https://blog.margrop.net/en/tag/key-authentication/ Recent content in Key Authentication on Margrop Blog Hugo -- gohugo.io en-US Wed, 13 May 2026 08:10:00 +0800 https://blog.margrop.net/en/post/agent-ssh-windows-openssh/ Wed, 13 May 2026 08:10:00 +0800 https://blog.margrop.net/en/post/agent-ssh-windows-openssh/ <blockquote> <p><strong>The short version</strong></p> <p>An AI agent does not need Remote Desktop, VNC, or a proprietary remote-control tool to operate a Windows machine. For many workstations, lab machines, development PCs, and internal servers, the cleanest path is to enable the built-in <strong>OpenSSH Server</strong> on Windows and connect from Linux or macOS with a normal command: <code>ssh &lt;user&gt;@&lt;windows-host&gt;</code>.</p> <p>There are only three things to get right. First, install and enable OpenSSH Server on Windows 10 or Windows 11. Second, generate an SSH key on Linux or macOS and place the public key on Windows. Third, if the target account belongs to the Windows Administrators group, put the public key in <code>C:\ProgramData\ssh\administrators_authorized_keys</code> and lock down the ACL with <code>icacls</code>. After that, an AI agent can run PowerShell, copy scripts, collect logs, install tools, and perform repeatable maintenance through the same SSH workflow it already uses for Linux.</p> </blockquote> <p>All hostnames, addresses, usernames, screenshots, and commands in this article use generic placeholders. No real internal addresses, usernames, machine names, tokens, keys, or private paths are included. Replace placeholders such as <code>&lt;user&gt;</code>, <code>&lt;windows-host&gt;</code>, and <code>&lt;windows-ip&gt;</code> with values from your own environment.</p>