Ubuntu 26.04 to Add Asterisk Feedback to sudo Password Prompts, Ending 46 Years of Silent Entry
By
akersten
Lightly toasted, lightly seasoned, mostly correct.
Summary
Ubuntu 26.04 LTS (Resolute Raccoon) will introduce asterisk feedback for sudo password prompts, ending 46 years of silent password entry in Linux terminals. This small UX change has sparked intense debate in the Linux community between security traditionalists who value the shoulder-surfing protection of silent prompts and usability advocates who argue visual feedback improves user experience and reduces errors.
Key quotes
· 5 pulledFor more than four decades, typing a password after a sudo prompt in a Linux terminal produced nothing visible on screen — no asterisks, no dots, no moving cursor.
The blank void was intentional: a guard against 'shoulder surfing,' the practice of counting keystrokes to guess a password's length.
Ubuntu 26.04 LTS, codenamed Resolute Raccoon and due on April 23, 2026, changes this long-standing convention.
This small UX fix has ignited one of Linux's fiercest debates in years.
The debate pits security traditionalists against usability advocates in a classic Linux community conflict.
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