lailafromCairoEgypt

Q: Keychains folder huge and getting bigger!

My Macbook Air is running out of space and looking into it, I found the keychains folder is taking 47GB of space!!

it was creating a file every few minutes ranging from zero bites to 109 MB!!

It seems the keychains are going crazy.

Any idea of how to solve this? I found some posts recommending Keychain Access repair, but I found out it was removed from the latest updates of El Capitan.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

MacBook Air, OS X El Capitan (10.11.5), null

Posted on Jul 3, 2016 9:36 AM

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Q: Keychains folder huge and getting bigger!

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  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jul 3, 2016 12:11 PM in response to lailafromCairoEgypt
    Level 10 (207,926 points)
    Applications
    Jul 3, 2016 12:11 PM in response to lailafromCairoEgypt

    Please triple-click the line below on this page to select it, then copy the text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C:

    ~/Library/Keychains

    In the Finder, select

              Go Go to Folder...

    from the menu bar and paste into the box that opens by pressing command-V. You may not see what you pasted because a line break is included. Press return. A folder named "Keychains" should open.

    Press the key combination command-2 to select list view, if it's not already selected.

    There should be a column in the Finder window headed Date Modified. Click that heading to sort the contents by date with the oldest at the top. What is the modification date of the oldest file?

  • by lailafromCairoEgypt,

    lailafromCairoEgypt lailafromCairoEgypt Jul 3, 2016 6:17 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 3, 2016 6:17 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Thanks for the prompt reply;)

    The oldest named "Microsoft_Intermediate_Certificates" with the date Nov 6, 2015

    but the one after it starting a long list of "login.heychain.sb..." is dated May 10, 2016 and starting with this file it was creating a similar file with different ending every minute onwards till today

    some of them are Zero bytes and a few in the MBs reaching for a 100 MB for the last couple of days!

    It seems like a virus, very weird, I've been using Mac for many years never saw something like it

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jul 3, 2016 7:05 PM in response to lailafromCairoEgypt
    Level 10 (207,926 points)
    Applications
    Jul 3, 2016 7:05 PM in response to lailafromCairoEgypt

    May 10, 2016

    Do you have any backups older than that?

  • by lailafromCairoEgypt,

    lailafromCairoEgypt lailafromCairoEgypt Jul 3, 2016 7:27 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 3, 2016 7:27 PM in response to Linc Davis

    No I don't

    and i have no problem deleting all my passwords as I know them all

  • by Linc Davis,Solvedanswer

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jul 10, 2016 12:33 PM in response to lailafromCairoEgypt
    Level 10 (207,926 points)
    Applications
    Jul 10, 2016 12:33 PM in response to lailafromCairoEgypt

    If you don't care about losing the keychains, back up all data, then drag the Keychains folder to the Trash. Log out or restart the computer. Empty the Trash. Follow the instructions on the page linked below to create a new login keychain. Note: you don't have to reset the account password.

     

    Change or reset the password of an OS X user account - Apple Support

  • by lailafromCairoEgypt,

    lailafromCairoEgypt lailafromCairoEgypt Jul 10, 2016 12:38 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 10, 2016 12:38 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Hey Linc Thanks for always promptly reply with solutions

    I deleted the folder and everything went fine except for the passwords for WiFi networks it keeps asking for it and each time I enter the password I get this "Keychain "Systems" cannot be found to store "Network Name" and I am given 2 options: "Cancel" (which connects fine but never saves the password) and "Reset to Defaults" (which gives the same result even after entering the login password needed)

     

    Any help will be much appreciated;)

    Laila

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jul 11, 2016 1:41 PM in response to lailafromCairoEgypt
    Level 10 (207,926 points)
    Applications
    Jul 11, 2016 1:41 PM in response to lailafromCairoEgypt

    This procedure is a diagnostic test. It makes no changes to your data.

    I've tested these instructions only with the Safari web browser. That's what I suggest you use, even if your preferred browser is something else.

