LOL So much for Apple's touch ID "security"

[Ravynmagi]

In American Horror Story season 2, a guy and his girlfriend are in an abandoned insane asylum. There is a locked door with a food slot and the guy sticks his arm in there with his cell phone to take a picture of what's inside. And something inside grabs his arm and ripped it off.

I'm thinking if that guy had an iPhone 5S he'd be majorly screwed because the monster behind the door now has his iPhone and his fingers.

So there, we have a scenario where fingerprint authentication is a bad idea.

 

[Zodiark1593]

Actually, it supposedly doesn't work properly with severed fingers. The gun-to-the-head method or else the pressing-the-finger-against-the-sensor-while-the-victim-is-drugged method would both work better.

Don't you just need to keep the fingerprint hydrated? Would be easier to take the finger and remove the phone's security in a safe spot than having to remove the security on the spot. You should only need a couple uses out of the finger anyway to disable security permanently.

 

[WelshBloke]

Don't you just need to keep the fingerprint hydrated? Would be easier to take the finger and remove the phone's security in a safe spot than having to remove the security on the spot. You should only need a couple uses out of the finger anyway to disable security permanently.

You would just need to peel his skin off and wear it like a finger glove!

Honestly, if someone stole my phone and my finger the last thing I'd be worrying about is if they could unlock my phone.

 

[openwheel]

it was a gimmick to begin with, so it doesn't really matter how easy it can be cracked.

 

[Ravynmagi]

it was a gimmick to begin with, so it doesn't really matter how easy it can be cracked.

For those of us that have to use passcode locks for Exchange or something, it's definitely more than just a gimmick. It's a huge convenience.

 

[Oyeve]

For those of us that have to use passcode locks for Exchange or something, it's definitely more than just a gimmick. It's a huge convenience.

Only if exchange will implement this. Which it doesnt. My users asked me to let this slide so they could use the finger print scanner and I said no effing way. I enforce 4 key passcode on all devices touching my server.

 

[openwheel]

I bet you can type the passcode faster than the scanner.

What's next? Phone unlock by body odor?

 

[nickbits]

Well, I don't use a passcode on my phone because it is too annoying. I will use the fingerprint thingy.. better than nothing.

 

[Eug]

I can't find it now, but I believe I read something that said that they were unable to lift any usable fingerprints off the phone, and that they had to use a 2400DPI scan of the finger that they got from other means.

I think it's easier said than done to get the finger print off the phone.

I think it would be possible to reconstruct that print if you had advanced fingerprint scanning software that could look at multiple partial prints and piece them together. Then you'd have to photoshop it to make it look like a regular print and print it as they did, onto the proper membrane, and keep it moist to use it as a fake fingerprint. This would take some major work, and it would still not be as reliable as a scan of an actual finger.

The other problem is that at the end of that process, you'd probably have fingerprints for multiple different fingers, esp. if you are a two-handed phone user.

Also, I believe touch ID kicks you out of the fingerprint scanner after 3 tries. At that point it defaults to the passcode. Then you're allowed 10 tries at the passcode before it wipes the data (assuming you have the phone set up that way).

 

[Ravynmagi]

I bet you can type the passcode faster than the scanner.

What's next? Phone unlock by body odor?

I'm not sure about that. The fingerprint scan looks quite quick. It looks faster than tapping out four digits on a screen to me.

 

[Eug]

Speed is one issue, but convenience is another. I think it would be even more desirable on a 4.7"+ Android phone. Those screens are big enough that I have problems consistently typing in my passcode with one hand just using my thumb on my Android phone.

Like I've said before, I like physical home buttons, and I've been wanting a fingerprint scanner integrated into the home button for just about forever. However, I always thought that was just a pipe dream, and if it ever happened, it'd be in 2020 or something like that. Apple made my pipe dream reality, 7 years before my prediction.

7 years is an eternity in mobile electronics.

 

[MrX8503]

it was a gimmick to begin with, so it doesn't really matter how easy it can be cracked.

It's not a gimmick if it works well and is convenient. Other competitors live off of gimmicks.

 

[waggy]

pfft. so a fingerprint can be scanned.

so I like this guys way around that. he is a fucking genius!

