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Problem

For some reason, ubuntu intrepid's gnome setup uses an SSH agent that is incapable of forgetting passphrases. This is a fatal flaw.

It also has a strange bug that causes it to claim to have the use of a protected key, even if you have never given it your passphrase.

Fortunately, the "ssh-agent" program we've been using for years is still here, and it still works very well.

Solution

Add this to the end of your .bashrc file in your home directory.

if [ -n "$SSH_AUTH_SOCK" \
    -a "${SSH_AUTH_SOCK::13}" = "/tmp/keyring-" \
    -a ! -L "$SSH_AUTH_SOCK" ]
then
    OLD_AUTH_SOCK="$SSH_AUTH_SOCK"
    eval `ssh-agent`
    mv "$OLD_AUTH_SOCK" "$OLD_AUTH_SOCK"~
    ln -sfn "$SSH_AUTH_SOCK" "$OLD_AUTH_SOCK"
    SSH_AUTH_SOCK="$OLD_AUTH_SOCK"
fi

Everything in your gnome environment will now connect to your working ssh-agent instead of your broken gnome-keyring-daemon.

Add your key to ssh-agent so you don't have to type your passphrase every time the key is used:

ssh-add

Forget passphrases so your passphrase-protected keys can't be used while you're away from your computer:

ssh-add -d