Most commonly known these days as the symbol on your phone that sits the other side of the zero from the hashtag and doesn't get as much love, the asterisk has a number of uses. When placed at the end of a word, it's a reminder to check the footer of a page for more detail. It can also be used for censorship, like striking out the middle of curse words.
Maybe because we see the symbol so much more often than we have to name it or say it out loud, we frequently mispronounce it. It's not "ass-tricks". There's no horseplay involved, and the 'e' in the middle isn't silent. It isn't "ass-ter-ix" either, that's a popular French cartoon character. "As-ter-isk" is the right and proper way to refer to this versatile little star.