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Mounting SSH drives in Gnome

One of my favorite features in Linux desktops is the ability to directly mount SSH drives without the need for 3rd party software.

This is a really simple and more secure way to transfer files to your web-host, office/school server or any other location to which you have SSH access.

The remote site looks and behaves exactly like any folder on your computer, so transferring files and editing remote documents becomes very easy — and secure.

This how-to only discusses how to mount SSH drives in Gnome, if you are using KDE check out this how-to instead.

Step 1:

Open Places>Connect to Server…

Step 2:

Select SSH in the Service type drop-down, enter info for the server and click Connect.

Step 3:

If this is the first time you connect to this SSH server with this computer you will get a security warning like the one below. Once sure of the identity of the server, click Log In Anyway.

Step 4:

To access the share you need to provide the password for your SSH account. If you are the only person using your computer and are comfortable with saving your password you can do so for easier access in the future.

Step 5:

If you select to save the password and haven’t set up your Gnome keyring, you must provide it with a password.

The Gnome keyring is a application that stores your passwords in a more secure manner, it requires you to enter a single password the first time you use it during a session and will after that provide you access to your stored passwords for different applications.

Step 6:

You should now see the contents of your remote computer and be able to open files normally and drag and drop files between the two locations.

That’s all there is to mounting a SSH location in Gnome. A shortcut to the newly created connection will be created on the desktop. Clicking it will open the remote site in Nautilus like a normal folder without asking you for the password if you stored the password in the keyring.

Now if only this was possible in OS X without expensive 3rd party applications..