Apple is very fond of keeping things simple. Double click on an app and it just works – usually. Generally stuff is exactly where you’d expect it to be and do what you’d expect it to do.
But beneath the glitz and gooey glamor lies a metric ton of really odd and confusing folders, applications and settings files. These trolls are doing all the dirty work in the background for those flouncy devas, known to us as “applications”.
It is fair to say that these deformed and unlovable applications are best not double clicked on and the folders not explored. They are, just like I was a child, hidden for a good reason.
One such application is Keychain and while it is not exactly hidden, it really needs to be left untouched.
The Apple Keychain is designed to help you store and manage your passwords, credit card information, and other sensitive data but it does it using an interface that looks like I designed it. It is about as pretty as a basket full of kittens with conjunctivitis and as intuitive as a 747 service manual.
But that’s just fine because I don’t think this app was ever supposed to be used, except by the MacOS or a service tech who has lost the will to live.
When you tell Mail to remember your password it is stored in the Keychain so when you ask Mail to log into your account it looks at Keychain and logs you in. If it didn’t you’d have to enter the password every time… and who wants to do that?
But in recent years Apple has expanded the role of Keychain to offer login details for websites and this is why, when you click in the LOGIN field of the NAB bank, your user name appears along with your password. It is neat and it is another, more obvious, case of the MacOS accessing Keychain for your convenience. However this is still not a reason for you to actually locate and open Keychain. The danger is, with such a ropy interface, that if the user does start poking around they could potentially damage the data that it holds… and some of it is more important than your mail password.
Now, when you’re creating accounts online, it’s usually a good idea to create a new, unique password for each one. It can get troublesome to remember all these passwords and that’s where the Keychain comes in. It stores all your passwords and will even generate strong and secure passwords for you if needed and all you need is your login password to access them.
The Apple Keychain provides extra security for all the passwords, credit cards, and other information you store on your Mac. It encrypts all information and locks it behind a master password. That master password is unique to you, so nobody else can access your information without it.
So let’s see just want the sanitised, glammed up Keychain can do for you.
First and foremost, you can check out what logins have actually been saved for you.
- Open Safari and click on the Safari menu.
- Choose Preferences and click on the Passwords tab.
You’ll be prompted to type in your Mac password and once you have all the saved logins will be presented.
Now, one thing to note is that if the MacOS has detected your password has been hacked or used too many times, there will be am alert next to it.
You have any of these, it is a good idea to follow the instructions to fix whatever the issue might be.
But how, I am sure you are asking, How did these passwords get there in the first place?
Well, when you sign up to a website (like Coles on line) you’ll be asked for your name, address and so on and then asked to create a username and a password. Safari will help you with most of these tasks and even offer a unique password that is so complex no one could ever guess it. Then, when you sign up, Safari will ask if you’d like it to remember this username and password combo. If you say yes, the next time Safari detects you at this website and are getting ready to login, it will insert the username and password for you.
So, by all means, whether on your Mac or iPhone, feel free to use Keychain to store and create passwords but, for the love of Mike, don’t actually open up the Keychain app.