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/technology/video-watch-iphone-5s-unlocked-2295021

 

[openwheel]

.......

Like I've said before, I like physical home buttons, and I've been wanting a fingerprint scanner integrated into the home button for just about forever. However, I always thought that was just a pipe dream, and if it ever happened, it'd be in 2020 or something like that. Apple made my pipe dream reality, 7 years before my prediction.

7 years is an eternity in mobile electronics.

Finger print scanner is your pipe dream? Dream bigger my friend.

 

[openwheel]

pfft. so a fingerprint can be scanned.

so I like this guys way around that. he is a fucking genius!

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/technology/video-watch-iphone-5s-unlocked-2295021

:thumbsup:

 

[Eug]

Finger print scanner is your pipe dream? Dream bigger my friend.

Just one of many pipe dreams.

Another was a cell phone with a built-in full-on HD video camera, but that was achieved quite some time ago.

 

[dontl00katme]

Well, at least now you know that whoever approaches you with a 2400 DPI portable scanner is not to be trusted. Keep your fingers away from those guys!

 

[jpeyton]

Using a biometric lock has always been a nightmare from a 5th Amendment standpoint. In particular, this part: "nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself".

Putting a biometric lock on anything, whether it's your phone, laptop, desktop, etc., is akin to waiving your 5th Amendment rights and granting any government agency access to your secured information.

In light of the entire Snowden/NSA episode, I want to make it as difficult as possible for the government to trample on my rights to personal privacy.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

I bet you can type the passcode faster than the scanner.

What's next? Phone unlock by body odor?

Passcode unlocks are annoying. There's times when I have my phone handsfree and I need to unlock it. I hate having to key in the 6 digit PIN unlock I'm required per corporate requirements. I think it'd be a lot safer to just tap my finger.

Plus, it's just easier overall. ONE motion. Even if I can key in my PIN ultra fast, it's the fact that I need to repeat a series of motions, and there's a likelihood of error. It's not uncommon for me to mash my PIN in and mess up once or twice a day.

 

[dma0991]

The fingerprint latex whatnot kinda reminds me of Gattaca. What will Apple scan next? Blood? Hair? Nail clippings? Dead skin cells?

 

[openwheel]

Of course it's better. It's Apple.

I really don't like the idea that iTunes knows my billing info and my finger prints. Yikes....

passwords work just fine, thank you very much!

I still think Moto X brought the best new features in 2013: hands free control with a dedicated low power processor. Talk about innovative.

This finger print nonesense is just gimmicky. Heck I've had finger print scanners on work laptops forever, they work, but trust me, passwords are better.

 

[OS]

Yeah the feature is apple marketing puffery, but this is a non issue for most consumers.
You have bigger problems if you live somewhere that you might get robbed at gunpoint to unlock your phone or might get your fingers cut off for a phone.

This is a problem if one was dumb enough to store criminal activity, classified material or state secrets on a smartphone. But then you should already know that most smartphones can be broken into by the NSA now anyways.

 

[openwheel]

The thing is, if you were going to physically use the phone in the first place, then swipe or passcode is NOT a hassle at all. The finger print scanner is just gimmicky in that regard. Having to awkwardly reposition my thumb on the home button is a lot more work than just a simple passcode which has become habitual anyway. I can understand if the finger print scanner is located on each side of the phone where my thumbs natually rest.

For a driver, the hands free "OK Google Now" command is much more helpful from a driver's point of view.

 

[Eug]

Passcode is a major PITA. That's why I've been wanting a functional fingerprint scanner for a long while now. Years in fact.

I tell ya, within a few years, a lot of superphones will have fingerprint scanners.

 

[openwheel]

Passcode unlocks are annoying. There's times when I have my phone handsfree and I need to unlock it. I hate having to key in the 6 digit PIN unlock I'm required per corporate requirements. I think it'd be a lot safer to just tap my finger.
......

So using your beloved iPhone is "annoying"? Gotcha! :thumbsup:

Finger print scanner is still NOT hands free my friend. If you can't safely hold your phone to enter a passcode you probably shouldn't be scanning your finger print with it.

You are just stretching it now.