# Access EC2 Linux box over ssh without .pem file

URL: https://sohaib.com/blog/access-ec2-linux-box-over-ssh-without-pem-file
Author: Sohaib Khan
Published: Feb 1, 2018
Updated: Sep 8, 2026
Category: Cloud & Infrastructure

> 1. Login to your EC2 instance using your .pem file ssh -i yourpemfile.pem ubuntu@ec2-.compute-1.amazonaws.com 2. Create a new user that will access the instance using a password: $ sudo useradd -s /bin/bash -m -d…

1\. Login to your EC2 instance using your `.pem` file

```
ssh -i your_pem_file.pem ubuntu@ec2-________.compute-1.amazonaws.com
```

2\. Create a new user that will access the instance using a password:

```
$ sudo useradd -s /bin/bash -m -d /home/USERNAME  -g root USERNAME
```

where:

-   `-s /bin/bash` : use `/bin/bash` as the standard shell
-   `-m -d /home/USERNAME` : create a home directory at `/home/USERNAME`
-   `-g root` : add to group `root`
-   `USERNAME` : the username of the new user

3\. Create a _strong_ password for the new user:

```
$ sudo passwd USERNAME
Enter new UNIX password:
Retype new UNIX password:
```

4\. Add user to sudoers file by using `sudo visudo` and add the following line:

```
USERNAME  ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL
```

5\. Enable password authentication by editing `/etc/ssh/sshd_config`: change `PasswordAuthentication no`to `PasswordAuthentication yes` 6. Restart ssh:

```
sudo /etc/init.d/ssh restart
```

Logout of your instance (`exit`) and try your new login without the `.pem` file:

```
$ ssh USERNAME@ec2-________.compute-1.amazonaws.com
USERNAME@ec2-________.compute-1.amazonaws.com's password:
```