Reflection Desktop Help & HowTo > Secure Connections > Secure Shell Connections > Public Key Authentication > Key Agent > Working with the Key Agent > Key Agent Passphrase

Key Agent Passphrase

You are prompted for a passphrase the first time you use the Key Agent. Use this phrase whenever you need to unlock the agent.

A passphrase is similar to a password, except it can be a phrase with a series of words, punctuation, numbers, white space, or any string of characters you want. Passphrases improve security by limiting access to secure objects, such as private keys and the Key Agent.

Good passphrases are 10-30 characters long, are not simple sentences or otherwise easily guessable, and contain a mix of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and non-alphanumeric characters. The passphrase is case-sensitive.

NOTE:

  • Use Change Passphrase to change your passphrase.

  • There is no way to recover a lost passphrase. If the passphrase is lost or forgotten, you can reset the Key Agent using the Reset button in the Change Passphrase dialog box. When you do this you lose all the keys stored in the agent.