diff --git a/Lib/distutils/config.py b/Lib/distutils/config.py
index 9d8b30ea30c6ff..1d327143bea711 100644
--- a/Lib/distutils/config.py
+++ b/Lib/distutils/config.py
@@ -47,11 +47,6 @@ def _store_pypirc(self, username, password):
             f.write(DEFAULT_PYPIRC % (username, password))
         finally:
             f.close()
-        try:
-            os.chmod(rc, 0600)
-        except OSError:
-            # should do something better here
-            pass
 
     def _read_pypirc(self):
         """Reads the .pypirc file."""