Can I use a PuTTY Private Key with Open SSH on Linux

From: Grant W Quinlan (Security_at_UncommonDenominator.org)
Date: 03/07/05 

Date: Sun, 06 Mar 2005 21:00:23 -0800

Summary: No problems moving public key around on Unix, Linux, WinXP, and
Win98 machines. No problems moving private key between Windows machines.
BIG PROBLEM moving private key generated on WinXP to Linux.

Details: I used the PuTTY package on Windows to generate a
private/public RSA2 key pair on Win XP (with a passphrase). I installed
the public key on two Linux servers (RedHat) and copied the private key
(using my USB Flash Drive) to three different Win XP machines. Some
minor modifications of the PuTTY public key to match the format of the
keys on the Linux machines was required, but this is all working great.

For the sake of tracking users making connections and overall simplicity
I would now like to also use my PuTTY private key to connect from my
Linux desktop at home (SuSE 8.1). This is not working. The Open SSH
private keys have 13 lines of data, all contained between two simple
header lines. The PuTTY private key also has 13 lines of data, but
broken up into 3 sections each with it's own header comment. Obviously
the filename extension needs to be dropped for the file to be read. I've
tried many modifications of this private key file, and several get me to
the pass phrase prompt, but I cannot get any farther.

Has anyone done this before? Any hints or ideas?

              Thanks,
                 Grant W. Quinlan
                 Security@UncommonDenominator.org

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  • Can I use a PuTTY Private Key with Open SSH on Linux
    ... No problems moving private key between Windows machines. ... BIG PROBLEM moving private key generated on WinXP to Linux. ... the public key on two Linux servers and copied the private key ...
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  • Can I use a PuTTY Private Key with Open SSH on Linux
    ... No problems moving private key between Windows machines. ... BIG PROBLEM moving private key generated on WinXP to Linux. ... the public key on two Linux servers and copied the private key ...
    (comp.security.ssh)