Pepperment

Q: passwords for apple products

Hi All,

I've been keeping all my passwords in a notebook for the past ten years...every couple years I re-do the notebook. Not time efficient.

 

I've resisted using an online/cloud service as a password keeper, as it is faster to have them at my fingertips. But is there an app or another method to securely store and quickly access passwords that you can recommend?

 

iCloud immediately comes to mind, however, it is my understanding that it utilizes only a 156 bit encryption vs. the more secure 256.

 

Appreciate your expertise and recommendations.

Thanks!

iPad, iOS 7.0.4

Posted on Sep 8, 2016 9:46 AM

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Q: passwords for apple products

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Rysz,Helpful

    Rysz Rysz Sep 8, 2016 1:25 PM in response to Pepperment
    Level 7 (20,237 points)
    iTunes
    Sep 8, 2016 1:25 PM in response to Pepperment

    You have a built-in utility called Keychain that comes with every Mac. You can also turn on its iCloud Keychain functionality to have all your passwords synced across all your computers and devices. Keychain is very easy to use, you turn it on, remember it's password and that's it.

  • by Pepperment,

    Pepperment Pepperment Sep 8, 2016 1:25 PM in response to Rysz
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 8, 2016 1:25 PM in response to Rysz

    Hi Rysz,

    Thank you...but I have tons of passwords for different websites. I thought keychain was just for my mac or admin passwords.

    Am i incorrect about this? If so, is the keychain secure and can I use one keychain on two or more different devices? Or is it necessary to load pw on each keychain for each device?

    Thank you!

  • by Carolyn Samit,Helpful

    Carolyn Samit Carolyn Samit Sep 8, 2016 1:56 PM in response to Pepperment
    Level 10 (120,256 points)
    Apple Watch
    Sep 8, 2016 1:56 PM in response to Pepperment

    If you are using Safari, go to Safari > Preferences then select the Passwords tab then make sure AutoFill user names and passwords is selected.

     

    If you create a new user name and password on a website Safari will show a drop down menu asking if you want to store that data to a new keychain, click Yes.

     

    Frequently asked questions about iCloud Keychain - Apple Support

     

    For more help with the Keychain Access help, launch Keychain then from the menu click Help > Keychain Access Help.

  • by Pepperment,

    Pepperment Pepperment Sep 8, 2016 1:57 PM in response to Carolyn Samit
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 8, 2016 1:57 PM in response to Carolyn Samit

    Carolyn,

    Thank you! Does Chrome have a similar feature? (apologies to apple devotees). ph

  • by Carolyn Samit,

    Carolyn Samit Carolyn Samit Sep 8, 2016 2:00 PM in response to Pepperment
    Level 10 (120,256 points)
    Apple Watch
    Sep 8, 2016 2:00 PM in response to Pepperment
  • by Krazirob,

    Krazirob Krazirob Sep 8, 2016 2:04 PM in response to Pepperment
    Level 1 (26 points)
    Notebooks
    Sep 8, 2016 2:04 PM in response to Pepperment

    I Keep all my passwords on numbers app. And I encrpyt the numbers spreadsheet and then save it to my cloud. So with that you have an encrypted file inside an encrypted iCloud. Makes accessing it easier and also makes updating easier.

     

    ALso your keychain is cool to have as well where you can share that keychain across all your Devices.

  • by Rysz,Solvedanswer

    Rysz Rysz Sep 8, 2016 2:07 PM in response to Pepperment
    Level 7 (20,237 points)
    iTunes
    Sep 8, 2016 2:07 PM in response to Pepperment

    No. Keychain captures all system, app and website passwords. It even can keep secure notes, serial numbers, etc.

     

    Keychain is very secure, specially if you use a good password with it. iCloud, as a service, is even more secure. Whatever security breaches you heard about in relation to iCloud were based on social engineering ( guessing passwords), not security breakdowns.

     

    I would recommend just a single Keychain account across all your devices (that's the only way they will all sync), just as you only want to use a single Apple ID.

  • by Pepperment,

    Pepperment Pepperment Sep 8, 2016 2:56 PM in response to Rysz
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 8, 2016 2:56 PM in response to Rysz

    Hi All,

    I set up my keychain security pw etc & across all my devices. Now how do I enter my many many passwords to other websites? Every time I go into the icloud drive (via preferences) it just takes me back to the password field.

     

    Sorry, for my slowness here...

  • by Pepperment,

    Pepperment Pepperment Sep 8, 2016 3:04 PM in response to Pepperment
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 8, 2016 3:04 PM in response to Pepperment

    Hmmm I think that in order to use keychain, I have to use Safari as my preferred browser. Correct? Keychain won't work with other browsers....is that it?

  • by Pepperment,

    Pepperment Pepperment Sep 8, 2016 8:00 PM in response to Pepperment
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 8, 2016 8:00 PM in response to Pepperment

    Thanks all, I finally got it. I use Safari, it auto-saves my passwords and unlike Chrome, it secures with 256 encryption: yea!

  • by Pepperment,

    Pepperment Pepperment Sep 11, 2016 11:30 AM in response to Pepperment
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 11, 2016 11:30 AM in response to Pepperment

    Hello All,

    One last question re. Safari passwords: I see that Safari has all the passwords listed in the Preferences/Passwords. Are these 256 encrypted as well? Want to be assured that hackers will have difficult time or I need to restrict Safari passwords.

    Google Chrome provides the same list in their preferences, but it's my understanding that its relatively easy to hack into these.

    Appreciate your thoughts and advice on this.