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Password protect and work with multiple iPhoto Libraries
Authored by: fletcherpenney on Apr 17, '03 01:23:58PM

I currently have multiple libraries, using iPhotoLibraryManager, but have also put some on disc images before. I love being able to separate my photos. However, I would like to point out that this is exactly the sort of thing that Keychain was created for. The statement that anyone happening by can access your disk image is incorrect. They can only do so if your keychain is unlocked.

If you are concerned about security, and to some extent we all should be, then you can set your keychain to automatically lock after some period of inactivity, and/or every time your computer goes to sleep. This requires you to re-enter your keychain password in order to use i.

The main advantage of this is that it allows you to use different passwords for your email, your secure disk images, web pages, etc, WITHOUT having to remember ALL of them. You just need to remember one good password for your keychain. Then you can use lots of passwords like "sdjksa87fiusdf3sd;1" for your "actual" passwords. I don't know about you, but I can only remember a couple of really good passwords. The rest aren't as strong as a string of random digits.

It's easier to maintain good physical security for your keychain since it will be located on your computer, and you can force it to time out every x minutes, and every time your computer sleeps. I am not a security expert, but to me it makes more sense than using the same password for everything on my computer.

IMHO. ;)



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Password protecting disk images from yourself...
Authored by: quo on Apr 18, '03 09:33:10AM
If you are anything like me, using "type once" passwords on disk images might strike back after the next upgrade or reinstall.

I'd feel very uncomfortable knowing that my own access to my carefully backed up disk images depends on some preference file that I might have remembered to back up in time or not.

We're talking Apple here, so at least the format of the preference file becoming unusable for future keychain releases shouldn't be a major concern. Or maybe it should, as any time you trust something to another layer of software between your data and you.

Those who still keep their precious backup 1/2" tape media, 8" floppies, MFM or RLL disks, 5.1/4" floppies and other low- density media of the past around can probably relate to this. Especially if by now they lack a working device to read the media with, or if the interface this device used to be connected to has long since become obsoleted by product managers and newer, faster, higher volume standards.

After all, a single puny floppy disk was able to hold the result of several months worth of (own) work.

But I'm digressing to alt.folklore.computers ;)

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