PoliBlog

We all seem inundated with passwords. Apple Keychain stores many passwords such as for email and encryption keys for Wi-Fi access points. Enter the password once, click the check box to Save in Keychain, and you're done with it.

Yet, why do I still find myself fumbling with scraps of paper and searching for printed account records?

The Mac password storage tool, Wallet, is now in my Utilities folder keeping my passwords easily accessible and reasonably secure. Wallet uses a high security encryption algorithm to store data. Accessing Wallet requires one password to access many stored passwords. I don't know of a better way to store rarely-used but essential login credentials. I've made a list below of the user names and passwords that would be best stored in Wallet:

• DSL (account user name and password)
• Network Router Admin (IP address, user ID, password)
• Wi-Fi (network name, encryption passkey)
  
• E-mail (addresses, passwords, and Webmail URLs)
• Online Banking
  
• Credit Card (numbers and expiration dates)
• Web Shopping (airlines, computers, books, etc.)
• Web Hosting (control panel and FTP)
  
• Blog Hosting
• Online Forums and Groups
  
• iTunes Music Store
• Applications (serial number, purchase date, version)
• Instant Messenger (user IDs and passwords)
  

That's all I can think of at the moment, but I'm certain you could add to this list. I do not store any passwords in Safari or Firefox, though I am often tempted to do so.

No more scraps of paper. Promise.