What is Keychain?

OK, I searched the whole forum for the term "keyvchain" and there are dozens of hits.

What is it and do I need to use it?

When i log onto an account, it asks me for a password and then says something about using keychain. What do I do? Do I enter my passwords in there? Do I turn it off and if so How do I turn it off?

Briefly Keychain is an application for storing passwords to various sites. It is okay to use Keychain for ordinary sites, such as here, bot do not allow Keychain to remember bank, credit card and confidential passwords. For these hit 'Never' if Keychain asks.

So if I add it to keychain, does it stop asking me for the password whenever I open a program such as mail?

Yes. Save your password to mail, Airport, and some other minor things that you need in Keychain and you won't be asked for it each time. That's what it's for. However, for other things such as bank accounts, credit card info, and other personal sensitive data, it should never be used.

ok, thanks. this stuff is new but I am loving it!