Do you usually set your Mac to remember and auto-fill passwords? Well, while doing that can be quite handy, sometimes, having your passwords auto-completed has drawbacks, especially when you actually need to remember and type them manually. Luckily, it is possible to view saved passwords on Mac. With password managers for Mac like Keychain, you can remember your app, website, account, or WiFi passwords.

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Find Passwords Using Keychain

Keychain is a built-in password manager, which stores different types of Mac passwords. Here’s how to find passwords on a Mac using Keychain:

• Navigate to Keychain Access by pressing Command + Space keys and then typing Keychain in Spotlight’s search bar.
• Check the sidebar on your left and go to Category. Click on Passwords.
• Scroll up and down to look for the password you need.
• If you have changed a password many times before, there will be a few dates associated with it. Just double-click on the most recent result.
• Notice the box beside Show Password. Click on it.
• Enter the password you use to log onto your computer.
• At this point, the password will be shown.

Forgot Password To Download Software On Mac Windows 10

Find WiFi Passwords on Your Mac

If you forgot about your WiFi password and a visitor asks for it, you can use this method to retrieve your WiFi password. Just make sure you know the name of your WiFi network.

• Go to Keychain Access by using the Command + Space keys to open Spotlight. Once open, enter ‘Keychain’ into the search bar.
• While in Keychain Access, search for your network’s name.
• Double-click on the most relevant result that shows.
• This time, when you click Show Password, you will be asked to enter your admin username and password. If you forgot your username, click on the Apple logo at the top of your screen and check the username of the account you are currently logged in as.
• Now, the password will show in the box beside Show Password.

Reveal Login Username and Passwords for Websites in Safari

Forgot Mac Computer Password

While Safari makes it easy for you to remember your username and password for a specific website by filling them for you, sometimes, you just need to enter them yourself. Just in case you forgot your usernames and passwords, Safari has most likely saved them all for you. Here’s how you can reveal your usernames and passwords in Safari:

• Open the Safari app.
• Go to Safari menu and click Preferences > Passwords.
• Click the checkbox beside Show passwords for selected websites. Take note that doing this will require an administrator password to be entered.
• Select the website whose password you want to reveal from the list.
• Click Allow if permission is requested.
• The login details for that website should now be revealed.
• You may repeat these steps to reveal other website logins that have been stored within Safari.
• Once you’ve obtained the password you need, you can uncheck the box beside Show passwords for selected websites for security purposes. You may also choose to Remove passwords from the list if you do not want them saved by Safari.

Other Popular Password Managers for Mac

Keychain Access sure does offer lots of significant benefits to average Mac users, but sometimes, there’s just too many passwords to manage. Fortunately, some apps are designed to resolve this issue, as they help Mac users organize and store passwords. These apps are called password managers. Below, we list five of the best password manager apps for Mac today:

1. Dashlane

Aside from being a secure digital wallet, Dashlane works as a password manager. This fantastic app comes in a free version, but it can be upgraded to a Premium version with more features, such as the ability to support different platforms and handle a multitude of devices in sync.

To access Dashlane, you merely need to use one master password, which is not stored nor recorded. After that, you will have access to a secure system that stores and secures data using AES-256 encryption.

Dashlane has many other notable features, such as two-factor authentication, automatic password generation, a dashboard, security breach alerts, secure backup, and a quarterly report on the analysis of security policy.

As mentioned above, this app is not just a password manager. It can be used as a digital wallet for storing bank account details, ID information, personal details, and even credit card information. Since it is easy and efficient to use, the New York Times described Dashlane as one of the best password managers for Mac today.

2. LastPass

Developed by LogMeIn Inc., LastPass is a versatile password manager for Mac. Though it’s a free commercial software app, it also comes with a Premium version that works with iOS, Android, and OS X. The best thing about this password manager is it has many exciting features, including the capacity to auto-fill passwords on websites, as well as personal information in forms. It also has a password generator that helps users to create secure passwords using a combination of characters. If you are looking for a reliable yet free password manager for Mac, then LastPass is a good choice.

