Suppose that you are away from your home or work, and some issue happens suddenly with your server, or you want to test something on your server right now. You can use your blackberry device to reach your server from anywhere.

SSH is the most common remote administration protocol. That is used to reach the command prompt, and also some graphic applications in Linux exporting X. MidpSSH enable you to use the linux bash / command prompt from your mobile device. This program have SSHv1 and SSHv2 options, and also have SSH-DSS public key authentication.

From SSH we can do anything in Linux: you can restart services, develop applications, reboot the computer, install new programs, change configurations, whatever you want.

My configuration:

Telephone model: Blackberry Smartphone 8310 Linux version: Fedora 11 SSH version: 2 MidpSSH version: 1.7.3 Telephony provider: Movistar Venezuela

First, you need to install the barry applications, this application enable you to load/upload bb applications into your blackberry from linux. This is driven by bjavaloader…

On Fedora Linux the install is easy, we need to write as root: “yum -y install barry”:

# yum -y install barry Loaded plugins: downloadonly, fastestmirror, presto Loading mirror speeds from cached hostfile ^C^Cupdates/metalink | 13 kB 00:00 ^C Exiting on user cancel [root@salomon ~]# yum -y install barry Loaded plugins: downloadonly, fastestmirror, presto Loading mirror speeds from cached hostfile updates/metalink | 13 kB 00:00 * fedora: mirrors.ucr.ac.cr * rpmfusion-free: mirror.liberty.edu * rpmfusion-free-updates: mirror.liberty.edu * rpmfusion-nonfree: mirror.liberty.edu * rpmfusion-nonfree-updates: mirror.liberty.edu * updates: fedora.mirrors.tds.net adobe-linux-i386 | 951 B 00:00 google | 951 B 00:00 rpmfusion-free-updates | 3.8 kB 00:00 rpmfusion-nonfree-updates | 3.8 kB 00:00 Setting up Install Process Resolving Dependencies –> Running transaction check —> Package barry.i586 0:0.15-0.7.20090630git.fc11 set to be updated –> Processing Dependency: libbarry.so.0 for package: barry-0.15-0.7.20090630git.fc11.i586 –> Processing Dependency: libglademm-2.4.so.1 for package: barry-0.15-0.7.20090630git.fc11.i586 –> Running transaction check —> Package barry-libs.i586 0:0.15-0.7.20090630git.fc11 set to be updated —> Package libglademm24.i586 0:2.6.7-2.fc11 set to be updated –> Finished Dependency Resolution Dependencies Resolved ========================================================== Package Arch Version Repository Size ========================================================== Installing: barry i586 0.15-0.7.20090630git.fc11 updates 393 k Installing for dependencies: barry-libs i586 0.15-0.7.20090630git.fc11 updates 246 k libglademm24 i586 2.6.7-2.fc11 fedora 39 k Transaction Summary ========================================================== Install 3 Package(s) Update 0 Package(s) Remove 0 Package(s) Total download size: 678 k Downloading Packages: Setting up and reading Presto delta metadata Processing delta metadata Package(s) data still to download: 678 k (1/3): barry-0.15-0.7.20090630git. | 393 kB 00:03 (2/3): barry-libs-0.15-0.7.2009063 | 246 kB 00:02 (3/3): libglademm24-2.6.7-2.fc11.i | 39 kB 00:00 ———————————————————- Total 98 kB/s | 678 kB 00:06 Running rpm_check_debug Running Transaction Test Finished Transaction Test Transaction Test Succeeded Running Transaction Installing : libglademm24-2.6.7-2.fc11.i586 1/3 Installing : barry-libs-0.15-0.7.20090630git. 2/3 Installing : barry-0.15-0.7.20090630git.fc11. 3/3 Installed: barry.i586 0:0.15-0.7.20090630git.fc11 Dependency Installed: barry-libs.i586 0:0.15-0.7.20090630git.fc11 libglademm24.i586 0:2.6.7-2.fc11 Complete!

Next, we must download the SSH client: midpssh 1.7.3 for blackberry, OS 4.x

# wget http://www.xk72.com/midpssh/v1.7.3/midpssh2.cod

Connect the cellphone to the computer, remember unlock the password, and setup the data mode, not the massive storage mode. and next, as root, execute this command (if handheld password is set):

# bjavaloader -Pyourpass load midpssh2.cod

handheld password not set command:

# bjavaloader load midpssh2.cod

The blackberry is about to restart with the ssh application installed.

Remember establish the APN on TCP settings in order to establish TCPIP connections. You could set this on:

options -> advanced options -> TCPfor movistar venezuela, the APN is: internet.movistar.ve but vary across telephony providers. Use google to find your proper APN.

Next, you are ready to use SSH on your blackberry, we prefer to activate the SSH security options before start any connection. This will slow down your SSH connection but, make sense on security.

how?

1. Start the SSH icon on your blackberry desktop.
2. Enter in Settings
3. Enter in SSH
4. Configure SSH2, Public Key On, Store Session Key On, and key strength 1024bit (the best available)

After this, you can start any SSH session without troubles just starting the SSH icon, Sessions, (press blackberry button), select new on the menu, and configure the settings as follow (replace by your connections settings):

Next, return to the previous menu, and select the connection “My computer” and connect. Then the handheld device will ask you if you want to allow midpssh to access to a low level network connection: YES

This will connect you as follow:

To type characters on the console, click on blackberry icon, and next press “type” under input.

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If you want to logon with public key authentication, midpssh also allow this possibility, you can add your indentification to .ssh/authorized_hosts pasting it from your blackberry ssh session… The only thing that you need to do that is to edit the file and paste the key using the blackberry key -> special -> output -> public key

The negotiation will be SSH-DSS