All about Linux: How to setup SSH keys and why

Here's a good refresher on the merits of creating and using SSH keys to keep your password safe. SSH keys don't use your password because they instead rely on an additional passphrase of your choosing. Without access to the correct keyfile, just knowing the passphrase is pretty much useless to an attacker.

One could also create a key pair that uses an empty passphrase for automated secure remote access. But that would just be silly.