If like me, you keep an eye on the Mac OSX Activity Monitor, you’ve likely noticed a process running called securityd and wondered what it is for? Why is running?
Securityd is the Macintosh OSX process that handles and maintains security contexts and arbitrates cryptographic operations and Security Authorizations. I know I know, what does all that really mean?
Your Macintosh saves passwords on what is called a Keychain. Have you ever told OSX to remember your username and password when connecting to a network resource? If you have then you’ve been using what’s referred to as the OSX Keychain. Securityd is the process that is the gatekeeper for all things Macintosh security related. It keeps your username and specifically password from being stored anywhere on the system (including in memory) in an unencrypted state.
Securityd is one of the many ways OSX helps to keep you and your data safe from spyware, malware, viruses and hackers.
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