I want to add biometric logon capability to my desktop

[slicksilver]

What's the best way to do this? I'm on Windows 8 Pro and I use my computer for work/personal purposes. For now, I login to my Microsoft Account using the user id/password method with my keyboard.

 

[mechBgon]

Pick up an Authentec fingerprint reader. Windows can get the driver from Windows Update, and although Authentec got bought by Apple and doesn't sell software suites anymore, they've still got a basic one that'll let you do Windows log-on and elevation prompts. You can get that here, including the license key: http://support.authentec.com/Downloads/Windows/TrueSuite.aspx Although it says Windows 7, that should work fine on Win8 too.

Authentec/UPEK made various fingerprint readers. Some are swipe sensors, some are stationary touch sensors. Their model name is Eikon. Looking on Ebay, I see some of the Eikon TrueMe models for $20 shipped. I have one of those and can verify it jives with the free software mentioned above. In that general swipe-reading style, the primo unit is the TCRD4. I have one NIB I'd sell for $45 shipped (USPS) if you wanted.

There are also lots of UPEK old-style touchpad fingerprint readers on Ebay, most of them transparent-blue color. They do NOT jive with the software mentioned above, and were glitchy with other software, sometimes acting as if they'd been touched at random times. The Eikon 300/500/700 touchpad style are a good bet if you want the touchpad style instead of the swipe style.

There's also keyboards incorporating Authentec/UPEK touchchips, if that works better than a standalone sensor. I've tried two types: a Cherry with a touchpad (had the glitching problem I mentioned above), and an IBM/Lenovo that works great. I have a half-dozen of the Lenovos at work. The IBM/Lenovos crop up on Ebay, part number 73P4730 for the U.S. key layout. You can also search for "fingerprint keyboard," but beware that there are other languages with alternate key layouts. Look at the shape of the ENTER key, if it's the horizontal rectangle then that should be English. L-shaped or inverted-L-shaped indicate other versions.

For those who'd like the Lenovo in Portuguese, Spanish, or French layouts, check Geeks.com.

 

[slicksilver]

Pick up an Authentec fingerprint reader. Windows can get the driver from Windows Update, and although Authentec got bought by Apple and doesn't sell software suites anymore, they've still got a basic one that'll let you do Windows log-on and elevation prompts. You can get that here, including the license key: http://support.authentec.com/Downloads/Windows/TrueSuite.aspx Although it says Windows 7, that should work fine on Win8 too.

Authentec/UPEK made various fingerprint readers. Some are swipe sensors, some are stationary touch sensors. Their model name is Eikon. Looking on Ebay, I see some of the Eikon TrueMe models for $20 shipped. I have one of those and can verify it jives with the free software mentioned above. In that general swipe-reading style, the primo unit is the TCRD4. I have one NIB I'd sell for $45 shipped (USPS) if you wanted.

There are also lots of UPEK old-style touchpad fingerprint readers on Ebay, most of them transparent-blue color. They do NOT jive with the software mentioned above, and were glitchy with other software, sometimes acting as if they'd been touched at random times. The Eikon 300/500/700 touchpad style are a good bet if you want the touchpad style instead of the swipe style.

There's also keyboards incorporating Authentec/UPEK touchchips, if that works better than a standalone sensor. I've tried two types: a Cherry with a touchpad (had the glitching problem I mentioned above), and an IBM/Lenovo that works great. I have a half-dozen of the Lenovos at work. The IBM/Lenovos crop up on Ebay, part number 73P4730 for the U.S. key layout. You can also search for "fingerprint keyboard," but beware that there are other languages with alternate key layouts. Look at the shape of the ENTER key, if it's the horizontal rectangle then that should be English. L-shaped or inverted-L-shaped indicate other versions.

For those who'd like the Lenovo in Portuguese, Spanish, or French layouts, check Geeks.com.

Thanks a ton for the detailed write up! I think I will get the Lenovo keyboard and will contact Lenovo and ask them if they have it in stock here(I'm from India). BTW I love your secure your windows guide. Been religiously following it for about 5 years or so if I remember well. Any plans of updating it for Win 8?

 

[mechBgon]

Thanks a ton for the detailed write up! I think I will get the Lenovo keyboard and will contact Lenovo and ask them if they have it in stock here(I'm from India). BTW I love your secure your windows guide. Been religiously following it for about 5 years or so if I remember well. Any plans of updating it for Win 8?

Thanks! Yes, I need to refresh it with some Windows 8 information. A couple of the security features of Windows 8 rely on hardware/BIOS support: Secure Boot to prevent bootkit infections; and a new form of Data Execution Prevention found on Ivy Bridge processors, named Supervisor Mode Execution Prevention or SMEP. So I should be advising builders how to take advantage of those. There are a couple other areas I should refine for Win8 as well.

 

[mechBgon]

For the record, I cranked out some revisions to the security page to make it relevant to the Windows 8 era: http://www.mechbgon.com/security Of the new info, probably the most important stuff for an existing Win8 installation is:

1. if the built-in PDF reader will get the job done for you, then uninstall third-party PDF readers

2. whatever your usual browser might be, it would still be a good idea to enable Enhanced Protected Mode on the Desktop version of Internet Explorer. On a 64-bit Win8, this will put each individual browser tab in its own AppContainer, which is an extra-restrictive sandbox (more info on that here: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ieinternals...rk-security-addons-cookies-metro-desktop.aspx )

3. not really new, but it's worth maxing out the UAC slider to "Always notify." There is nothing theoretical about this, there's malware that can pull off a clever privilege escalation if you don't.

 

[slicksilver]

For the record, I cranked out some revisions to the security page to make it relevant to the Windows 8 era: http://www.mechbgon.com/security Of the new info, probably the most important stuff for an existing Win8 installation is:

1. if the built-in PDF reader will get the job done for you, then uninstall third-party PDF readers

2. whatever your usual browser might be, it would still be a good idea to enable Enhanced Protected Mode on the Desktop version of Internet Explorer. On a 64-bit Win8, this will put each individual browser tab in its own AppContainer, which is an extra-restrictive sandbox (more info on that here: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ieinternals...rk-security-addons-cookies-metro-desktop.aspx )

3. not really new, but it's worth maxing out the UAC slider to "Always notify." There is nothing theoretical about this, there's malware that can pull off a clever privilege escalation if you don't.

Got 2 and 3 already covered. Cant do without Acrobat reader bcos I search a lot in PDF documents. Thanks again. You should update your sig link saying you updated it for Win 8