{"id":56895,"date":"2019-12-16T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-16T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/?p=56895"},"modified":"2019-12-30T09:28:47","modified_gmt":"2019-12-30T15:28:47","slug":"generate-a-memorable-password-in-macos-with-password-assitant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/56895-generate-a-memorable-password-in-macos-with-password-assitant\/","title":{"rendered":"Generate a Memorable Password in macOS with Password Assitant"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Padlock<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Update Dec 17, 2019:<\/strong> The “Memorable” option shown below only works in Mojave and earlier. Apparently, it was a 32-bit module, and mocOS<\/g> 10.15 Catalina is 64-bit only. The other options listed still work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are you tired of trying to come up with a unique and memorable password? Not entirely happy with Safari’s auto-generated passwords? Well, you may not be aware of this, but your Mac has a potent password generator built right in called Password Assistant. Its location is not very obvious, and you need to dig a little bit to get to it, but it’s well worth it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Problem \u2013 My Memory<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Let’s play a quick game of “Would You Rather.” If you haven’t played it before, it’s very simple. Just follow my lead…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Would you rather have to deal with a password similar to one of these:
5J2i-IBcU-xwn7, 8b4,O26cpxX{z[, LSLZ-fBVc-olD6, or 1j1V?#gSBuvYvG?<\/kbd><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or would you rather something more like:
Layton307.fans, tacos520[snout, roams18(verify, or tasty123\\flows?<\/kbd><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s face it \u2013 some passwords are easier to work with than others, especially when it comes to our short-term memory. And were I to be completely honest, my short-term memory is growing ever shorter as my years are growing ever longer!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes I find myself having to look up a password, whether in Keychain Access<\/a> (the macOS app that stores passwords and account information) or 1Password<\/a> (my 3rd party password manager of choice). And sometimes, all I want is to quickly generate a password that is both unique and memorable without using too much brainpower. Now, I can glance at Layton307.fan<\/kbd> and remember it just long enough to quickly type it in somewhere, but not so much with 8b4,O26cpxX{z[<\/kbd>. I’d be continually toggling between windows, processing only a few characters at a time, and proofing myself along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I need to use something functional and straightforward to set my mind\u2014and memory\u2014at ease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Solution \u2013 Password Assistant<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I find the Password Assistant app in macOS to be an excellent solution. It is flexible, powerful, and easy to use \u2013 perfectly suited for generating a password I can remember for 5 seconds! Here is where to find it, and how to use it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Open a new finder window and navigate to Applications > Utilities, or hit \u21e7\u2318U (shift + command + U) to open your Utilities folder.<\/li>
  2. Launch the application called Keychain Access.<\/li>
  3. Create a new Password Item by either hitting \u2318N, selecting \u201cNew Password Item\u2026\u201d from the File menu, or clicking the plus sign (+) in the upper-left corner. We\u2019re not going to actually create a new item to store, just fake it so we can access the password generator.<\/li>
  4. Ignoring everything else in the pop-up window, click on the key icon to the right of the password field.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    \"Keychain<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Viola! Password Assistant opens up and is ready to help!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Five Areas in Password Assistant<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    1. Type<\/strong> allows you to choose from: