtain backup access codes (or set alternate two-factor login methods) to software and know how you can disable YubiKey 2FA logins if needed.

Read more on YubiKey data backup policy here.

 

Copy Yubico Authenticator credentials to my Backup Key from my Primary Key

My Primary and Secondary YubiKeys have different Authenticator credentials (I need to sync them)

Authenticator Credential not on both keys

Set a YubKey Password (Yubico Authenticator App)

You can set a YubiKey Password so limit access to Two Factor Linked Accounts in the Yubico Authenticator. Nice.

      1. Open the Yubico Authenticator App
      2. Insert your YubiKey
      3. Open the File then Set Password Menu
      4. Click Set Password

Now when you insert the YubiKey you will be prompted for a password Before Two Factor tokens are displayed.

Set Yubico Password

Find a YubiKey Device Quiz

Use this quiz to find the right YubiKey for you: https://www.yubico.com/quiz/

 

Final Warning

Do not attempt to activate Two Factor Authentication on a system unless you…

  • A) Have backups of your data
  • B) Have backup methods of getting into your account(s)

Murphy’s Law: “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong”

You never know when a Two Factor Authentication Key may die or an Authenticator app or a Mac/PC may stop working so always have a backup method just in case.

 

Issue(s)

Thunderbird email on Google Chrome (accessing GSuite) is not accepting the key.

It is prompting…

Thunderbird prompting for the key

But it is not recognising the key (no matter how many times I insert or press the key)?

Key not detecting in Thunderbird

It appears Thunderbird 52 may not support keys yet, May have to wait until release 60.

I installed Thunderbird 63 (BETA) from https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/channel/

Installed Thunderbird 63 BETA

After I installed Thunderbird it asked for my Security Key, accepted it and asked for further permissions.

Thunderbord a63 beta asking for permissions

I can now read my email in Thunderbird with my YubiKey

 

Links

YubiCo Device Comparison Chart: https://www.yubico.com/products/yubikey-hardware/compare-yubikeys/

Email Subscription form YubiCo: https://pages.yubico.com/email_subscription.html

 

Conclusion

Thunderbird issues (solved by installing a BETA).

Not all apps have the same method (some have Authenticator App only) and some have YubiKey Insert/Touch, some allow one key or multiple keys.

The only issue is my Huawei Mate 9 phone is a little flakey at reading NFC (fixed: I just have to tap for 5 seconds)

I have attached the YubiKeys to a dog chain’s and they live around my neck.

dog_clains

Version History

v1.1 Added authenticator/Namecheap 2fa info.
v1.0.1 YubiKey Backup Policy and comparison chart
v1.0.0 WordPress
v0.8.1 authenticator apps
v0.8.0 Draft: Debian/Ubuntu and many other changes
v0.7.0.1 Draft: Issue – Thunderbird Issue Solved
v0.7.0 Draft: Issue – Thunderbird Issue
v0.6.9 Draft: Protected GitHub
v0.6.9 Draft: Unable to Protect Google AdSense and Analytics
v0.6.8 Draft: Protected Google Gmail (https://gmail.com)
v0.6.7 Draft: Protected Google GSuite (https://gsuite.google.com/ and https://admin.google.com/)
v0.6.6 Draft: Protected Google (https://myaccount.google.com/)
v0.6.5 Draft: Protected Twitter
v0.6 Draft: Set a YubKey Password (Yubico Authenticator App)
v0.5 Draft: Sync Authenticator credentials?
v0.4 Draft: Protected Dropbox
v0.3 Draft: Protected 1Password
v0.2 Draft: Protected macOS Login
v0.1 Draft: Protected macOS Screensaver