is there a way to juke the fingerprint scanner?

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fartonmyear · #1 Post by **fartonmyear** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 3:19 am

can you print out on paper a picture of your fingerprint? do you need actual physical ridges? how?

Greg Gebhardt · #2 Post by **Greg Gebhardt** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 6:20 am

fartonmyear wrote:can you print out on paper a picture of your fingerprint? do you need actual physical ridges? how?

I think that there is more involved here. Not sure if it is electronically looking at the ridges, if so, only the finger will work.

If it were a picture, I would think you would see some light from the sensor that looks at the finger, but using my laptop in the dark, I see nothing, but then it could be out of the range of the human eye.

I am betting on an electronic signature from the ridges.

eric530 · #3 Post by **eric530** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 7:29 am

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/finge ... anner3.htm

Greg Gebhardt · #4 Post by **Greg Gebhardt** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 8:00 am

From reading the above URL, a picture is not going to do it. You are going to have to have "the" finger that was originally programmed in it.

I did not think much of this device as I was having to swipe over and over to get it approved. After stop using my index finger and went to my middle finger I have not had a misread in 20 start ups.

I have grown to like it and the security it offers as I leave my TP on standby during the day and it is nice to know that NO ONE could get into my laptop>

gentoo · #5 Post by **gentoo** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 8:53 am

Greg Gebhardt wrote:I have grown to like it and the security it offers as I leave my TP on standby during the day and it is nice to know that NO ONE could get into my laptop>

I was all about the fingerprint reader, too, until I realized that the user can still press CTRL+ALT+DELETE at the login screen to enter the regular text password. With this option there's nothing to stop brute force or other tools used to crack the Windows login password. Is there any way to disable the user from being able to use a text password as an alternative to the fingerprint login?

drewnyc · #6 Post by **drewnyc** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 9:52 am

gentoo wrote:I was all about the fingerprint reader, too, until I realized that the user can still press CTRL+ALT+DELETE at the login screen to enter the regular text password. With this option there's nothing to stop brute force or other tools used to crack the Windows login password. Is there any way to disable the user from being able to use a text password as an alternative to the fingerprint login?

I think you've missed the point --- with the fingerprint reader, you can make your text password really really long and nasty, which will make it impossible for brute force to crack it. The reader thus allows you to login in quickly without having to type in a 26 key password.

I would also recommend never "disabling" the text login, as what if the reader breaks, or you lose a finger?

mgenin · #7 Post by **mgenin** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 9:55 am

I doubt it, expecially because your Administrator account requires a different password. The fingerprint reader it just a device to make it quicker and easier to login to your computer... I guess if you wanted to avoid all those password bruteforcers, make your password really long and complicated with numbers letters and symbols.

Inky · #8 Post by **Inky** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 11:01 am

drewnyc wrote: I think you've missed the point --- with the fingerprint reader, you can make your text password really really long and nasty, which will make it impossible for brute force to crack it. The reader thus allows you to login in quickly without having to type in a 26 key password.

I would also recommend never "disabling" the text login, as what if the reader breaks, or you lose a finger?

Thanks for that idea. I was wondering about that too--about how people can easily select the password option instead of the fingerprint reader, but yeah, that makes sense about picking a super difficult password, and maybe write it on a slip of paper, hiding it someplace very safe, and then use the fingerprint reader the rest of the time. Great idea.

I had to laugh at your comment, "what if...you lose a finger". Since I "enrolled" two fingers from each hand, I'd have to lose four fingers. If I lose four fingers believe me, getting into my laptop will be the least of my worries.

-Inky

#9 Post by **RonS** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 11:53 am

You can't fool the fingerprint reader that way.

On the Thinkpad, you have to swipe your finger over the reader. As you do, the ridges of your fingerprint are read as changes in electrical properties detected by the sensor, and a map is constructed of your fingerprint. If your finger is removed, its electrical properties change and it shouldn't work in the reader anymore.

Here is a good discussion on fingerprint reader technology: http://www.pc.ibm.com/us/pdf/Fingerprin ... _paper.pdf

When the fingerprint authentication on the Thinkpad is combined with hard drive password protection, the hard drive is very secure. From what I've read, the only way to defeat the hard drive protection is to open the drive in a clean room, and re-build the drive by physically moving the platters to another housing.

mattfromomaha · #10 Post by **mattfromomaha** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 1:29 pm

Another question about the fingerprint reader - isn't there a way to have it manage all of your web page and application passwords as well as the log on? Or do I have to install the security chip software to do that? Is it difficult to do?

arun · #11 Post by **arun** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 1:46 pm

I would also like to know how to setup the fingerprint reader to manage passwords for sites such as hotmail, banking, etc and protect certain folders.

Right now I use it at my windows login only. It would be cool to actually use it for more than one thing.

Thanks,
Arun

drewnyc · #12 Post by **drewnyc** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 7:47 pm

Install the IBM Client Security Password Manager and you can store all your usernames and password, which you can then access with a swipe of the finger. It's very cool!

#13 Post by **GomJabbar** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 8:49 pm

drewnyc wrote:Install the IBM Client Security Password Manager and you can store all your usernames and password, which you can then access with a swipe of the finger. It's very cool!

Question: Has anyone been able to do this with Netscape 7.2 or with Firefox? I installed IBM CCS for a short time, but I didn't figure out how to do this. I have a T-42 without the fingerprint scanner. I was thinking that perhaps one could do this with a master password, if he didn't have the fingerprint scanner, but I don't know.

mixelogj · #14 Post by **mixelogj** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 4:01 am

Although i didn't try much, i couldn't make it work with firefox. It would work well with IE, but not firefox.

mattfromomaha · #15 Post by **mattfromomaha** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 9:34 am

mixelogj wrote:Although i didn't try much, i couldn't make it work with firefox. It would work well with IE, but not firefox.

D'OH! Darn it!

Chatbox · #16 Post by **Chatbox** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 9:45 am

a while ago, on the Screensavers (Tech TV), they used gummy bears on some fingerprint reader. However, they didn't try it on a T43 (wasn't out then).

is there a way to juke the fingerprint scanner?

is there a way to juke the fingerprint scanner?

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