Set the Master Password

If you look under System Preferences->Security, you'll see "FileVault", which lets you encrypt your home folder. That seems very dangerous to me, so I never paid much attention to it. But part of this also offers to set a "Master Password", which is explained as:

 This is a "safety net" password.  It lets you unlock any FileVault account
 on your computer.
 
 

Well, if you have no FileVault in use, it looks like there is no point to a Master Password, right? No, not quite.

At http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.5/en/8737.html, you'll find this in a sidebar:

 Forgot Password
     Conveniently reset the password for any user directly from the login
     window if you have set a master password for the system.
 
 

And indeed that's true. If you type an incorrect password several times, a login window pops up asking you for the master password. Use the master, and the next thing you get is the opportunity to set a new password for the account. It warns that a new keychain will be created, but that you can recover the old if you need to.

Handy feature, worth turning on.

Comments?

More Articles by Tony Lawrence - Find me on Google+

Jump to Comments

Many of the products and books I review are things I purchased for my own use. Some were given to me specifically for the purpose of reviewing them. I resell or can earn commissions from the sale of some of these items. Links within these pages may be affiliate links that pay me for referring you to them. That's mostly insignificant amounts of money; whenever it is not I have made my relationship plain. I also may own stock in companies mentioned here. If you have any question, please do feel free to contact me.

Specific links that take you to pages that allow you to purchase the item I reviewed are very likely to pay me a commission. Many of the books I review were given to me by the publishers specifically for the purpose of writing a review. These gifts and referral fees do not affect my opinions; I often give bad reviews anyway.

We use Google third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click here.