Sony has released a fingerprint recognition system aimed at consumers and small businesses which is designed to replace passwords.
The FIU-600 Puppy fingerprint recognition device for Microsoft Windows or Mac OS X platforms is designed to provide high-access security to desktops and applications.
"Consumers and small business owners no longer have to remember lengthy passwords or personal identification numbers," said Tom Evans, vice president of marketing at Sony's media and application solutions division.
The FIU-600 unit connects via a USB port and authenticates users based on their fingerprints.
Sony claimed that the reader's capacitance sensing technology cannot be fooled by paper copies and does not require cleaning.
Evans explained that fingerprint technology is more reliable and secure than passwords and Pins, which can easily be forgotten or broken because they are based on information such as birthdays and pet names.
The FIU-600 with its bundled Puppy Suite authentication software for Windows requires:
- a USB-equipped computer with a 300MHz Pentium processor
- 128MB of Ram
- 20MB of available hard disk space
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or later
- Windows 98SE, ME, 2000 Professional Service Pack 2, XP Home or XP Pro.
Source:
Vnunet