You can then enter the password in the file and chmod it so that you are the only one that can read it.

If you were to do something like this, you shouldn't chmod the file after creating it, but rather use a restrictive umask right off the bat. Otherwise, the file will be temporarily readable. This race condition would be almost impossible to exploit, but it should be avoided anyway.

-sauoq
"My two cents aren't worth a dime.";