"PostgreSQL Bugs List" <pgsql-bugs@postgresql.org> writes:
> When I start up psql, if I am not not logged in as the owner of the database, I get the following error message, even
ifI type the correct password:
> psql: FATAL: IDENT authentication failed for user "keith"
This is not a bug: it's the way it's supposed to work.
If you want to use passwords for authentication, you need to select a
password-based method in pg_hba.conf. Not IDENT.
Read the administrator's guide for more detail:
http://www.postgresql.org/docs/7.4/static/client-authentication.html
regards, tom lane