Yeah, my keychain is always unlocked. You still need your login password to access any of the passwords stored in it, so it's secure anyway.

Mac OS X's keychain is an encrypted file that's "unlocked" when you login to your computer.

Originally Posted by soulman

Yeah, my keychain is always unlocked. You still need your login password to access any of the passwords stored in it, so it's secure anyway.

Its more secure if your keychain password is different from your login password. For awhile my passwords were the same since it was by default.. But then I read this tip at the Mac Security Blog that suggested creating a separate keychain might actually be a better way to protect your passwords from being discovered. It's pretty easy to set up so I went ahead and did it. Not sure if your passwords are already different, just thought I'd share cause it helped me when I learned about it.

Originally Posted by iMartin

Its more secure if your keychain password is different from your login password...

I wonder how much more real security this gives you versus the hassle of it. They say that all bets are off if someone who wants your data has physical access to your machine anyway.

I don't automatically log in on mine & have to enter my pass to wake it up or dismiss the screensaver. I can't immediately see any situation where someone who has obtained my log in password wouldn't also have the keychain pass if they really wanted it - they're both only in my head - so I can't see a real world improvement there myself.

Each to their own though of course. I don't have much of great consequence to hide.