Here are two apps that allow you to see the password that is behind those asterisks in the Windows GUI.
X-Pass: Although it is not developed anymore and the original site has shut down, you can still get this great app here thanks to the Internet Archive. (direct download link here). I have used it successfully on Windows 2000 and XP. It's a real life saver when the user has forgotten a password he entered in an application years ago.
SnadBoy's Revelation: Even tough I did not use it myself, it is supposedly also very good. Get it here. It was recommended as a solution in this ask.metafilter.com question.
This article hits the main points in locking down a wireless access point:
1) Change Default Administrator Passwords (and Usernames)
2) Turn on (Compatible) Encryption
3) Change the Default SSID
4) Enable MAC Address Filtering
5) Disable SSID Broadcast
6) Assign Static IP Addresses to Devices
7) Position the Router or Access Point Safely
It's not a technical howto but a good guide of what you should be paying attention to when securing your AP.
A reference site listing the default passwords for many products and applications such as wireless routers and the like.
Since Scram Disk doesn't support XP here is an alternative: TrueCrypt. It claims to work on Windows XP, 2002, 2003 and 98 so it apparently covers the whole spectrum. It also seems to cover the same functionality and more. I haven't checked it out yet but I will soon. Just a heads up.
Bruce Schneier (the guy who wrote the book, literally, on Cryptography) had the same problem as most modern computer users: too many passwords and no secure method to keep them all on hand.
So he made Password Safe. A secure, user-friendly login/password database for Windows. And comming from such a source, you can trust it to be locked up tight.
You can download the files from the SourceForge page
It's a little database app that is encrypted with the Blowfish algorithm to keep your passwords secure. You just need to remember one master password to unlock the Safe. Once you have entered the info and want to use it again, simply double click the entry and it puts the password on the clipboard (The app securely erases the clipboard when you exit).
You can also have multiple Safes that are each a separate file. This mean you can have one Safe for work passwords (to which you give your boss the master password, in case they need to get into something when you are not there) and a separate Safe for your personal passwords, with a different master password.
None of this is not a revolutionary concept, the difference here is that the reputable sources of this program (Bruce Schneier and Counterpane Labs) are as close as you'll come to getting a warranty that the product is secure and trustworthy. While M.Schneier no longer develops the app, he still reviews the code for integrity.
A good free disk encryption utility is Scram Disk. It creates a virtual disk on which everything you place is encrypted. So you can place your CV and all your online receipts on your encrypted disk Z:\ and should your computer get stolen well they only got the hardware and not your personal data. The only problem is it only works on 95/98/ME/NT/2000.