From Issue #2 , Page #34 | By Dan Leahy

A new technology puts your finger on the pulse of convenience.

Fingerprint biometrics is not an emerging medical field that should be represented in your stock portfolio. Instead, it's an emerging technology that can help keep your stock portfolio, along with a host of passwords and access levels, at your (pardon the pun) fingertips.

Biometric technology has been slowly gaining momentum in recent years as a means of security. Biometrics, simply put, is the measurement of physical characteristics as a means of identification. It uses your fingerprint like a key, providing access at a single touch. Retinal scanners, face-recognition software and fingerprint scans have traditionally been the stuff of high-gloss Hollywood productions. But soon Mission: Impossible may be more feasible for home PC users.

A couple of factors have contributed to the recent surge in popularity for biometrics. For one, there's an increasing need for individuals to protect their home PCs from children and other members of the household. People have also become aware of the ever-expanding burden of passwords they use on a daily basis. Any given visit to the computer might result in three or more password requests just to get to your own bank account. Fingerprint biometrics offers a better solution.

APC's offerings

American Power Conversion is currently offering the most reasonably priced ($50) fingerprint scanner on the market, with its Biometric Password Manager. Based on cutting-edge fingerprint technology, this device allows users to biometrically secure their PC or laptop to manage their passwords.

Greg Fournier, a product line manager for APC, says their device can be summed up in one word. "I can sit here and tell you it's all about security, which is a key word in our industry," Fournier says. "But really it's just easy. Who doesn't like things that are easy?"

The APC device supports up to 20 different fingerprints or 20 different users stored on a single computer system. It will customize separate profiles and access levels for each user as well. It's compatible with Windows XP, ME 2000 and 98 operating systems.

"Another great feature is its ability to switch users instantly," Fournier says. "Let's say Dad sits down and needs to access his work files after one of his kids, who doesn't have access, has already logged in. He touches his finger to the pad and boom, his settings and access levels are all picked up."

APC's device scans the layer or "true fingerprint" below the surface of the skin, which prevents common skin conditions (dry, work, calloused) from causing malfunctions or poor reads. As far as security goes, Fournier has no doubts that fingerprints are the way to go. This isn't the traditional approach seen in police work or other fields, where a computer has a snapshot or photo of your fingerprint on file. This is about numbers and data, as the points between your fingerprint's defining characteristics are measured and then expressed as an algorithm. "You'd have to have 25,000 completely different people lined up to have a chance at one of them passing the scan," Fournier says. "I'll take that versus the risk that someone overheard or saw me enter my password, which I might use for everything from my bank account to my work email login."

Thumbs-up For Index

Index Security is another company on the front lines of the biometric revolution. Its BioStick product is like a "digital safe," according to the company's Web site. The BioStick combines a small fingerprint scanner with a storage device similar to any number of the "thumb" drives on the market.

While the thumb drives are small and convenient, the BioStick gains its advantage from being very secure. A finger scanner on the top of the unit captures your finger information in less than one second. Any finger that doesn't match the BioStick's enrollment files is rejected.

The BioStick is a great plug-and-play tool, as it requires no software and comes with features like a handy neck strap for transportation. It's also one of the few products that support Mac OS, in addition to Windows 98, ME, 2000 and XP. At 128 MB and $175, the BioStick is a little on the small side memory-wise. A 256-MB model should be available by the time you read this, but there's been no word on pricing.

The Magic Touch

Another company, Identix, offers its BioTouch 200 USB scanner for home office use, while its BioLogon software for Windows provides an added layer of customization for the home or home office user. The extra control gives users the ability to tweak the software in terms of the scanner's "strictness" level, so to speak. False accepts or false rejects (the scanner accepting the wrong person or rejecting the right person) aren't unheard of, and Identix company spokesperson Damon Wright said the BioLogon can adapt to a user's needs.

"We give people the choice of setting their own level of security," Wright says. "If they're comfortable with the scanner maybe granting access to five wrong people out of every one hundred, they can configure it as such."

Identix's software also grants single sign-on privileges, which means that once you sign in, the software will pull up all the appropriate passwords for the various Web sites where you have entered them. So, for instance, you don't have to put your finger down once to access your bank information and then again five minutes later to bid on that new (or used) DVD with your eBay account.

"It's all about convenience," Wright says. "It's just faster, easier, and doesn't require you to have all this clutter in your head or on sticky notes around your computer."

The end of sticky notes as we know it? Now there's a technology worth buying stock in.