{"id":32,"date":"2007-10-10T09:26:38","date_gmt":"2007-10-10T07:26:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.intego.com\/2007\/10\/10\/whats-your-password\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T12:18:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T19:18:54","slug":"whats-your-password","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/whats-your-password\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s Your Password?"},"content":{"rendered":"

No, don’t tell; really. Your password is important. Or, more correctly, your passwords are important. You have one for your user account, one for your e-mail account, and dozens of others for web sites you visit, FTP servers, network shares and other services. Managing your passwords can be a real headache; fortunately, Apple includes its “keychain” that centralizes your passwords.<\/p>\n

But you need to know how to use the keychain and how to make it secure. In addition, you need to know how to choose secure passwords. Joe Kissell, writing in Macworld, has an article entitled I Will Use Good Passwords<\/a> that will tell you the best way to choose and manage passwords to make sure your data and your Mac remain secure. It’s a good idea to read this, even if you think your passwords are secure; you may learn some useful tips for working with passwords.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No, don’t tell; really. Your password is important. Or, more correctly, your passwords are important. You have one for your user account, one for your e-mail account, and dozens of others for web sites you visit, FTP servers, network shares and other services. Managing your passwords can be a real headache; fortunately, Apple includes its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-security-privacy"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat's Your Password? - The Mac Security Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"No, don't tell; really. Your password is important. Or, more correctly, your passwords are important. You have one for your user account, one for your\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/whats-your-password\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What's Your Password? - The Mac Security Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"No, don't tell; really. Your password is important. Or, more correctly, your passwords are important. You have one for your user account, one for your\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/whats-your-password\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Mac Security Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2007-10-10T07:26:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-01T19:18:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Peter James\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Peter James\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intego.com\\\/mac-security-blog\\\/whats-your-password\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intego.com\\\/mac-security-blog\\\/whats-your-password\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Peter James\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intego.com\\\/mac-security-blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d0c16bd0a4dd8f82d91204f400c8d116\"},\"headline\":\"What’s Your Password?\",\"datePublished\":\"2007-10-10T07:26:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-01T19:18:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intego.com\\\/mac-security-blog\\\/whats-your-password\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":154,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intego.com\\\/mac-security-blog\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Security & Privacy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intego.com\\\/mac-security-blog\\\/whats-your-password\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intego.com\\\/mac-security-blog\\\/whats-your-password\\\/\",\"name\":\"What's Your Password? - The Mac Security Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intego.com\\\/mac-security-blog\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2007-10-10T07:26:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-01T19:18:54+00:00\",\"description\":\"No, don't tell; really. Your password is important. Or, more correctly, your passwords are important. You have one for your user account, one for your\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intego.com\\\/mac-security-blog\\\/whats-your-password\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intego.com\\\/mac-security-blog\\\/whats-your-password\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intego.com\\\/mac-security-blog\\\/whats-your-password\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intego.com\\\/mac-security-blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What’s Your Password?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intego.com\\\/mac-security-blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intego.com\\\/mac-security-blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Mac Security Blog\",\"description\":\"Keep Macs safe from the dangers of the Internet\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intego.com\\\/mac-security-blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intego.com\\\/mac-security-blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intego.com\\\/mac-security-blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Intego\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intego.com\\\/mac-security-blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intego.com\\\/mac-security-blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intego.com\\\/mac-security-blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/intego-organization-logo-for-google-knowledge-graph-875x875-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intego.com\\\/mac-security-blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/intego-organization-logo-for-google-knowledge-graph-875x875-1.png\",\"width\":875,\"height\":875,\"caption\":\"Intego\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intego.com\\\/mac-security-blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intego.com\\\/mac-security-blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d0c16bd0a4dd8f82d91204f400c8d116\",\"name\":\"Peter James\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/02040a1b56c0554236733a69e59ffeacde3aff8b1d8fb9818a2b71ebbc0e2484?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/02040a1b56c0554236733a69e59ffeacde3aff8b1d8fb9818a2b71ebbc0e2484?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/02040a1b56c0554236733a69e59ffeacde3aff8b1d8fb9818a2b71ebbc0e2484?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Peter James\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.intego.com\\\/mac-security-blog\\\/author\\\/peter\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What's Your Password? - The Mac Security Blog","description":"No, don't tell; really. Your password is important. Or, more correctly, your passwords are important. You have one for your user account, one for your","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/whats-your-password\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What's Your Password? - The Mac Security Blog","og_description":"No, don't tell; really. Your password is important. Or, more correctly, your passwords are important. You have one for your user account, one for your","og_url":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/whats-your-password\/","og_site_name":"The Mac Security Blog","article_published_time":"2007-10-10T07:26:38+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-07-01T19:18:54+00:00","author":"Peter James","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Peter James","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/whats-your-password\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/whats-your-password\/"},"author":{"name":"Peter James","@id":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d0c16bd0a4dd8f82d91204f400c8d116"},"headline":"What’s Your Password?","datePublished":"2007-10-10T07:26:38+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-01T19:18:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/whats-your-password\/"},"wordCount":154,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Security & Privacy"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/whats-your-password\/","url":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/whats-your-password\/","name":"What's Your Password? - The Mac Security Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2007-10-10T07:26:38+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-01T19:18:54+00:00","description":"No, don't tell; really. Your password is important. Or, more correctly, your passwords are important. You have one for your user account, one for your","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/whats-your-password\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/whats-your-password\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/whats-your-password\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What’s Your Password?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/","name":"The Mac Security Blog","description":"Keep Macs safe from the dangers of the Internet","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/#organization","name":"Intego","url":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/intego-organization-logo-for-google-knowledge-graph-875x875-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/intego-organization-logo-for-google-knowledge-graph-875x875-1.png","width":875,"height":875,"caption":"Intego"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d0c16bd0a4dd8f82d91204f400c8d116","name":"Peter James","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/02040a1b56c0554236733a69e59ffeacde3aff8b1d8fb9818a2b71ebbc0e2484?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/02040a1b56c0554236733a69e59ffeacde3aff8b1d8fb9818a2b71ebbc0e2484?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/02040a1b56c0554236733a69e59ffeacde3aff8b1d8fb9818a2b71ebbc0e2484?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Peter James"},"url":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/author\/peter\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105181,"href":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32\/revisions\/105181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}