Here are answers to commonly asked questions about passwords in Fetch.

1. Why is Fetch asking me to enter my password?
2. Is my password being sent securely?
3. How do I get the password out of a shortcut?
4. Can I change my password with Fetch?
5. Why is Fetch asking me to enter a passphrase?

1. Why is Fetch asking me to enter my password?

Sometimes Fetch will ask for your password outside of the New Connection dialog. This can happen:

• Any time you open a connection without using the New Connection dialog (such as when you choose a shortcut or recent connection from the main menu, or use the Fetch widget or an Automator workflow to transfer files) and the password for that connection is not saved in your keychain. If you check the Add password to keychain box after typing in your password to save it to your keychain, you will not be asked for the password again in the future.
• When you're opening a KClient (Kerberos v4) connection, even from the New Connection dialog. While Fetch uses your Kerberos tickets to encrypt your password, Kerberos v4 FTP servers require you to enter your password to access the server. GSSAPI connections, which use Kerberos v5, can forward your Kerberos ticket to the server to be used, so you are usually not asked for your password again when making GSSAPI connections.

2. Is my password being sent securely?

You can tell if your password is being sent securely by the padlock icon in the password prompt dialog. A locked padlock icon indicates your password will be protected by encryption. An unlocked padlock icon means your password will be sent insecurely, without encryption. There will also be a warning in the password dialog if your password will be sent insecurely.

Your password will be secure if you are using SFTP, FTP with TLS/SSL, or Kerberos (GSSAPI or KClient). If you are using plain FTP, your password is sent insecurely.

3. How do I get the password out of a shortcut?

You can use the Keychain Access application to look at the password saved for a shortcut. When you create a shortcut and enter a password for it, the password is automatically saved in your keychain.

To find your shortcut's password in the Keychain Access application:

• Look for an entry whose Name is the name of the server specified in the shortcut, and whose Kind is "Fetch password" (or possibly "Internet password").
• Display the entry's details by double-clicking on the entry (Mac OS X 10.4 or later) or clicking once on the entry (Mac OS X 10.3).
• Click the "Show password" checkbox and enter your keychain passphrase to see the password.

4. Can I change my password with Fetch?

No, that is not a feature of Fetch. Contact your service provider or network administrator for help changing your password.

5. Why is Fetch asking me to enter a passphrase?

Fetch may ask you to enter a passphrase for an SSH key instead of, or in addition to, a password when you've set up public key authentication for an SFTP connection and your key is protected by a passphrase.

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