Showing Passwords In Terminal (while typing)

[kalpana]

Hi. I'm wondering if there is any way to show passwords while typing in terminal.

I have a physical disability that makes it difficult and painful for me to type. While I can type my own passwords, I make a lot of mistakes, and I don't always realize when I have made a mistake if I can't see the text on the screen. I usually circumvent the problem by making my (user) passwords extremely short. (I know, bad security. But good security doesn't count if I can't physically use my computer!) Recently, though, I'm needing to use ssh and sftp quite a bit, and the organization governing those accounts has strict requirements on how long passwords need to be. I find myself trying to enter the password 20+ times at the terminal before I manage to get it right, which is very painful given my disability. Is there any way to make the terminal show me the password so that I can correct my mistakes?

Also, I did try typing the password into gedit and then using copy and paste. And it does work but requires a right click, which is also challenging for me. Since every keystroke and mouse movement is painful, I'd like to minimize them by typing directly in the terminal.

Any pointers would be much appreciated! Thanks!

(I'm pretty familiar with Ubuntu; I've been a user for about 6 years. Limited programming experience due to my disability, but a good theoretical understanding of computer science.)