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Fingerprint Scanner?
- Thread starter wchong
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i don't know if the external fingerprint readers are compatible with Macs.
i doubt Apple will add a fingerprint sensor - Macs were recently rated the most secure notebooks. with FileVault (in addition to basic password protection), it's no surprise that Macs don't need a fingerprint sensor.
i doubt Apple will add a fingerprint sensor - Macs were recently rated the most secure notebooks. with FileVault (in addition to basic password protection), it's no surprise that Macs don't need a fingerprint sensor.
You could install one yourself, I think someone actually did install one on a Macbook or something. you'd need some electronics know-how,though.
it would be a pretty sweet function though!! think about it - if your laptop required you to put your thumb on the touch pad for a fingerprint scan before it would boot up or wake for sleep!!
noone would ever have any reason to steal your laptop since it would be absolutely useless to them!!!
noone would ever have any reason to steal your laptop since it would be absolutely useless to them!!!
Here's an example of one in a MacBook Pro:
http://edahc.blogspot.com/2006/06/macbook-pro-biometrics.html
It kinda makes me sad, though. It's apparently a Sony Puppy he uses? I don't know much about these things, but that's what he writes in the comments.
http://edahc.blogspot.com/2006/06/macbook-pro-biometrics.html
It kinda makes me sad, though. It's apparently a Sony Puppy he uses? I don't know much about these things, but that's what he writes in the comments.
livingfortoday said:
i don't think that looks very good. at least with the IBM fingerprint sensors, they are built-in nicely and look like they actually belong there.
the Western zoo said:
all fingerprint sensors (that i know of, at least) have a feature to circumvent the fingerprint sensor and just enter a password.
pianoman said:
AFAIK, none of Apple's security will protect your laptop from being stolen and having it's hard drive yanked and replaced, or reformatted. Many PC fingerprint scanners tie into the BIOS so that even if someone steals your notebook it is worthless to them. They can't reformat the hard drive or install a new one to bypass the fingerprint scanner. It doesn't get your comuter back, but does prevent data loss and discourages theft.
Frogurt said:
FileVault encrypts your data so it is unrecoverable. If I can get around a fingerprint scanner by entering a password instead, I doubt it's tied to the BIOS. However, the only fingerprint scanners I've dealt with are IBM's built-in ones. Other scanners may have different features.
I read somewhere about using the iSight as a face recognition device for security purposes. That would be interesting. As for the fingerprint sensor, I don't know if Apple can cram anything else into their already-stuffed notebooks.
pianoman said:
well the only thing i've heard about the iSight is that it is used with the program called iAlertU which takes a picture of the person who takes ur laptop and sends the picture to your email.
here's a preview http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7JxrNNlFbA
pianoman said:
BIOS can have passwords too. Quick google search on IBM/Lenovo, check out this page which states the fingerprint reader can be tied to the BIOS password...
http://www.pc.ibm.com/us/security/fingerprintreader.html
All security schemes will use some sort of a password, otherwise how would a user validate who they are? A fingerprint reader is just another form of password, but one you can't forget or lose (hopefully). FileVault uses a password too.
kondispi-I doubt it because of the resolution needed to read fingerprints. It would improve things though, three fingers at the same time or a palm print. Just spitballing, but if you could put some pinhole cameras underneath a piece of polycarbonate, you might be able to track a fingers movement across the surface and take pictures of fingerprints.
Willis said:Man i love mythbusters. I dont like the american version though (the narrator) he isnt as funny as the British one. Never actually seen that episode
i love it too, and it's amazing at how easy they broke through a "never broken before" door lock
I have one on my Lenovo laptop. It is a royal pain in the butt, and not worth the trouble since you can circumvent it by simply entering the password.
When it works its adequate. When it doesn't, and it didn't most of the time for me, it is excruciating.
When it works its adequate. When it doesn't, and it didn't most of the time for me, it is excruciating.
i found it you can bye one for mac
its at amazon
heres the link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...t_shr?_encoding=UTF8&m=AE42MH160C6CS&v=glance
ya
its at amazon
heres the link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...t_shr?_encoding=UTF8&m=AE42MH160C6CS&v=glance
ya
microsoft fingerprint reader
it would be great if someone could write a program for the microsoft fingerprint reader as you can pick them up for about $15 nowadays
it would be great if someone could write a program for the microsoft fingerprint reader as you can pick them up for about $15 nowadays
The main advantage of a fingerprint scanner TO ME is to save time entering the password for logging in, network sharing, website authentication, etc. Almost as fast and easy as no password at all (or autofill), but much safer.