Keychain keeps a strange password for Yahoo messenger

esensen · #1 December 16th, 2008, 02:56 PM

I forgot my Yahoo password and necessary information. I can't retrieve it from keychain because it's quite different than a possible password, it is
AES4E0lWboibr6QYv6QtbQo1AaZGd7jSSWjqsHb1mQ4Bk
Does any one know how can I get my real password out this junk?
Other passwords in the keychain are normal.

g/re/p · #2 December 16th, 2008, 03:12 PM

It looks like the password is encrypted - i just checked mine and it shows a similar password string.

From past experience, Yahoo Mail passwords are essentially impossible to retrieve if you do not remember the data you submitted when you signed up.

You can go to the Yahoo site and use the "forgot user name or password" feature, which will ask for the birthdate and password reset question you submitted
when you created the account.

esensen · #3 December 17th, 2008, 10:00 PM

Thanks. I guess I need a new email address then

**Giaguara** · #4 December 18th, 2008, 01:20 AM

Login to yahoo from their website, maybe you have better luck. Or at least you should have some password reminder, or your security question that hopefully you know the answer to.

esensen · #5 December 18th, 2008, 03:00 AM

Unfortunately, Yahoo doesn't ask me my secret question anymore (don't know why). It just wants my birthday (probably I thought it is not secure to give them my actual birthdate long time ago) and address.
I keep forgetting my password and I was able to get it before with my secret question.

esensen · #6 December 22nd, 2008, 04:30 AM

I sent an email to Yahoo and they reset my password after telling them the answer of my secret question. I'm really happy, thanks for replies.

**Giaguara** · #7 December 22nd, 2008, 07:57 AM

Glad it's solved

there is nothing wrong with having a made up birth date (as it is kind of safer too..) but it would usually be helpful to keep some kind of track of the fake personal details then.
You could use e.g. the safe notes feature in Keychain... /Applications/Utilities > Keychain.. adding all the details you need in a safe note (and keeping a backup of it).

g/re/p · #8 December 23rd, 2008, 10:19 AM

Once when i was really bored, i tried to see how many separate yahoo email accounts i could successfully create without getting some kind of error message.

I created 20 of them before i got frustrated and stopped, and i had to log in to all of them periodically to keep them from being locked from non-use.

I eventually got tired of keeping up with them and ditched them all !