ssh security

[Bart Silverstrim]

On Mar 18, 2005, at 6:23 AM, Dick Hoogendijk wrote:

> I log in from a remote windows computer on my school using PuTTY w/
> ssh2. What I'd like to know is how *safe* is the login from this 
> windows
> machine? I mean, can my login to my FreeBSD server at home be
> *monitored* by someone while I'm using this windows machine at work?
> Can the keystrokes that I use *in* PuTTY be seen by anybody on this
> windows network at work. If so, what can I do about it to be more safe?
>
> I would like to be able to login to my home computer without being
> worried about some sneaky system operator at work (school) ;-)

The SSH session, I believe, should be secure from sniffing (assuming 
you're using protocol 2).

If someone puts a keystroke logger on your windows machine, they will 
get the password.

If they put a hardware logger on your computer, they will get the data.

If they are watching over your shoulder just as you misstype your 
password as your username, you're probably in trouble.

If someone is viewing your Windows desktop using remote monitoring 
software (like a modified VNC), they'll see your session.

If putty is trojaned, you're in trouble.

If you're *really* paranoid about the connection, grab knoppix and use 
it's ssh client to log in remotely.