Enter search queries below or use the tag links to the right to browse the knowledge base by category (Show All Tags).
Importing SSH keys from Ipswitch WS_FTP
SSH keys generated by Ipswitch WS_FTP are protected with a password which is itself encrypted by a proprietary encryption scheme. In order to successfully import the private key into Robo-FTP, it is necessary to obtain both the keys themselves and also the original, unencrypted password. The keys are stored in:
C:\Users\$USER_PROFILE\AppData\Roaming\Ipswitch\WS_FTP\SSH\ClientKeyStore\
The encrypted passwords for each key, as well as the the filenames of all private keys are stored in:
C:\Users\$USER_PROFILE\AppData\Roaming\Ipswitch\WS_FTP\SSH\ClientKeyStore\store.ini
The contents of an example store.ini file will appear like so:
[__CONFIG__]
Count=1
[____Item____0]
____ItemName____=MyKey1
PublicKey=C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Roaming\Ipswitch\WS_FTP\SSH\ClientKeyStore\PubXB5E.tmp
Pass=_uYIiwEW/JZFazUCvOd/TWbCmvzSdwu9aCmtFaVCSH51nomzGuvWAEAkti3EvnB+M0mTy6Z9CFma3nqAWO5IH1olwmyLYcJLoCOIUDLgd3/rA3LiiF4PUtT5saieLNBZZKHsJXOkzltW6/n4QhOJx/l345tmz079mEljhaN+2Dao=
PrivateKey=C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Roaming\Ipswitch\WS_FTP\SSH\ClientKeyStore\PriAC45.tmp
The following project can be used to decrypt these encrypted passwords: https://github.com/Ciastex/UniDec
For example, in order to decrypt an individual password from the Pass= line above, run the following command:
UniDec.exe wsftp12 dec "_uYIiwEW/JZFazUCvOd/TWbCmvzSdwu9aCmtFaVCSH51nomzGuvWAEAkti3EvnB+M0mTy6Z9CFma3nqAWO5IH1olwmyLYcJLoCOIUDLgd3/rA3LiiF4PUtT5saieLNBZZKHsJXOkzltW6/n4QhOJx/l345tmz079mEljhaN+2Dao="
The output to this command will be as follows: tgNEu9GS3zoj5aMqnzzLb7RuYxqyO8kaN0bVlndXXpTTT52DHcKdQIIYWAVN0ZIkPg3BpvTR2EstOGd+NOOf0Q== 0M0JDARAMFqcFpgfm76MAUSpWVurQfKNvKcRCg=
The first part (everything up to the first space) is the password for the "PriAC45.tmp" private SSH key, as identified in your store.ini. The remaining characters can be ignored. Now that you have obtained the password, this SSH key can now be directly imported into the Robo-FTP Configurator.
Article last updated: 2021-11-11
Tags: WS_FTP unidec ssh key import password decrypt