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Fingerprint Scanner...WTF is it for?
- Thread starter johnseattle
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First, what you see on PCs is a crap version of a fingerprint scanner. The tech Apple bought, on paper, is actually quite robust.
Second, to actually answer your question, I would assume it is used for tasks like unlocking your phone and maybe even authorizing payments. Everywhere you'd put a password, you can use your fingerprint instead. Just guesses of course. I am with you on the "I think it's pointless" front, but I will reserve judgement until I see it, IF I see it.
Second, to actually answer your question, I would assume it is used for tasks like unlocking your phone and maybe even authorizing payments. Everywhere you'd put a password, you can use your fingerprint instead. Just guesses of course. I am with you on the "I think it's pointless" front, but I will reserve judgement until I see it, IF I see it.
Yep, but if there's one thing you can guarantee, it's that if Apple put something into their hardware they're not going to do it half-assed. They'll only do it if it's perfected.
Yes, there are exceptions to the rule -- Apple Maps, for instance -- but if you look at Apple in general they're not one to throw things on the wall and see what sticks.
I, for one, am very excited for this.
I imagine its primary function in the end will be providing a secure way to authorize near-field RF payments.
People get all worked up because they think something will be amazing:
"NFC?!?!? Now I don't have to swipe my card!"
[forgetting the terrible security they generally have and the ability to grab CC numbers in transmission]
"Siri!?!? Now I don't have to type!"
[Instead I'll ask siri repeatedly if it's hot and why it won't have sex with me]
"Fingerprint scanner?!?!?! Now I won't have to type a code anymore!"
[questionable if this is really more secure, especially given how easy it is to lift prints off of any electronic device]
But will really no no practical use on a phone.
"NFC?!?!? Now I don't have to swipe my card!"
[forgetting the terrible security they generally have and the ability to grab CC numbers in transmission]
"Siri!?!? Now I don't have to type!"
[Instead I'll ask siri repeatedly if it's hot and why it won't have sex with me]
"Fingerprint scanner?!?!?! Now I won't have to type a code anymore!"
[questionable if this is really more secure, especially given how easy it is to lift prints off of any electronic device]
But will really no no practical use on a phone.
Why would it be harder on a laptop? "Portable size" has nothing to do with it. Once my laptop is open and set up, using the scanner isn't more difficult. I don't get it.
I use Siri on a regular basis for starters. Also being able to eliminate the need to type in my passcode 25 times a day would by itself make it worth having. Anything after that would be icing on the cake. However, if (and I mean if) it allows secure payment options, then I think that would be huge.
Do you really type a passcode 25x/day? I only have to if I download a new app that requires login, which is maybe once a week or month. Everything is logged in automatically due to cookies. I understand that you may be different but 25x seems excessive.
Most people I know who use iPhones stick to their tried and true apps and maybe jump on the latest ones like Snapchat or Tinder once every few months. Seems like a solution to a problem that doesn't exist for the majority of users.
It failed on laptops i think its gonna fail on smartphones. who really needs one and nobody is really gonna use it that often
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I'd be shocked if I didn't enter my passcode more than 25x a day. Even if I checked my phone just twice a hour and sleep 12 hours a day, then that would be 24x a day...but I check more than that each hour and don't sleep that much. If you don't have auto-lock activated then you probably aren't as excited about this as those of us who do. I hope to see secure payment options come out of this as well, which would be great IMHO.
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Same here. Always turn of screen when I'm done using phone. Not having to enter that code so often would be awesome. Not locking my phone is not an option sadly.
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Except for literally every time I use my phone.
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Thing is, smartphones (especially the iPhone) are by far the most frequently stolen item in the USA (and elsewhere I assume). Plus they are filled with personal/financial data for many of us. Discouraging theft and reducing the possibility of accessing personal info is important IMHO.
I'd be shocked if I didn't enter my passcode more than 25x a day. Even if I checked my phone just twice a hour and sleep 12 hours a day, then that would be 24x a day...but I check more than that each hour and don't sleep that much. If you don't have auto-lock activated then you probably aren't as excited about this as those of us who do. I hope to see secure payment options come out of this as well, which would be great IMHO.
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Same here. Always turn of screen when I'm done using phone. Not having to enter that code so often would be awesome. Not locking my phone is not an option sadly.
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Except for literally every time I use my phone.
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Thing is, smartphones (especially the iPhone) are by far the most frequently stolen item in the USA (and elsewhere I assume). Plus they are filled with personal/financial data for many of us. Discouraging theft and reducing the possibility of accessing personal info is important IMHO.
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Not entirely true.
Depending on how you feel about security maybe setting your "require passcode" to 5-15 minutes and/or reply with message to on would help in your current situation.
This is how I keep mine set and a text message session is never a problem. Nor is that occasional check.
About the time I would notice my phone missing is when it would already be locked.
Again, this is assuming your not too worried about it. This works well for me, I use my phone a lot and enter my passcode 2-3 times maybe....
If you have managed device (I.e., an iPhone provided by your employer), you are probably stuck with the 2 minute auto lock. I have to re-enter the 8 digit password on my work iPhone every 2 minutes.
I will be thrilled if I can substitute a thumbprint for that 8-digit password.
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Here's a blurb on the fingerprint sensor believed to be in the iPhone 5S:
Prism??
I've always wanted the finger print scanner until recently. I'm starting to shy away from all the cloud storage, and although it would be a nice alternative to typing in a pass code, I highly suspect the fingerprint "key" would be stored as part of iCloud. If there was the option to store it locally that would be great, but with all this PRISM/NSA stuff coming to light, if makes me worry who would have access to my credit cards, fingerprints, emails, etc. Especially as hacking and security leaks aren't exactly uncommon in the news, and more and more very personal information is getting stored in the cloud, perhaps I might just keep my fingerprints offline as much as possible.
I've always wanted the finger print scanner until recently. I'm starting to shy away from all the cloud storage, and although it would be a nice alternative to typing in a pass code, I highly suspect the fingerprint "key" would be stored as part of iCloud. If there was the option to store it locally that would be great, but with all this PRISM/NSA stuff coming to light, if makes me worry who would have access to my credit cards, fingerprints, emails, etc. Especially as hacking and security leaks aren't exactly uncommon in the news, and more and more very personal information is getting stored in the cloud, perhaps I might just keep my fingerprints offline as much as possible.
It builds a database of biometric information for hackers to exploit. Unlike a password, a fingerprint can't be changed. So in a few years, good luck convincing your bank that it wasn't really you who emptied your account.
I was just trying to offer a solution currently.
I guess I'm lucky in a sense my employer provides my iPhone as a contractor but the powers above them don't allow information pertaining to work on it. But here is my catch, I cannot intentionally give out my fingerprints to a private or public business. That will apply whether the data is stored remotely or not.
But for the security savvy personal phone its a convenient solution. And regardless of the outcome of the next iPhone my permanent solution.
And at the expense of sounding greedy I hope there are other features besides that. I imagine there would be considering the astounding number of people that don't even use a passcode.
Such data would probably be encrypted. Also, it may not even be stored with Apple (much like how our passcodes aren't in a database).
Maybe so, but encryption can be broken and often is. No matter where it's stored -- at Apple, at a third party, on the device or some combination -- it's vulnerable to one extent or another.
Authentication. And ones on PCs are never used because the Windows driver support is complete garbage. it's not a hardware problem so much...
Yeah, just like touch screens failed on laptops.
I don't use a pass code at all. Hate them. This could be a reasonable compromise if it unlocks the phone quickly.