what exactly is the "keychain"?

N

New2Mac06

Registered
Hey guys,

Often ive seen this term "Keychain" in the Mac OS. I was just wondering was exactly does the OS Refer to as the "keychain."

For example, when i installed Remote Desktop, it stated:

"RD saves client passwords by encrypting them with a RD password that you may keep in your keychain or enter each time you open the application"

What the hell does that mean!?!?

Compare to a windows OS and i may understand! :)
 
In a nutshell, the Keychain stores passwords. Such as login/ passwords to certain websites, servers, etc. Most anything you need a password to access (accept for administrator access) can be stored in the Keychain.

Thus your life is made a little easier by saving you the trouble of typing a login/pass over and over again. And it does all this in a very secure and encrypted way.

For example, in Remote Desktop, you can store admin names and passwords to a number of different client computers in the Keychain (done automatically with your permission), so you don't have to retype them every time you log in.

(so far as i know, there isn't anything built in Windows that offers this service)
 
Ra3ndy's summed that up pretty well. But just to add to that:
- You can manage keychains through /Applications/Utilities/Keychain Access.
- You can keep multiple keychains and lock and unlock them separately.
- There is a keychain menu item, which appears up near the clock, volume, airport signal, etc on the top right of the screen. This makes it relatively easy to lock and unlock keychains. You can turn this on in Keychain Access' preferences.
- You can also use Keychain as a spot to store secure notes, such as server addresses, financial details, and so on.
- Most Mac-only apps that need to use passwords (eg: Instant Messenger clients, FTP clients, and so on) use Keychains automatically. This means you don't have to remember passwords for all of these things, only the password for the keychain.
 
hi.. Sorry.. i need help.. now i'm using G5 wf OS 10.4.3, My Keychain currupted, after i change my password.

I tried so many times to tick the "remember password" when i login wf my new password to the same server(W2k server) and it still wont save my password. Any ideas what going wrong wf my keychain??

Even i can't direct drag the server icon into my keychain application list.

Can explain how to fix the Keychain problem/error, and what/how is the best way to store our password into keychian.

Million Thanks & regards.
 
open keychain access (in the utilities folder inside the applications folder) and manually delete the key with the old password.
not elegant, but it should allow you to save the new key. Afterward, be careful when you answer keychain dialogs.
 
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