Synology Keygen: A Step-by-Step Guide to SSH Key Authentication

In this article, we will explore the process of generating a public and private key pair for Synology NAS using SSH key authentication. This method provides an additional layer of security by allowing you to access your NAS without using passwords.

### Generating Public and Private Keys

To generate a public and private key pair, you can use Puttygen on Windows or a terminal on Linux/MacOS. The publicKey will be stored in the Synology NAS's 'authorized keys' while the privateKey will be used to prove your identity as it corresponds to the publicKey.

### SSH Key Pair Generation

For security reasons, it is highly recommended to use a custom port other than standard 22. This will prevent brute force attempts from robots and attackers scanning public IPs against port 22, especially if you are exposing your Synology NAS to the internet.

### Prerequisites

Before starting, make sure you have enabled SSH on your Synology NAS by going to Control Panel -> Terminal & SNMP -> Terminal Tab and checking the Enable SSH Service box. You will also need to specify a custom port.

### Administrator Privileges

It is essential to have a user specified in the administrator group, as only administrators are allowed to login through SSH by default. This means you will not be able to use the root user with sudo su. Instead, you will work within the context of a specific user included in the Administrator group.

### Summary of Required Steps

To make SSH key authentication work with Synology NAS, you need to:

* Generate a public and private key pair

* Change permissions on various folders using chmod

* Restart the sshd service multiple times with sudo synoservicectl -reload sshd

* Modify the RSAAuthentication and PubkeyAuthentication parameters in /etc/ssh/sshd_config

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In this article, we have covered the basic steps required to set up SSH key authentication on Synology NAS. By following these simple steps, you can secure your NAS with an additional layer of protection against unauthorized access.

Synology keygen