Windows 7: Is it possible to disable password masking in win7

I've been searching around but have not found much on the topic. I'd like to know if there's a way to do it in Windows. I'm not interested in any third party apps for this.
I'd like the actual characters entered to show in password fields rather than the typical masked ••••••••

I don't have an answer for on this, but if you don't mind me asking - WHY?

Regards. . .

jcgriff2

`

I'm no expert on this but I'm guessing this is all related to the coding (javascript, html, etc.) Firefox has an add-on so maybe you can get an idea of what it takes to show the real password as it's typed.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/fir...show-password/

Those asterisks, dots, whatever, are there to keep people from looking over your shoulder and stealing your password. Some folks have extra long PWs that sometimes get misspelled. A simple alternative (IF no one is looking over your shoulder!) is to type it in clear text in your address bar, verify spelling, and then copy/paste it into the password field. Just a thought.

You might be interested in this oldish article from a well respected source:

Schneier on Security: The Pros and Cons of Password Masking