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Hide clear text password

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Posted by Pokkie   (11 posts)  [Biography] bio
Date Tue 27 Oct 2009 07:59 PM (UTC)
Message
When prompted for a characters password, it would be nice if the program could mask the password while typing it in.

e.g.

What by thy name, adventurer?
Hawkings

Existing profile loaded - please enter your password
Password : #########
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Posted by Zeno   USA  (2,871 posts)  [Biography] bio
Date Reply #1 on Tue 27 Oct 2009 08:52 PM (UTC)
Message
Well, how is MUSHclient going to know the MUD is asking for the password? Every MUD pretty much has a different way of asking for a password.

If you're concerned about your password, you can fill in the auto-login details which masks the password.

Zeno McDohl,
Owner of Bleached InuYasha Galaxy
http://www.biyg.org
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Posted by Nick Gammon   Australia  (22,973 posts)  [Biography] bio   Forum Administrator
Date Reply #2 on Tue 27 Oct 2009 09:43 PM (UTC)
Message
If the MUD sends "echo off" telnet sequence, the password is not displayed.

Zeno is right, using the auto-password feature lets you log on without the password being displayed.

- Nick Gammon

www.gammon.com.au, www.mushclient.com
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Posted by Zeno   USA  (2,871 posts)  [Biography] bio
Date Reply #3 on Wed 28 Oct 2009 12:18 AM (UTC)
Message
I think he meant "while typing it in" as in the input box, not the output window.

Zeno McDohl,
Owner of Bleached InuYasha Galaxy
http://www.biyg.org
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Posted by WillFa   USA  (525 posts)  [Biography] bio
Date Reply #4 on Wed 28 Oct 2009 02:51 AM (UTC)
Message
If it's filled out in the Connecting properties page, Mushclient masks it if entered into the input box.

So:
If the mud sends echo off, the next line isn't displayed.
If you let MC know what your password is, it'll never echo it nor put it in command history.

If you're filling out the connecting properties anyway, %name% %password% lets you not worry about typing it, and it's encrypted in the world file.
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Posted by Pokkie   (11 posts)  [Biography] bio
Date Reply #5 on Thu 29 Oct 2009 07:53 AM (UTC)
Message
Quote:

I think he meant "while typing it in" as in the input box, not the output window.


Exactly. I didn't make it clear in my original post. I didn't mean that the MUD echo's the password, I meant that the password is being typed in clear text in the input box.
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Posted by WillFa   USA  (525 posts)  [Biography] bio
Date Reply #6 on Thu 29 Oct 2009 06:29 PM (UTC)
Message
Press Alt+2, put your password in there. It's masked there.

How could the input box mask your password as you type it? Wouldn't that just give it away for anyone trying to break it? If your password is "Passw0rd" would it show "Passw0r" and turn to *'s when you type the d? Would it mask any partial string? "P" gets masked, as well as "Pa" but not "Pi"?

That also depends on the client knowing what your password is in the first place... so put it in Alt+2's dialog and use the %name% %password% tokens in the Connect Text field of the dialog.
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Posted by Pokkie   (11 posts)  [Biography] bio
Date Reply #7 on Thu 29 Oct 2009 07:59 PM (UTC)
Message
In zMud, as soon as you are prompted for your password and you start to type it into the input box, it starts to mask it with a #.

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Posted by Nick Gammon   Australia  (22,973 posts)  [Biography] bio   Forum Administrator
Date Reply #8 on Thu 29 Oct 2009 08:35 PM (UTC)
Message
MUSHclient doesn't change the behaviour of the input box, admittedly.

However don't you just put the password in once? Shoo people away from watching you, type it into the Connecting configuration dialog, and then use auto-connect after that. After all, if someone is standing nearby they can watch what keys you type, regardless of what is echoed.

The password is stored in the world file, Base64-encoded. This isn't exactly encrypted, but requires a bit of scripting to get it back out.

I should warn you though, that if you are really worried about someone finding your password, what they could do it, when you aren't in the room, turn "packet debug" on, connect to the MUD, and then look at the outgoing packets to see what the password is.

If you are at a shared computer, and think someone might try this, you could always use TrueCrypt (www.truecrypt.org) which is a free utility. This lets you set up extra encrypted partitions under Windows, Linux and OS/X. The encrypted data can be stored in a simple file.

So what you could do is put your MUSHclient stuff (especially the world files with their passwords) into a TrueCrypt partition (which might be the M: drive once mounted). Then when you want to use MUSHclient, mount that partition (which requires a password, and *that* password is echoed as asterisks). Then play the MUD, and dismount the partition before you walk away. Then it would be safe to store the passwords in the world files.

TrueCrypt is a smallish download, free, quick to install, fast and easy to use.

Perhaps I should further warn you that if you are really, really worried (younger brother maybe?) then they could be using a packet sniffer at a nearby computer to find your password out (and this would apply to zMud as well).

- Nick Gammon

www.gammon.com.au, www.mushclient.com
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Posted by Nick Gammon   Australia  (22,973 posts)  [Biography] bio   Forum Administrator
Date Reply #9 on Thu 29 Oct 2009 08:36 PM (UTC)
Message
Or, store all your MUSHclient stuff on a USB drive, which you carry around with you. Again, you could put your passwords in the world file, because you will have the USB drive in your pocket when you aren't using it.

- Nick Gammon

www.gammon.com.au, www.mushclient.com
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