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When you share something on social networking, it can get viral in no time. So, you can use this medium to share useful information and news, or you can use it to spread rumors.

I just came across a post that is going viral at a rapid rate on Facebook and Google Plus. It says that if you enter your password in a status message or a comment, Facebook/Google+ will immediately change it into asterisk, so that no one can read it.

There are different versions going around, and one such post claims that if you enter your credit card number, even that would be changed to asterisk. See the screenshots of the status updates below:

Is this a Hoax?

Now before you try it out in excitement, ask yourself a few questions:

1. When you forget your password on any site (Facebook, Gmail, Google+, or any other site), do you get your password back after you try the password recovery option? No, you don’t. All you get is a new system generated password.
2. So, if these websites can identify your password when you enter it as a status or comment, why can’t they simply mail it to you when you forget the password? Why do they send a system generated password?
3. Not everyone has a strong password. Many users use simple passwords like their name, their date of birth or some common dictionary word. Does that mean they will not be able to enter such words in their comments?!!

If you think in this direction, you’ll realize that this is just another hoax. I’ll tell you why.

The Truth

No authentic website will have access to your password. Your password is known only to you. It is stored in an encrypted form in the servers and no one has access to that. This is why when you forget your password, these websites cannot reveal it to you, because they don’t know what it is. Then, how can they protect your password if you type it in a comment or a status update?

So, don’t fall for this trick. You’ll reveal your password to the world if you try it out. Also, please don’t post such status updates to fool your friends. You might be doing this for fun, but someone with evil intentions might use it for their benefit. Your friend might reveal their credit card number, or might have some sensitive information stored in their account. Last thing you would want is to cause harm to your friends, right?

Read: How To Find If A Credit Card Is Fake?

This prank reminded me of the famous reverse ATM PIN hoax mail, which also got very viral through e-mails. But while that mail was forwarded by innocent people, in this case some tech bloggers also played a part to make the rumor viral. They probably did it for fun, but considering the reach they have because of their blogs, they should act more responsibly when it comes to such updates.

Like I have said time and again, the Internet is full of such false information, so take everything you read on the net, with a pinch of salt. If you come across something that is too good to be true, it probably is!