prowat

Q: Safari wants to use the “prowat” keychain

I keep getting this message and would like to stop it.

I have no need for a "keychain", I do not want my passwords saved in a keychain.

How can  I stop this message. It always pops up twice in succession.

MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2012), OS X El Capitan (10.11.3)

Posted on Feb 28, 2016 2:42 PM

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Q: Safari wants to use the “prowat” keychain

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Kappy,Solvedanswer

    Kappy Kappy Feb 28, 2016 3:40 PM in response to prowat
    Level 10 (270,952 points)
    Desktops
    Feb 28, 2016 3:40 PM in response to prowat

    Your keychain is something used by OS X whether you want it or not. It's where your login password is kept and any other passwords you use. Safari saves any passwords  you use online in your keychain. Next time the dialog appears click on OK, then it won't pop up again.

  • by prowat,

    prowat prowat Feb 29, 2016 10:16 AM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Mac OS X
    Feb 29, 2016 10:16 AM in response to Kappy

    I appreciate your answer.

     

    However, I have never used a keychain and have never set a keychain password. I entered my login password but it was not accepted.

     

    What can I do now??  (do a google search for defining a keychain pw)

  • by Kappy,Helpful

    Kappy Kappy Feb 29, 2016 2:10 PM in response to prowat
    Level 10 (270,952 points)
    Desktops
    Feb 29, 2016 2:10 PM in response to prowat

    The day you first started your new Mac you created a keychain. You also created your admin user account to which you assigned a password. You should have a keychain file in your /Home/Library/ folder and another in your /Library/ folder in the root directory.

     

    Exposing the /Home/Library/ Folder

     

    Pick one of the following methods:

     

    A. This method will make the folder visible permanently. Open the Terminal application in your Utilities folder and paste the following at the command prompt:

     

    chflags nohidden ~/Library

     

    Press RETURN.

     

    B. Click on the Desktop, press the OPTION (⌥) button, select Library from the Finder's Go menu.

     

    C. Select Go To Folder from the Finder's Go menu. Paste the following in the path field:

     

    ~/Library

     

    Press the Go button.

     

    Access to the keychain is also done using Keychain Access that you will find in your Utilities folder.

     

    Normally, the password for the keychain is your admin login password for your user account. Once you login and that password is provided your keychain is unlocked for system usage.

     

    My advice is not to fool around with the keychain or any of its files until you get fully acquainted with keychains and Keychain Access. Also, Keychain Access in El Capitan is quite different from previous versions.

  • by prowat,

    prowat prowat Feb 29, 2016 2:34 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Mac OS X
    Feb 29, 2016 2:34 PM in response to Kappy

    So I found my way to my account keychains folder, but have not done anything. I notice they all have write permission.

    Several "login" keychains of differing ages but only one "prowat" keychain (my account name).

     

    How can I set a new p/w for the "prowat" keychain?

     

    I wish I hadn't touched anything as I handled the frequent (annoying) keychain requests OK.

    Now my email has stopped working, for unknown reasons, but presumably linked tp the keychains, assuming Apple's Mail program uses a keychain?

     

    Meantime I'll go to my other office and check if my email works from an iPad or iPhone.

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Feb 29, 2016 2:44 PM in response to prowat
    Level 10 (270,952 points)
    Desktops
    Feb 29, 2016 2:44 PM in response to prowat

    What may be better is that you login to your "prowat" user account, then you can change the password for it which also should reset the password in your keychain: Change or reset a user account password on your Mac and OS X- Keychain Access asks for keychain "login" after changing login password - Apple Support.

     

    Forgot Your Account Password

     

    For Lion, Mountain Lion, or Mavericks

     

        Boot to the Recovery HD:

     

    Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears.

     

         When the menubar appears select Terminal from the Utilities menu.

         Enter resetpassword at the prompt and press RETURN. Follow

         instructions in the dialog window that will appear.

     

         Or see:

     

           Reset a Mac OS X 10.7 Lion Password

           OS X Mountain Lion- Reset a login password,

           OS X Mavericks- Solve password problems,

           OS X Lion- Apple ID can be used to reset your user account password.

     

    For Snow Leopard and earlier with installer DVD

     

         Mac OS X 10.6- If you forget your administrator password,

         OS X- Changing or resetting an account password (Snow Leopard and earlier).

     

    For Snow Leopard and earlier without installer DVD

     

        How to reset your Mac OS X password without an installer disc | MacYourself

        Reset OS X Password Without an OS X CD — Tech News and Analysis

        How To Create A New Administrator Account - Hack Mac

  • by prowat,

    prowat prowat Mar 17, 2016 4:18 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 17, 2016 4:18 PM in response to Kappy

    So I found my way to my account keychains folder, but have not done anything. I notice they all have write permission.

    Several "login" keychains of differing ages but only one "prowat" keychain (my account name).

     

    How can I set a new p/w for the "prowat" keychain?

     

    I wish I hadn't touched anything as I handled the frequent (annoying) keychain requests OK.

    Now my email has stopped working, for unknown reasons, but presumably linked tp the keychains, assuming Apple's Mail program uses a keychain?

     

    Meantime I'll go to my other office and check if my email works from an iPad or iPhone.

  • by prowat,

    prowat prowat Mar 17, 2016 4:22 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 17, 2016 4:22 PM in response to Kappy

    I sortof had keychains fixed but finally an Apple store guy fixed my keychains by an incredibly simple action:

    In Keychain Access, drag ALL my keychains into the Trash! 

     

    So the next time I rebooted, my keychains were re-initialized.

     

    Thanks for your response.