Keyring Manager

Gnome Keyring Manager (gnome-keyring-manager)

The Keyring Manager program is a daemon application designed to take care of the user's security credentials, such as user names and passwords. The sensitive data is encrypted and stored in a keyring file in the users home folder. The default keyring uses the login password for encryption, so users don't need to remember yet another password.

GNOME Keyring is implemented as a daemon and uses the process name gnome-keyring-daemon. Applications can store and request passwords by using the libgnome-keyring library.

With this application you can do the following:

Easily and automatically store and protect passwords and network encryption codes Use one master password to manage several accounts

Store all of your passwords (keys) on a single default keyring Allow keyring manager enabled applications access to handle paswords for you

Basic Usage

Basic Usage

(For a larger image, click on the following (click here))

You can access this application in the following way(s):

• Computer ▸ More Applications ▸ Accessories section ▸ Keyring Manager.
• From the command line: 'gnome-keyring-manager &'

Initial Configuration

Initial Configuration

Generally, gnome-keyring-manager runs on your system for the first time and whenever the networking applet on your task bar is used. When connecting to a remote network requiring a security password, the keyring manager starts and asks to create a master password. Subsequent requests from keyring manager will prompt you for the created password. Hence, this will serve as a single password entry point which remembers and protects all of your other accounts.

• When started for the first time, you will be asked to create a unique password which will set the default keyring:
  

• Subsequent usage will 'only' request that initially configured password:
  

Examples of use:

• Managing wireless networking security (WEP, WPA, etc.) accounts
• Remote drive connections using File Browser

Forgotten Keyring Password

Forgotten Keyring Password

If you have forgotten the keyring password, you will not be able to permit gnome-keyring-manager to handle your passwords and hence have to select the 'deny' button. To reset the keyring:

Deletion from within keyring Manager:

1. Start Keyring manager and:
2. Select View ▸ Keyrings (or press F9), which will open the keyrings list.
3. This will open a sub-window with a list of keyrings, locate the 'default' keyring
4. Select Keyring ▸ Delete Keyring
   Keyring has now been reset, any previously stored keys have been deleted.

Manually deleting the keyring:

1. Open a Terminal session and:
2. type the following command:

   rm -Rf ~/.gnome2/keyrings/

3. Restart your system.

Further Information

Further Reading and Information

For more information regarding Keyring Manager, please refer to the following internal/external website(s):

• http://live.gnome.org/GnomeKeyring