Let your fingers do the remembering

Technically Speaking
June 24, 2007 –

I recently read an article that said that one of the least used features supplied in many laptops is a fingerprint scanner. My guess is that people don't use them because they don't read the instructions and looking at the scanner would give you no clue as it to its function. But having recently played with the Eikon Digital Privacy Manager, I'm hooked on the convenience this offers.

The Eikon is an external scanner that plugs into a USB socket. As with the TV tuner, the setup is also a breeze: let the CD do its thing, restart the PC, then plug in the scanner. It takes you through the process of "enrolling" your fingerprints, with an excellent interactive tutorial that shows you how to get a consistently reliable result. It's important to learn how to 'swipe' consistently, so your 'swipes' are recognised every time - with the help of the tutorial, I had the technique sorted in about 5 minutes. (Another thing I've learned: positioning the scanner so that your hand is in a comfortable position when you swipe further increases reliability.)

The most obvious application of this device is to use it log into your computer - but since most home users don't bother securing their systems with passwords, this is of limited value. Where it really comes into its own is as a secure substitute to almost all your other passwords (I'll explain the 'almost' in a moment). Unwisely, most of us choose simple passwords that are easy to remember - and therefore not too hard to guess. Compounding our sins, we often use the same password for many different sites. (Yeah, I'm guilty of that too.) But the software supplied with the Eikon scanner has the ability to securely store passwords for websites and most bits of software requiring a password (e.g. a password-protected Word document) and 'play them back' when a valid fingerprint is scanned. In essence, this means you can have different passwords for each website and you can make them as complex as you like - and you no longer have to remember them. (Though it is important to keep a secure record of your passwords - I use a free utility called Password Corral to do this.)

If you want to "register" a website (or other application) to use your fingerprint instead of a username and password, all you do is type them, then swipe your finger before clicking the "OK" button - this presents a dialogue confirming that you wish to register this site. That's all there is to it.
The one site you may not be able to use the Eikon to log you in is your electronic banking. In the interests of security, some banks have implemented non-standard techniques for entering passwords - I know for a fact that Westpac has done this and the Eikon won't do the trick.The software has one other excellent feature: you can assign specific functions to other finger swipes. For example, I have set up one fingerprint to open my web browser and another to open a graphics program, both of which I use many times a day.

You may be thinking "this isn't new - I remember seeing one of these made by Microsoft two years ago". (OK, it's most unlikely that you are thinking this, but I like to be prepared.) Microsoft did indeed make a USB fingerprint scanner, but it wasn't regarded as secure enough for anything but home use. The Eikon is made by the same company that supplies scanners for most major laptop manufacturers, as well as for other (non-computer) applications. So if you set this beastie up correctly - and tighten up other security factors - the Eikon Digital Privacy Manager is an excellent tool for securing your data.