Question : Problem: Scripting automated SFTP transfers from Windows to Linux using OpenSSH

I am having a problem automating SFTP transfers. I am wanting to schedule these transfers from Windows machines to a Linux server. I have installed OpenSSH on the Windows boxes and can successfully authenticate and make the transfers SFTP manually. The problem is getting the SSH key exchange to work so I don't have to enter a password.

I have generated the keys and added the public key to the authorized_keys file on the server. Then I got an error about the permissions on my id_rsa file (private key) being too open. I went in and removed all permissions from the file in Windows and the error went away. Now, when try to sftp the following hapens:

c:\users\user> sftp [email protected]
Connecting to domain.com...
Enter passphrase for key '../../../id_rsa':  
Password:

Despite the fact the key exchange seems to be working fine, it still asks for the password, preventing me from automating the authentication in a script. It seems I need to change a configuration on the windows side so authenticates automatically with the key exchange but I can't find where to do this. Can anyone help?

Thanks!

Answer : Problem: Scripting automated SFTP transfers from Windows to Linux using OpenSSH

I figured this out. It is a matter of turning StrictModes off in the sshd.conf file under the etc directory and restarting the service. Surprised this was so difficult!