Now that we’ve covered the differences between password and public key authentication, let’s move on to the SSH login process. If you are using another server provider, we recommend taking a look at the relevant documentation on how to upload SSH keys to the server. Kinsta users can upload SSH public keys in the MyKinsta dashboard. During the SSH login process, the cryptographic link between the two keys is verified to authenticate the user.

The public key is uploaded to the server, while the private key is stored locally on your computer. The public key authentication method requires you to generate a key pair – public key and private key. Public key authentication is widely regarded as a more secure alternative to password authentication. The password authentication method uses a plain text password. When logging in to your server with SSH, there are two authentication methods – password and public key authentication. You may be wondering why the password is optional. To do this, you’ll need an SSH client like the built-in Terminal app in macOS and Linux or the free PuTTY client on Windows, and the SSH login details – IP address, username, password (optional), and port. The first step is to log in to your server with SSH.

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