Acronyms and Definitions

• MOTD = Message of the Day

• sudo vim /etc/issue.net Displays a message before the user begins login, I do not use this.
  • sudo vim /etc/ssh/sshd_config ensure the following option is set Banner /etc/issue.net (you can actually used any path/file)
  • sudo systemctl reload sshd needs to be performed after any change to the configuration file to activate the changes.
• sudo vim /etc/motd Displays the banner text after login. This usually has some predefined Linux distribution text
• ls -la /etc/update-motd.d/ to see the scripts that are run after the MOTD is displayed.

Some Links:

• https://www.simplified.guide/ssh/suppress-banner
• https://www.shellhacks.com/setup-warning-message-banner-ssh/
• https://www.tecmint.com/protect-ssh-logins-with-ssh-motd-banner-messages/