3. KeePassX

Another reliable password manager for Mac is KeePassX. It is an open source and free app that comes in two versions: installable and portable. It has built-in features and capabilities that made it one of the best password managers for Mac today. Apart from password safekeeping, it works with third-party tools and plug-ins and can generate secure passwords. Interestingly, its functionalities can also be extended to other devices, platforms, and browsers. Initially, this password manager was created by an open-source community for Windows. They called it KeePass. It’s just recently when its domain was extended to OS X devices, making it a multi-platform app.

4. 1Password

While 1Password is a paid commercial tool, it can be used for free within a 30-day trial period. The concept of this password keeper is to let Mac users remember only one password, which is called the master password. Once logged in, users can access the database of the tool itself, where passwords are stored and secured using AES-256 encryption.

Another great feature of 1Password is that it also safekeeps documents, credit card information, PIN codes, and many more. This tool can be integrated with web browsers, too. That way, it will be easier to generate passwords for online account registrations or filling in personal information or credit card details.

Wrapping Up

Take note that you are dealing with crucial information here, so you have to be extra careful while revealing or storing passwords and other information with password managers like Keychain. Sure, the details you saved on these password managers may be protected, but you never know if there are prying eyes around you. Before you find passwords on your Mac, be sure nobody is around you.

Now that you’ve obtained the information you need, it’s time to improve your Mac’s performance with Tweakbit MacRepair. With this tool installed on your Mac, you can resolve potential issues and perform quick fixes so you can use your computer at its best.

Keep your passwords safe

We all have dozens and even hundreds of passwords to remember. Your Mac password, like a credit card PIN number, is one of the most important, so it can be a nightmare if you forget it. But it’s not the end of the world. There are a few easy ways you can reset your Mac password and make sure you don’t lose it ever again.

How to recover a forgotten Mac password

Secure experience is something you can’t emphasize enough while dealing with Apple devices. Hence the importance of a safe Mac password. While it could be easy to physically steal a computer, there’s little chance someone can mess with your data unless they know the password. So it’s wise to take a few precautionary measures to avoid losing it and make it easier to recover.

Easy way to reset passwords

Setapp has a reset scenario catered for you if you forget Mac login password. Just saying.

Use Recovery Mode

Hope this is just a “what-if” for you, but let’s imagine it happened. You forgot Mac password and can’t access any of your accounts. There are no password hints and you can’t call it to mind, even though you’ve already tried to enter all pet names. For such cases, there’s Apple’s Recovery Mode.

To activate the Recovery Mode:

1. Turn off your computer and hold the power button + Command R. Wait for the loading bar to appear on the screen while your Mac boots to Recovery.
2. Next, choose Disk Utility > Continue > Utilities Terminal.
3. Type “resetpassword” (in one word) and click Return.
4. Go to the main hard drive and choose your user account.
5. Lastly, change Mac password, create a hint to easily recollect it in future, and click save. You’ll be able to use the new password after a restart.

Reset password with Apple ID

If you have an Apple ID tied to your user account on Mac, you can use it to reset password from the login window. The option should be available by default. Otherwise, you can enable it in System Preferences > Users & Groups > Allows user to reset password using Apple ID.

To make a go of this, click on the question mark next to the password field that you see on the login screen. Agree to the option to reset with Apple ID and enter wrong login credentials three times to be able to create the new password. Once you get to the reset screen, input a new password two times, create a hint, and save.

Change password from another account

Lucky you if you have more than one user account on your Mac. Or, if your mother/brother/girlfriend/dog ever use your computer to log in to their personal accounts (yes, now you owe them a thank you). Here’s how to recover Mac password, using another account you have a password to:

1. Log out of your admin user account
2. Choose another account and enter the password
3. Go to System Preferences > Users & Groups > Lock icon
4. Use the password for the alternative account to unlock
5. Reset the password for your admin account (type in a password > verify > create a hint > save).

