Mac OS X 10.5 Help
About important passwords in Mac OS X
Mac OS X is designed to give you a safe and secure computing environment. The security of your computer depends a great deal on using secure passwords in key areas of the system.
Mac OS X should be protected with secure passwords in these areas:
Administrator account passwords
An administrator password is an administrator’s account login password. The administrator password is required to perform many important tasks, such as setting system preferences, installing software, and administering user accounts.
■
About administrator accounts
■
Giving an account administrator privileges
■
Changing your administrator password
User account passwords
This is often referred to as a "login password." User account passwords allow users to log in to their accounts and access the files in their home folders.
■
Changing your password
Keychain passwords
The Keychain Access utility in Mac OS X securely stores passwords for various applications and resources on your computer. Your keychain password "unlocks" the keychain so that the passwords inside it can be used. Your keychain password is the same as your login password when you first set up your account.
■
Changing your keychain password
Master password
The optional master password can be used as a safeguard in the event that FileVault-protected users forget their login passwords.
■
Creating a master password
For information on secure passwords, see:
Creating secure passwords
Keywords:
khelp kmosx kmosx5