Now, let me just say this upfront: if you’ve ever tried to change your PIN or unlock your Mac after forgetting it, you know how frustrating the process can be. But no need to get all worked up! With a little bit of knowledge and some handy-dandy tools, we can make this whole thing a breeze.

To start what is pam_p11? Well, it’s a module for PAM (Pluggable Authentication Modules) that allows you to use your smart card or USB token as an authentication method. This means that instead of typing in your password every time you want to access something on your Mac, you can just insert your card and voila! Instant access.

But what if you forget your PIN? Or worse what if someone else tries to guess it and locks you out? That’s where pam_p11 comes in handy again. By using a tool called pkinit, we can generate new keys for our smart card or USB token and change the PIN without having to physically go anywhere.

So how do we do this? Well, first things first make sure you have all of the necessary tools installed on your Mac. You’ll need OpenSC (which comes with macOS), pkinit (which can be downloaded from GitHub), and a smart card or USB token that supports PAM_P11.

Once you have everything set up, follow these simple steps:

1. Insert your smart card or USB token into the reader. 2. Open Terminal and run `pkinit –help` to see all of the available options. 3. Run `pkinit generate-key ` to generate a new key for your device. This will prompt you for your current PIN, as well as any other necessary information (such as your name and email address). 4. Once the key is generated, run `pkinit change-pin ` to change your PIN. This will also prompt you for confirmation before proceeding. And that’s it! You should now be able to access all of your protected resources using your new PIN and smart card or USB token.

Of course, there are a few things to keep in mind when working with pam_p11 on macOS:

– Make sure you have the latest version of OpenSC installed (you can check this by running `opensc –version`). If you’re using a smart card or USB token that doesn’t support PAM_P11, you may need to install additional software or drivers. Always make sure your device is properly inserted and recognized before attempting any operations. So give it a try we promise it won’t be as painful as trying to remember that ***** password every time.