Good news: You have a new password. Bad news: You still won’t be able to log in to your account if you don’t have the Keychain password and can’t create the new one. The thing is, to unlock all the features that require Mac Password, you should be able to access the Apple’s password management system, Keychain. Unless you remember the access data, you’ll have to create the new password with an admin account. If the account you used isn’t registered as admin, you’ll have to go for the Recovery Mode option.

Get a hint for your password

If you forgot Apple password, you can recover it with a hint. This is, by far, the most painless way to win back your access. Therefore, we encourage you to create hints each time you choose a new password. It takes a few simple actions:

1. Access System Preferences > Users & Groups
2. Click on the Lock icon > user name
3. Select the option to change password and add a phrase/word you associate with a newly created password in “Password hint (recommended).”

One more important thing. To ensure your password hint shows up when you need it, you should allow your Mac to display hints. In the Users $ Groups, click on Login options and check the box next to “Show password hints.” Ready to go.

To see the hint you created, access User Groups in the System Preferences, unlock to make changes, and press Return three times. After the third time, your hint will appear right below the password field. Unless you’ve created the hint ages ago, this should help to refresh your memory.

Resort to Target Disk Mode

Another option is to access the hard drive of your Mac via another computer. Basically, Target Disk Mode allows you to save any data from the your Mac’s hard drive.

To enter the Target Disk Mode

1. Shut down your computer and use FireWire or Thunderbolt cable to connect another Mac.
2. Click on the power button while holding the T button and wait for the hard drive to appear on the screen.

That’s it. You can now easily access and recover any data from your Mac.

Always protect your data

Resetting password could make your Mac vulnerable. Particularly, Recovery Mode is kind of a security hole: If someone can get access to your computer, it’s pretty easy to boot into recovery and reset password. To prevent this from happening you should encrypt the data on your hard drive with a built-in FileVault utility. Ensure you unlock Password Reset with Disk Utility and activate FileVault on your Mac.

To activate FileVault in the Apple System

1. Go to System Preferences
2. Click on Security & Privacy > FileVault
3. Unlock to enter your login and password
4. Select “Turn on FileVault”
5. Save Recovery key and password that you receive upon activating FileVault

Find lost passwords using Keychain Access

In case you’ve lost one of your internet logins or don’t remember the password to your WiFi, it’s very likely that you can recover it using your Mac’s native password manager — Keychain Access.

To recover a password with Keychain Access:

1. Launch the utility from your Applications folder
2. Use the search field in the top-right corner to filter for what you’re looking for
3. Double-click on the wanted item
4. Check Show Password and enter the Keychain Password to reveal it

Although Keychain Access can be very useful in finding passwords you thought were lost forever, it’s rarely used intentionally due to its clunky interface and messy save-all password behavior. However, using a password manager nowadays in general is a must. And if you have to start somewhere, look no further than Secrets.

Store passwords on Mac, securely

Grab Secrets along with your Setapp perks and worry not about privacy.

Store passwords using Secrets

Secrets is a simple but robust password manager that can become your central point of reference when looking for passwords, WiFi passcodes, secure notes, credit card numbers, and other personal information.

The app is supported by the industry-standard PGP encryption so none of your files will ever get exposed. And no, saving your passwords in the Notes app or on paper is not a good idea. Thankfully, Secrets is very easy to use.

1. Download and launch Secrets
2. Proceed through the setup guide
3. To save your first password just click on the plus icon next to the search field and fill out all the necessary information

Additionally, Secrets has an importing feature where you can download all your existing passwords from other managers or even as a simple .csv file. And moving forward, Secrets can be populated through a handy browser extension with a quick built-in password generator.

Taking all the necessary measures to stay safe online is a must. This includes having good password hints for your Mac, knowing how to navigate through the Recovery Mode, and of course using a good password manager like Secrets, which is available for a free trial through Setapp, a platform of over 120 best Mac utilities that can help you out in just about any scenario.

Meantime, prepare for all the awesome things you can do with Setapp.

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