How to retrieve your Wifi Password when you've forgotten it

It's a good thing that Wi-Fi can bring so much magic into your house, it almost makes up for all the pains that come along with it. Almost.

One of the biggest pains of Wi-Fi is actually something that's self-inflicted: forgetting your network password. We've all been there. You take the advice of the security experts by creating a random, long Wi-Fi network password...and then promptly lose or forget that complicated password.

That's not a problem for any of the machines that were previously set up, but it could be an issue when you have guests or bring home a shiny, new Chromecast for your TV.

Here's how to retrieve all those seemingly lost passwords from your PC.

When currently connected

For users on Windows 7 and up it's easy to uncover the password for the network you're currently connected to. The instructions here are for Windows 10, but are generally the same for Windows 8.1, 8, and 7. If you'd like OS-specific instructions, however, check out Microsoft's help page.

In Windows 10, right-click on the Start menu and select Control Panel. With the category view selected click on Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center.

At the top of the window you'll see a section called "View your active networks" listing your current connection. Click on the blue link listed as "Connections."

Windows 7 and up can show you the password for your current Wi-Fi network.

This opens a window called Wi-Fi Status. Now click Wireless Properties and in the new window click on the Security tab. Here you'll see a text entry box called "Network security key," with the Wi-Fi password represented as a series of black dots. Don't worry if the number of black dots don't line up with your actual password length as these are just placeholders.

To see your password click the Show characters box and your password will appear in the network security key box. Now you can copy it or show it to someone else.

Your Wi-Fi past

The above trick is easy enough if you need to know the password of the network you're currently connected to, but there's a trove of saved Wi-Fi passwords in your PC you might need.

The easiest way to get at them requires extra help from a free utility such as Nirsoft's WirelessKeyView. The program downloads as a zip file. Extract the contents to any location you'd like and then click the included exe file. At this writing it was named WirelessKeyView.exe.

Nirsoft's WirelessKeyView

The program will open listing all the Wi-Fi network passwords your PC has saved. Most of the passwords should be listed under the Key (Ascii) column, but if you see gibberish there then try the Key (Hex) column.

WirelessKeyView is pretty easy to use, but if you don't like it there are many other alternatives such as Magical Jelly Bean WiFi Password Revealer.

Now that you've found your lost passwords this would be a good time to save them in a password manager.

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Truly wireless earbuds may be the norm, thanks to Apple

Truly wireless earbuds are finally coming into their own here at Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2016, but it might not be long before tech's biggest company reveals its own pair. The oft-reliable 9to5Mac is reporting that Apple is working on a premium set of entirely wireless earbuds — under the Beats brand — that could debut alongside the iPhone 7 later this year.

Apple's earbuds are said to include "a noise-cancelling microphone system" that will allow users to interact with the iPhone and control Siri completely wirelessly. 9to5Mac's report says that Apple's current concept resembles what we've seen (and been impressed by) from Bragi at CES this week. And they're recharged when placed inside a carrying case, similar to the Motorola Hint.

It's believed that these premium headphones will be an optional purchase and won't come bundled with the iPhone 7; instead, a revamped pair of EarPods are in development for inclusion in the box. Presumably those will plug into the Lightning port, because yes, Apple really is (probably) getting rid of the headphone jack. Numerous rumors have pointed to a future of Bluetooth headphones and others powered by Apple's Lightning jack, and 9to5Mac's latest report is yet more confirmation of that plan. Apple is likely to introduce the iPhone 7 this fall, months after a mid-cycle introduction for the smaller-sized "iPhone 6C" rumored for release this March. However, Apple's said to be considering several designs for the new flagship, with one option that "substantially" resembles the iPhone 6 / 6S.

Over 10 million Apple Music subscribers already?...hmm

Apple Music has topped 10 million paying subscribers in its first six months, according to the Financial Times, a milestone that rival music-streaming service Spotify took nearly six years to reach.

The milestone comes less than two months after the service was extended to Google's Android operating system, software that powers the majority of the world's mobile devices. Apple CEO Tim Cook said in October that more than 6.5 million people had signed up for the $10-a-month streaming music service that launched at the end of June. The service is also available in the UK for £10 a month and in Australia for AU$12.

Spotify, whose premium service costs the same as Apple Music in those three countries, counts 20 million paid members and another 75 million who listen for free. The London-based music streaming service launched in late 2008 and hit the 10 million subscriber mark in mid-2014.

Apple representatives declined to comment on the report.

Streaming music has exploded in popularity in recent years, with the number of on-demand streams in the US nearly doubling last year, according to researcher Nielsen's year-end music report. Fans logged nearly 145 billion audio streams in 2015, up 79 percent from the previous year, the researcher found.

Apple Music offers recommendations based on songs purchased from Apple's iTunes Store, ripped from CDs or chosen on-demand from an online catalog of more than 30 million titles. The service also includes a 24/7 radio station called Beats 1 and a service called Connect, where artists can talk to their fans and share songs directly to their iOS devices.

The service builds upon Beats Music, the music subscription service that Apple acquired in 2014 for $3 billion.

The introduction of Apple Music marked a radical departure from the norm for the electronics giant, which had for years resisted adopting a music subscription model for its customers.