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You've probably already seen Keychain in action without knowing what it was.
 technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

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OS X 'Keychain' fills out Web forms and network logon boxes for you


July 28, 2004


By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2004, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2004, The Post-Standard

   Apple hides a clever automatic form-filler named Keychain into its OS X computers. Knowing how this little feature works can help you get more out of your Macintosh.
   Keychain operates only by permission. When it's allowed to do so, Keychain can fill out forms on Web pages or in dialog boxes like the ones you see when you log onto other computers on a network. For example, when you place your text cursor into a form asking for your e-mail address, Keychain can fill out your address for you.
   In other cases, Keychain doesn't even have to wait for you to start typing. As long as it has permission to do so, Keychain can log you onto sites that require a username and password.
   You've probably already seen Keychain in action without knowing what it was. The first time you log onto a Web site that requires a username and password, you might have noticed a message on your screen asking if you wanted your Mac to remember the two entries so it can help you log you on the next time you go to the site. That's Keychain in action.
   My friend Bob and I watched the way Keychain worked the other night while we were creating a bookmark for Safari. Bob logged onto Gaithernet (at www.gaithernet.com), where fans of the Gaither Vocal Band can listen to snippets of new releases and check concert dates. As soon as Bob typed a username and password, his iMac offered to store the information and enter it for him in the future.
   Bob did what his iMac instructed, made a bookmark, then quit Safari to give it a test. When he ran Safari again and clicked the Gaithernet bookmark, his Mac typed the username and password into the Web-page form -- hiding the password behind asterisks, of course -- but left it up to Bob to finish the logon. All Bob had to do was press the Enter key and he was onto the site.
   That's outstanding behavior from Apple's software. Instead of taking you into a site on its own, it does the work (and remembers the little details) and then waits for you to decide whether you want to enter the site. This gives the decision-making power back to you while using the computer to remember stuff you might forget, such as your password.
   Sometimes your Mac asks for permission to dig out information it stored some time back. When you see a message telling you that Safari (or any other program) "wants permission to decrypt" something, you're getting a message from Keychain. It's simply asking you to do what Bob had to do -- to take that last step before a form gets filled out. That way, you're the one in charge; your computer is just making things easier for you.
   There's more. When you see that message, you usually have three choices: "Deny, Allow Once, Always Allow." There's no right or wrong answer for any of these, but here's a guide:
      Choose "Deny" if you don't want your Mac to fill out the form or enter the Web site.
      Choose "Allow Once" if you're not quite sure if it's OK to fill out the form or go to the site. That way Keychain will ask you again the next time, when you can change your mind if you want to.
      Choose "Always Allow" to tell Keychain to stop asking you for permission to fill out that form or go to that site.
   If you feel geeky and a little daring, you can look at the information Keychain stores. Double click Keychain Access, an icon in the Utilities folder (part of the Applications folder). If you type your master password, saying, in effect, that it's OK for your Mac to uncover all the other passwords, you'll see a window listing the passwords stored in your keychain.