Trixology

General Category => General Computing/Macintosh => Topic started by: xairbusdriver on July 06, 2018, 12:10:28 AM

Title: What if you forget your Mac's password!
Post by: xairbusdriver on July 06, 2018, 12:10:28 AM
I was browsing through some posts a few days ago and saw that some of us are still relying on Keychain to store all our passwords. Then, today comes a blog about how to reset a lost admin password from Josh Centers via TidBITS. While there are several ways to restore ones admin password and it's probably worth printing this info and storing somewhere (hopefully you will remember where!), it does remind us that your Keychain password will be lost and all the passwords in that app will also be lost!

Moral: Don't ever forget your admin password! Or, keep it in 1Password that whose vault is shared on all your other devices. ThU32:-)
Title: Re: What if you forget your Mac's password!
Post by: Weatheraardvark on July 06, 2018, 05:07:18 AM
I use dashlane.   and I have password plus for mac
I also have a printed copy put some place
Title: Be an elephant! (Re: What if you forget your Mac's password!)
Post by: elagache on July 06, 2018, 11:50:38 PM
Dear X-Air, Weatheraardvark, and WeatherCat users with long memories, . . .

Moral: Don't ever forget your admin password! Or, keep it in 1Password that whose vault is shared on all your other devices. ThU32:-)

Yup!  I use Password Wallet but same difference.

I also have a printed copy put some place

That's good in some ways and bad in others.  Certainly you don't want any bad guys finding the printed copy.  I have a few passwords that have mnemonics to help me remember them.  Those include my Mac admin passwords, my iCloud password and of course, my Password Wallet password!

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]
Title: Re: What if you forget your Mac's password!
Post by: Blicj11 on July 07, 2018, 12:41:18 AM
I use the free version of LastPass, (which I really like) which was acquired by by LogMeIn (which I don't like) for $125 million (which I would like - for myself).
Title: Re: What if you forget your Mac's password!
Post by: dfw_pilot on October 04, 2018, 02:56:54 PM
I'm a little OCD, so forgive me.

I keep our passwords in 1Password. But if my wife and I go out in a blaze of glory, how would our four young children be taken care of by relatives and get access to 1Password? I have my Master password printed. In a lock box. Over in a safe at my mother's house across town. The combo to the lockbox is printed on a label in my desk. That way, relatives can get to it, but only after a small "scavenge hunt". This helps to keep things secure from "helpful" relatives while my wife and I are still alive.

It's not fun to think about, but with so much access needed for our small kids if we were to expire, having all those logins and account numbers in one place (1Password) makes it easy. It just can't be too easy to get to that information until absolutely necessary. If you have dependents that rely on you - have a plan for them to get access to your accounts and logins. Here is another excellent resource: A Family Emergency Binder (https://www.mamafishsaves.com/ice-binder/).
Title: Re: What if you forget your Mac's password!
Post by: Blicj11 on October 05, 2018, 05:22:32 AM
 Thanks for the info and the link, DFW. Are the PDF forms able to be completed on the computer or do you have to print them and complete using a pen (so old fashioned)?
Title: Re: What if you forget your Mac's password!
Post by: dfw_pilot on October 05, 2018, 05:46:44 AM
Good news- they are form fillable. I plan on keeping a printed and electronic copy, and then trashing the paper version when an update is needed.
Title: Re: What if you forget your Mac's password!
Post by: Blicj11 on October 05, 2018, 05:53:55 AM
Thanks for quick reply. I think I will give these forms a spin.

By the way, nice to hear from you again after your hiatus (from the forum). I'm still enjoying the HD cloning setup you recommended to me. Works like a charm.
Title: Re: What if you forget your Mac's password!
Post by: xairbusdriver on October 05, 2018, 03:05:53 PM
Any PDF that can be opened by Preview can also be ?written? on, although I normally use PDFPen. Although it is an indication that the form creators have considered the users when they automatically insert editable fields. ThU32:-)

In Preview, click the "Show Markup Tools" icon that is just to the left of the Search field. You will get a new 'toolbar'. There three sections. In the middle section are tools for adding Shapes, Text boxes, Signing and Notes. Clicking the Text Box will insert one in the middle of the top page. With the word "Text" in it. You can then enter text, of course, but also move the box anywhere on that particular page (over a empty line, for example). You also have the standard text formatting tools available. Don't forget to save/print the PDF, as needed.
Title: Re: What if you forget your Mac's password!
Post by: Blicj11 on October 05, 2018, 05:13:21 PM
Yes, but it's ten times faster and way simpler if the form is built to be editable. The Annotate options in Preview are nice but not as nice as when the author accommodates the user.
Title: Re: What if you forget your Mac's password!
Post by: xairbusdriver on October 05, 2018, 07:11:41 PM
As I said:
Quote
it is an indication that the form creators have considered the users when they automatically insert editable fields
It's called being "user-friendly". :) I've used 'annotations' occasionally, but mainly need text boxes so I can format individual parts of the text. It's just another case of Apple providing more than we sometimes even know. ThU32:-) However, I believe most Mac users would agree that we've certainly paid for it! [rolleyes2]
Title: Re: What if you forget your Mac's password!
Post by: xairbusdriver on November 30, 2018, 04:51:34 PM
Security Related:
This week, I read about Drive Savers (https://drivesaversdatarecovery.com/data-recovery-services/devices-supported/smartphones-and-tablets/passcode-lockout-data-recovery/) now capable of recovering data from an iPhone. They have now announced the price of this service: $3,900 (https://www.macrumors.com/2018/11/27/drivesavers-ios-passcode-recovery-service). I think that makes the iPhone the most expensive back up device in the world, have not heard from other planets.