Usually, when Windows users attempt to sign into a website, whether it be social media or a personal blog, the password section hides the password using asterisks. This has been the case for decades, But what if folks want to see those passwords?
Users might wish to view passwords for any number of reasons. Maybe the password is saved in the web browser, and the user has no idea what it is. Maybe a parent wants to spy on their child’s activity online; who knows?
Unmask Asterisk & show hidden Password
For these reasons, we’d like to recommend a few tools to get the job done in quick succession. They are:
- Asterisk Password Spy,
- Asterisk Logger,
- Sandboy Revelation.
All three are pretty effective at what they set out to accomplish so we will talk about them briefly.
1] Asterisk Password Spy
What’s interesting about this tool is how easy it is to use. After installation, drag the search icon to any password box to reveal the password behind the asterisk. Bear in mind that it only supports apps for Windows and nothing else.
Here’s a list of known limitations:
- It does not work with non-Windows-based applications such as GTK, Flash, Adobe Air, or applications not using a standard edit box for the password.
- Also, it will not work with the application without a password. Sometimes applications do not put passwords in the password box to hide from these tools.
- It does not work with HTML pages in browsers such as IE, Firefox, etc. Support for the same is planned for future releases.
Download the tool from the official website.
2] BulletsPassView
We need to look at this one because it’s also quite good. You see, BulletsPassView doesn’t showcase the password from within the password box but only within the pain window of the software itself.
To find passwords, you must click on the scan button to locate all currently on-screen passwords via a text box. Once that is done, all passwords should appear without issues inside BulletsPassView.
It works great in many browsers, including Internet Explorer. Most of these tools will work best in older versions of web browsers, so bear that in mind.
We should also point out that this tool comes with a command-line option, so if you’re that type of person, we suspect you’ll feel right at home.
Download from the official website.
3] Snadboys Revelation
Should the tools we mentioned above fail to work accordingly, then we’d like to recommend another one known as Snadboys Revelation. It’s a weird name for a password recovery tool, but as usual, we do not care about names if the program works as advertised.
We tested this bad boy for a few days and can say that it works well, even better than expected.
We’ve come to enjoy this tool because it works similarly to BulletsPassView, where the user must drag an icon over the password box to reveal the password inside. It’s pretty capable, and as such, folks who are in need should give it a spin.
Download Snadboy’s Revelation via Softpedia.
As you can see, we didn’t have much to say for each tool because they are all basics with little to no settings area. Just install and get your password, and that’s about it, to be honest.
Read next: How to make the browser show saved the password in the text instead of dots.
What does an asterisk mean in the password box?
An asterisk in the password box typically means that the characters you are typing are being hidden from everyone else. So if you are typing your password, and somebody is looking at your screen over the shoulder, they would know the password. So the asterisk ensures nobody sees it. Some password boxes offer a reveal function that momentarily displays the password. So ensure that nobody is looking at your screen when using it.
What is a blind password?
While it’s not a proper word, it usually means that you enter a password without looking at it, and the only way to use it is through an application. Such passwords are necessary for specific situations, such as changing passwords in public and you want to secure your account quickly. However, ensure to change the password or reset it as soon as possible.
