SSH shell directory security

Hi, I've made an SSH shell account and backup some files to my home directory. I did click on the 'security' option when creating the account which mentioned that it correctly sets the permissions to help secure the directory from others.

I'm just wondering how secure this is and if there's anything else i need to do... (i.e. should i encrypt the files there just to be safe), or is the directory pretty secure as it is?

"secure" is a relative term, so it's really hard to give you a definitive answer for that.

That said, I feel that the "security" option does a good job of "protecting" your data from other users on the server, and from the public.

As for "anything else you need to do", I think that all depends on the nature of your data/files. The directory *is* pretty secure as it is, but this *is* someone else's server (DreamHost's), so you need to recognize that system backups will contain your files, and all files on the server are accessible by the root user (DH Admin). Therefore, if your data privacy is critical, you should either not put it on the server at all, or encrypt it.

--rlparker

Thanks for the quick reply, I just keep some critical files from my home computer here in case I get robbed or the house burns down. I have a mac so I use an encrypted disk image that is copied to the ssh account. I guess I was more concerned about the directory permissions, but I guess the "security" option when creating the shell account takes care of that.

It certainly does. Mac OS X uses 128 bit AES encryption (10.5 will use 256 bit encryption). I trust DreamHost, but I would definitely use encryption for sensitive data. Just remember that should not use the same password on the disk image that you're using on your DreamHost accounts for even better security.