    Please triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:

    ls -@BOaen /L*/Keyc* | pbcopy

    Copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C.

    Launch the built-in Terminal application in any one of the following ways:

    ☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)

    ☞ In the Finder, select Go Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.

    ☞ Open LaunchPad and start typing the name.

    Paste into the Terminal window by pressing the key combination command-V. If you use another browser, you may have to press the return key after pasting.

    Wait for a new line ending in a dollar sign ($) to appear below what you entered.

    The output of the command will be automatically copied to the Clipboard. If the command produced no output, the Clipboard will be empty. Paste into a reply to this message.

    The Terminal window doesn't show the output. Please don't copy anything from there.

  • by lailafromCairoEgypt,

    lailafromCairoEgypt lailafromCairoEgypt Jul 12, 2016 12:40 AM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 12, 2016 12:40 AM in response to Linc Davis

    This is what I got:

    total 296

    drwxr-xr-x   7 0  0  -        238 Jul  6 22:37 .

    drwxr-xr-x+ 65 0  0  sunlnk  2210 Apr 24 01:09 ..

    0: ABCDEFAB-CDEF-ABCD-EFAB-CDEF0000000C deny delete

    -r--r--r--@  1 0  0  -          0 Jul  4 21:51 .fl043D1EDD

      com.apple.quarantine   29

    -r--r--r--   1 0  0  -          0 Nov  6  2014 .fl947E1BDB

    -rw-r--r--   1 0  0  -      85664 Jul  6 22:37 System.keychain

    -rw-r--r--   1 0  0  -      20460 Nov  6  2014 System.keychain-orig

    -rw-r--r--@  1 0  0  -      43136 Jul  5 00:44 apsd.keychain

      com.apple.quarantine   29

  • by appreciate,

    appreciate Jul 12, 2016 12:46 AM in response to lailafromCairoEgypt
    Level 4 (1,276 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 12, 2016 12:46 AM in response to lailafromCairoEgypt

    Now go to user library : click on go > hold option key don't release it > library > preferences

    Are plist files disturbed ( not in alphabetical order ) ?

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jul 12, 2016 7:23 AM in response to lailafromCairoEgypt
    Level 10 (207,926 points)
    Applications
    Jul 12, 2016 7:23 AM in response to lailafromCairoEgypt

    Please read this whole message before doing anything.

    This procedure is a test, not a solution. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.

    Step 1

    The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account.

    Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. Don't use the Safari-only “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac.”

    While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your documents or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this behavior; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.

    Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem?

    After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.

    *Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac” is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.

    Step 2

    The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, by a font conflict, or by corruption of the file system or of certain system caches.

    Please take this step regardless of the results of Step 1.

    Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards, if applicable. Start up in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem.

    Note: If FileVault is enabled in OS X 10.9 or earlier, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.

    Safe mode is much slower to start up and run than normal, with limited graphics performance, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain models. The next normal startup may also be somewhat slow.

    The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.

    Test while in safe mode. Same problem?

    After testing, restart as usual (not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of Steps 1 and 2.

  • by appreciate,

    appreciate Jul 12, 2016 10:10 AM in response to lailafromCairoEgypt
    Level 4 (1,276 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 12, 2016 10:10 AM in response to lailafromCairoEgypt

    If huge files are created we go to user library > keychains > remove metadata ( as in metadata folder contains  all files , & data is stored .)

    Also if key chain is corrupted we remove entire contents of keychains to trash & restart from apple logo & empty the trash, so that new contents are created once again .by doing so every password is gone and once we to configure internet accounts , i cloud accounts ( the user must have four digit i cloud verification code ) .

     

    And also , once again the settings has to be done in system preferences , safari preferences .

     

    Removing entire key chain folder into trash , restarting from apple logo > emptying the trash will create issues .

    You can notice in user library > preferences folder all plist  will be not in alphabetical order . they are disturbed .