I absolutely love the Stickies widget—it’s probably the one widget I use most. I quickly hop into dashboard and check a phone number, address, or even a password that I need to access often but can never seem to remember.
Up until about a month ago, I used this widget for all those reasons and more, yet I’ve discovered a few flaws to my use of the application. First of all, it’s not secure. It’s actually a really bad place to put your passwords as anyone who can hop on your computer can pull up your dashboard quickly and leave no trace. Shame on me for actually using this to store a few passwords!
There is a much more secure place to store things on your computer: Keychain Access! It’s is an application built into your Mac that saves passwords and secure notes for you, all of which require an administrator password to access. It’s actually how your computer keeps track of router, website, and other passwords.
To access the your keychain, go to Finder > Applications > Utilities > Keychain Access. Or hop into spotlight and simply type in “Keychain Access.” Once you’re in, you can review your passwords and/or create a secure note by selecting “Secure Notes” then clicking the “+” in the bottom section of the open window. This will allow you to name your note, add secure contents, and save it for later use.
Now that you have created a secure note, it will not be viewable unless the user types in the administrator password. This is a great place to store and retrieve your passwords or other notes you would like to keep private.
For added security of applications or programs that require passwords, you might want to consider an application that is designed to create and store strong, unique passwords for you. 1Password can do just that for you. It’s designed to create, remember and restore your passwords directly in your web browser or on your iOS device.
This is a great idea if you’re someone who is constantly struggling with remembering your passwords while still having them remain secure with strong and unique variations!