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Log in with your Fingerprint

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PCQ Bureau
New Update

Biometrics looks like the flavor of the season, as products for the desktop

debut. MouseFP is a three-button scroll mouse with a built-in optical scanner on

its left side, where your thumb would normally rest if you’re a right-handed

user. It can connect to your PC via the parallel port or USB. When you install

it, it will ask you for your fingerprint (you can use any finger for this), and

then verify that again. It stores your fingerprint, a 3 kB file, that needs to

be verified whenever you login. You can choose to verify with a password and

fingerprint, only a password, or only a fingerprint.

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You can choose what you want to protect. By default, it integrates with your

screensaver; once your screensaver is activated, 

you have to supply your

fingerprint to access your system. You can also protect only specific folders or

files with it. The software works with your right-click menu–you have to

right-click on the folder you want to protect, and choose the option of securing

it. It then encrypts the folder, sub-folders, down to each individual file, and

decrypts only when you put in your fingerprint to access it. You can also share

particular folders between two or more users–all the users have to then

register with their fingerprints. If you’re using MouseFP over your network,

users can access their desktops by logging in from any machine.

The

optical scanner on the mouse is conveniently placed for a right-hander

--it's where your thumbwill naturally rest

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While the user can change system settings–disable screensaver, edit his

fingerprint, etc–the administrator can add or remove users, as in a normal

network, except that each user has to provide his or her fingerprint. You can

also provide an emergency password that is used in the event of a system crash.

MouseFP software comes with APIs that let you integrate it with your own

software. That is, while developing your software, you can build in access to it

via fingerprints.

Price: Rs 13,100 for a parallel port, Rs 13,900 for a USB port

connection.

Contact: Antrix Tech Zone, Mumbai. Tel: 022-8061531. E-mail: antrix@vsnl.net

Pragya Madan in Mumbai

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