Keychain password

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Level 1

71 points

Keychain password

I reset (changed) my daughter's user password while logged in as admin. Also made some changes in parental controls for her. When I went back in as her and launched Safari I was asked for my keychain password. Assuming it is the same as the admin login password I entered it. It was not accepted ... several times. I was able to sort of okay around it but I don't know exactly what didn't happen by not entering it, nor do I understand why it wasn't accepted. Did I assume correctly that the keychain and admin login passwords are one and the same?

iMac (27-inch, Late 2012), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)

Posted on Jan 30, 2013 4:32 PM

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Answer 1

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Barney-15E

Level 10

112,518 points

Jan 30, 2013 5:46 PM in response to Forcefour

When you change a login Password, it does not change the keychain password for security reasons. You must go into Keychain Access and change the password there, also. I believe it used to inform you of that.

If you've forgotten the Keychain Password, then you must create a new keychain and set it as the login keychain.

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Answer 2

Forcefour Author

Level 1

71 points

Jan 30, 2013 7:08 PM in response to Barney-15E

The login password I changed was for my daughter, a restricted account. I did so with my admin login. I did not change the admin login password and so nothing should have changed. When I went back and logged in as my daughter and then launched Safara (after also making some parental control changes) I was asked for my keychain password ... for whatever reason. I used my admin password (which has never been changed) and it was not accepted. Herein lies the issue.

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Answer 3

Barney-15E

Level 10

112,518 points

Jan 30, 2013 7:16 PM in response to Forcefour

Forcefour wrote:

The login password I changed was for my daughter, a restricted account.

I understand that. When you change a password for another account, it does not change that account's keychain password. You have to log into the account and change the password for the login keychain in Keychain Access.

I was asked for my keychain password ... for whatever reason.

There would have been no reason to ask for your password, so I don't imagine it was, despite what it looked like. There is a reason it would ask for her password; ie to unlock her keychain because it is no longer the same as the login password. If it really asked for your keychain password, I can't explain that as it should have no knowledge of your user name. If it was asking for any admin password, it would have left the username blank for you to fill in.

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Answer 4

Imp68

Level 4

2,672 points

Jan 30, 2013 7:20 PM in response to Forcefour

The password should be the one you changed in your daughter's account. Have you tried that?

Changing the account password from the preference pane should change the keychain one at the same time.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1631

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Answer 5

Barney-15E

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112,518 points

Jan 30, 2013 7:24 PM in response to Imp68

Imp68 wrote:

The password should be the one you changed in your daughter's account. Have you tried that?

Changing the account password from the preference pane should change the keychain one at the same time.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1631

It does not change the keychain password for security. If it did change, then anybody could change your login password (which is trivial to do) and have access to your secure passwords and login information.

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Answer 6

Imp68

Level 4

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Jan 30, 2013 7:28 PM in response to Barney-15E

Hmm maybe I misinterpreted what the article meant.

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Answer 7

Barney-15E

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Jan 30, 2013 7:28 PM in response to Forcefour

Is this the dialog that came up in Safari? It is what I got when I followed the steps you described:

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Answer 8

Forcefour Author

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Feb 2, 2013 4:07 PM in response to Imp68

I tried my admin password and her new password. I believe her old one may be the only one I didn't try.

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Answer 9

Forcefour Author

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Feb 2, 2013 4:21 PM in response to Barney-15E

The dialog was actually keychain asking the question. It looks like it was the old password it was looking for. Thanks all.

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Answer 10

Barney-15E

Level 10

112,518 points

Feb 2, 2013 4:51 PM in response to Forcefour

Yes, that is what I was trying to explain.

By default, the keychain has the same password as the login. You can change the keychain password independent of the login. If you change the login password not from within the particular user's login, the keychain will not be changed.

If you change the password as you did, you must change the keychain password to the same if you want it to auto-unlock the keychain on login. If you don't, whenever you attempt to use the keychain, it will ask for the password to unlock.

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Answer 11

Forcefour Author

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71 points

Feb 3, 2013 10:37 AM in response to Barney-15E

I understand. I am a new mac convert and so am getting used to keychain. Now that keychain asked (when I logged on as my daughter) and i plugged in the old password ... can I assume that keychain password has been updated or would I still need to do this manually.

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Answer 12

Barney-15E

Level 10

112,518 points

Feb 3, 2013 5:15 PM in response to Forcefour

You must open Keychain Access and change the password for her login keychain to the same as her account. That will allow the keychain to unlock automatically on login.

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Answer 13

Forcefour Author

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71 points

Feb 4, 2013 9:35 AM in response to Barney-15E

I went back to do this and it did not recognize the old password as being the old one. I tried several times and then I tried the new one and it accepted it. It seems that when I entered the old one previously in response to the question that maybe it made the change at that time. Is that possible? I haven't been asked for it since doing that.

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