Since I was not comfortable with the statement "I cannot accept any damages caused", I decided not to use the patch. Instead I asked Dan O'Leary's advice.
The simple process of throwing away the User Manager Prefs from the system folder and rebooting solved the problem. Of course I left the Prefs in the trash until after the reboot.
I found that the CINT 132 was set to "0" in the regenerated UM Prefs and the passwords were now showing without bullets.
I cannot explain at what point the Prefs were corrupted, but they must have been, since my CINT 132 was set to "0" and the passwords were still hidden.
Redoing the User Manager Prefs was easy enough by just setting up the New User Settings again. So, if the same happens to any other sysop, I suggest staying clear of the patch that carries no guarantee and just throw out the UM Prefs, reboot and reset your New User Settings...
