Tired of Passwords? Replace Them With Your Fingerprint

September 14, 2004
Tired of Passwords? Replace Them With Your Fingerprint

If you're like most people, you have more than a dozen passwords and user names to remember. Whether you're checking your e-mail for new messages, catching up on the news, posting to a Web discussion group, or playing games on the Web, you have to sign in all the time.

Microsoft has developed a convenient solution for replacing all those passwords with something you don't have to worry about forgetting: your fingerprint.

Have you ever sat there, staring at your screen, wondering which password you set?

Was it your dog's name?

Your birthday backwards?

Your best friend's nickname?


Wonder no more. Microsoft has developed a convenient solution for replacing all those passwords with something you don't have to worry about forgetting: your fingerprint. Integrated into some of Microsoft’s latest keyboard and mouse products and also sold separately, the Microsoft® Fingerprint Reader lets you log on to your favorite Web sites without scrambling for passwords—just touch the fingerprint reader with a registered fingerprint whenever a password or user name is required, and you're in. Just like that.


Quick setup for easy sign in and Fast User Switching

Easy-to-use software makes replacing passwords with your fingerprint a snap. First, the Registration Wizard opens and helps you register your fingerprints. Then, when you visit a site that requires a password, just touch the Fingerprint Reader with any registered finger, enter your data, and then click OK—it's the last time you need to enter that information. Now, you can browse to the Web site, and then log in with a swipe of the finger or log in with a click of the mouse via Quick Links.


If you turn on Fast User Switching in Windows XP, you can use the Fingerprint Reader to switch between user accounts without actually logging off from the computer. With a touch of a finger, you can quickly switch between users without closing programs and files—and each user's personal content stays personal.


The Fingerprint Reader should not be used for protecting sensitive data such as financial information or for accessing corporate networks. We continue to recommend that you use a strong password for these types of activities.

Source: Microsoft


Rank 2 /5 (1 vote)
Tags

Relevant PhysicsForums posts

More news stories

Japan scientist makes 'Avatar' robot

A Japanese-developed robot that mimics the movements of its human controller is bringing the Hollywood blockbuster "Avatar" one step closer to reality.

Electronics / Robotics

created Feb 10, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (7) | comments 11

Intel packs performance and reliability into its latest SSD 520 series

Intel Corporation announced today its fastest, most robust client/consumer solid-state drive (SSD) to date, the Intel Solid-State Drive 520 Series (Intel SSD 520), a 6 gigabit-per-second (gbps) SATA III SSD ...

Electronics / Hardware

created Feb 07, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 4

Google rumored to have built Heads-Up-Display glasses prototype

(PhysOrg.com) -- 9to5Google is reporting that they have received a tip from someone they believe to be a reliable source saying that Google is working on a Heads-Up-Display (HUD) pair of eye-glasses. The per ...

Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets

created Feb 08, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (8) | comments 2 | with audio podcast weblog

Apple to debut 'iPad 3' in March: report

Apple will unveil a new version of its market-ruling iPad table computer in March, according to a report in Dow Jones-owned technology blog All Things D.

Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets

created Feb 09, 2012 | popularity 1.9 / 5 (21) | comments 0

New Kindle Touch is an impressive e-reader

When it comes to reading digital books, tablets are all the rage. But there's a lot to like about simple e-readers, which over the past year have become both a lot cheaper and a lot less clunky.

Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets

created Feb 09, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 1


Anonymous knocks CIA website offline (Update)

The website of the Central Intelligence Agency was inaccessible on Friday after the hacker group Anonymous claimed to have knocked it offline.

New error-correcting codes guarantee the fastest possible rate of data transmission

Error-correcting codes are one of the triumphs of the digital age. They’re a way of encoding information so that it can be transmitted across a communication channel — such as an optical fiber o ...

Small modular reactor design could be a 'SUPERSTAR'

(PhysOrg.com) -- Though most of today's nuclear reactors are cooled by water, we've long known that there are alternatives; in fact, the world's first nuclear-powered electricity in 1951 came from a reactor ...

New power source discovered

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and RMIT University have made a breakthrough in energy storage and power generation.

The power of estrogen -- male snakes attract other males

A new study has shown that boosting the estrogen levels of male garter snakes causes them to secrete the same pheromones that females use to attract suitors, and turned the males into just about the sexiest ...

Advanced power-grid model finds low-cost, low-carbon future in West

(PhysOrg.com) -- The least expensive way for the Western U.S. to reduce greenhouse gas emissions enough to help prevent the worst consequences of global warming is to replace coal with renewable and other ...