458139 - Copying from a password entry box copies the masking character rather than the real text

Status: RESOLVED DUPLICATE of bug 217729

(Core :: Widget: Cocoa, defect)

Description

[Dave Townsend [:mossop]]

While I can see an argument for doing this from a security point of view I think it is just a bug.

Visit the url.
Enter something into the box.
Select and copy to the clipboard.

I get: •••••••

Comment 1

[Phil Ringnalda (:philor)]

Does any browser on any platform allow copying passwords? Bug 217729 has been languishing in the wrong component for years asking that it be disabled, every browser I've got installed on Windows, where I am right now, disables it, even back as far as NS4.79, and even among Geckos Camino disables it themselves (bug 343285) since they didn't want to wait for a bug 217729 fix.

Comment 2

[Smokey Ardisson (offline for a while; not following bugs - do not email)]

On the Mac, Safari, OmniWeb, iCab, Shiira, and Opera all disable it, too (and all but Safari and Opera even beep if you try), so by my accounting pretty much every Mac browser of any significance other than Firefox and SeaMonkey (though tbh I've not checked the latter) disables copying from a password field.

Comment 3

[Dave Townsend [:mossop]]

Well this isn't about whether copying should be disabled (I don't think it should and for some reason I think I'm used to being able to do it). But regardless copying the dots is the wrong thing to do, either copy the actual password or don't copy anything. But this is really the same as bug 217729