SSH on FreeBSD 8.1 sshd is not running

sshtelnetunix

After reading many pages of documentation and articles on how to telnet or SSH into FreeBSD as root, none have given me a solution that actually works. I am looking for a how-to-remote-into this FreeBSD in less than 10 easy steps.

Current state

  • I am running Windows7 on host machine, subnet 192.168.1.0 255.255.255.0
  • can ping the FreeBSD 8.1 host (running on WMWare) at 192.168.1.145.
  • edited /etc/inetd.conf, /etc/rc.conf. sshd_enable="YES"
  • any attempt to telnet via PutTy to 192.168.1.145 return "connection refused"
  • /etc/rc.d/sshd status returns sshd is not runnin0. what needs to be done to run it?

At the moment I'll take whichever method is easier secure or not. No RTFM answers please.

Best Answer

  1. Undo whatever you did to inetd.conf.
  2. Edit /etc/ssh/sshd_config, add PermitRootLogin yes
  3. run /etc/rc.d/sshd start

Telnet doesn't work on ssh. You have to connect via ssh in PuTTY.

If you have a firewall up, you'll need to punch a hole.

Security Note: #2 is a really terrible idea. You should either:

  • add your user to the wheel group so they can su to root (pw groupmod -n wheel -m your-user)
  • install sudo (easiest is pkg_add -r sudo).
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