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Leopard Reference Library: Security
Secure storage is the protection of stored data using encryption and access controls. Mac OS X provides secure containers called keychains that can be used to store certificates, passwords, encryption keys, and other data. Developers can use Apple's services and interfaces to store and retrieve data in keychains, to control access to QuickTime movies, and to set and get access rights for files.

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Keychain Services Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
This document explains how to use Keychain Services to store and retrieve passwords.
Guides 2009-03-12
Authorization Services Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to add fine-grained control of privileged operations in an application.
Guides 2009-01-06
Certificate, Key, and Trust Services Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Shows how to evaluate trust for a certificate and recover from a trust failure.
Guides 2008-11-19
Keychain Services Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the Keychain Services API, used to create, find, modify, and delete keychain items.
Reference 2008-11-19
Security Interface Framework Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the Objective-C API for creating views and dialogs relating to authorization, certificates, and keychains.
Reference 2006-07-14
SecurityInterface Data Types Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the data types found in the Security Interface framework.
Reference 2006-05-23
SFKeychainSavePanel Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class that displays a sheet or panel that allows the user to create a keychain.
Reference 2006-05-23
SFKeychainSettingsPanel Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class that displays a panel or sheet that allows users to change their keychain settings.
Reference 2006-05-23
Authorization Services C Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the C API for adding fine-grained control of privileged operations in an application.
Reference 2005-11-08
Keychain Manager Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the legacy C API for managing passwords for multiple users and databases. Replaced by Keychain Services.
Reference 2005-07-07
Programmatically Accessing and Manipulating Multiple Keychain Items (HTML)
QA1486: An explanation on what is and is not possible using the SecKeychain API to manipulate Keychain Items.
Technical Q&As 2006-10-03