So, it *seems* to be working, pretty much. I needed to install opensc, openct pcsc-lite, pcsc-lite-openct, and ctapi-common will be installed as a dependency.
I *removed* coolkey and esc, which depended on it. 100% of the time, they misidentifed the new/current US federal ID PIV-II cards as coolkey cards, and popped up this "phone home" window, then a "manage smartcards" window.
Without them, I also don't see an icon in the taskbar... but using ssh-add (actually, my manager built openssh, opensc and openct from current source, 5.4? 5.5?, and renamed stuff to piv-....), so I do piv-ssh-add -s opensc-pkcs11.so, and it adds the card. Before you do that... configure /etc/pam_pkcs11/pam_pkcs11.conf so that # Filename of the PKCS #11 module. The default value is "default" use_pkcs11_module = opensc; and you may have to decide on a mapper. Then restart pcscd, and you should be good to go.
At any rate, no wrong/confusing windows, and logins work. I do note that if I try to use my regular password, I need to pull my card out of the reader.
On a related note, from WinDoze, there's a version of putty that works http://www.risacher.org/putty-cac/putty-cac-experimental/windows/?C=N;O=D. Once installed, when you bring up the putty window, click on expand ssh, then click on pkcs. The one thing needed is the right dll, which, if you're running a 64 bit system, and using, say, ActivIdentity, c:\Program Files (x86)\ActivIdentity\ActivClient\acpkcs211.dll
MAKE SURE you get the right .dll; if you're running 32 bit, it will be the other one.
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