---
title: "How to Disable Password Authorization in WHM"
description: "Do you allow users to connect to your server via SSH or SFTP? If they are using password authorization you may want to consider switching to SSH keys instead. With password authorization, users only..."
url: https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/whm/how-to-disable-password-authorization-in-whm/
date: 2019-05-29
modified: 2021-08-16
author: "InMotion Hosting Contributor"
categories: ["Security", "WebHost Manager (WHM)"]
type: post
lang: en
---

# How to Disable Password Authorization in WHM

Do you allow users to connect to your server via [SSH](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/server/ssh/easier-site-management-with-ssh/) or [SFTP](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/website/ftp/shared-sftp-setup/)? If they are using password authorization you may want to consider switching to SSH keys instead. With password authorization, users only need a username and password to connect to your server. This means hackers or bots can try combinations of popular usernames and password in attempts to gain access. If they eventually guess correctly, they will be allowed to connect to your server. But, if you require SSH keys to connect to your server, no one can connect unless they have a copy of the private key. In this tutorial, we will show you how to **disable password authorization** in WHM, so users will be required to log in with a private key.

**Did you know?** Not all hosting companies provide free access to WHM. InMotion does and it’s just one of the many features of our various [Dedicated Hosting](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/dedicated-servers).

## Disabling Password Authorization

1. [![](/support/images/stories/edu/whm/disable-password-authorization/root-login.png)](/support/images/stories/edu/whm/disable-password-authorization/root-login.png) [Log into WHM](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/whm/log-into-whm/) as the ‘[root](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/amp/obtain-root-access/)‘ user.
2. [![](/support/images/stories/edu/whm/disable-password-authorization/security-center.png)](/support/images/stories/edu/whm/disable-password-authorization/security-center.png) Click the **Security Center** option in the navigation menu.
3. [![](/support/images/stories/edu/whm/disable-password-authorization/ssh-password-auth-tweak.png)](/support/images/stories/edu/whm/disable-password-authorization/ssh-password-auth-tweak.png) Select the **SSH Password Authorization Tweak** button.
4. [![](/support/images/stories/edu/whm/disable-password-authorization/disable-password-auth.png)](/support/images/stories/edu/whm/disable-password-authorization/disable-password-auth.png) On the next page click the **Disable Password Auth** button. [![](/support/images/stories/edu/whm/disable-password-authorization/password-auth-disabled.png)](/support/images/stories/edu/whm/disable-password-authorization/password-auth-disabled.png) You are finished when you see message stating “*Password Auth has been disabled!*”

Congratulations, now you know how to disable password authorization in WHM!