Public Key Authentication question

Most of my sites are hosted by DreamHost, which defaults users to SFTP. SSH is also available. Over the past few weeks, I am often locked out of the system for a period of time after uploading files. DreamHost support told me I’m blocked for failed SSH login attempts.

So, my question is: do I need to generate a private and public key and, if so, is there anything special I need to do? Just enter ssh-keygen in Terminal and follow the prompts…then point Rw to the generated key and then put my chosen password in the Passphrase field?

Hi Dave Did you get an answer for this? My hosting server has just started to enforce sFTP rather than FTP and I am a bit lost.

Hi Alison,

No, I never did. But, the issue resolved itself when I moved from shared hosting to my own managed VPS with them. The price difference per year was negligible, and it’s still a fully managed server. If your host offers a similar plan, and the cost isn’t prohibitive, I’d recommend moving to a VPS.

An alternative might be to join one of @joeworkman’s weekly hangouts. I’m sure he would know the answer and could walk you through it.

All the best, Dave