By richard147
When I try to log in as root through PuTTY, I receive the above error. I try to login with my non-root admin user. Trying to access /var/log/auth.log gives me a “Permission denied” prompt. I do not know what’s happening or where to proceed.
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This question was answered by @SphericalCow:
usually, i have found a couple of reasons that may break ssh connectivity using keys:
the permissions on the private key (usually
~/.ssh/id_rsa) on your laptop or desktop may be too open. It should be no more than maybe 600chmod 600 ~/.ssh/id_rsaalso, it could also be that the public key on the server’s
~/.ssh/authorized_keysfile may have line breaks in the middle of the public where there shouldn’t be any. In the “vi” editor,:set listshould display the hidden line breaks.
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