Are finger print readers worth the $50 upgrade?

So I say No it is pure Novelty however if one really wants your data and can get past the bios all one would need is a disk containing a SAM cracking tool to erase all passwords from the accounts on the computer rendering the fingerprint reader useless and the theif fully capable of accessing everything on your hard drive I only know this because there are plenty of LAYER 8 problems in the army and people forget their local passwords and we are forced to reset them

BTW we use M4A1s

 

Just got my first one on the T61 I just received.

In my mind it is nice to have but really a novelty. I like it for loging on to the machine as it is easier than typing my password. Than again, with the thinkpad software you can still just type your password like normal and the fingerprint software does not bug you at all, so there are options.

I am going to be going to school where people just doing pass by browsing on your machine can be an issue, so the logon password is a must. The fingerprint reader just makes it a bit quicker for me

 

I have always found them to be very safe. Mythbusters found a laptop fingerprint scanner harder to fool than a professional strength biometric device used by large companies.

 

I have one on my T60. Very useful for keeping away pesky sisters.

Anyways, if you set the setting too high so that its very sensitive to detail, then you'll have a very hard time logging into it. That would include those that work with their hands a lot, getting small scars or scratches (what are called work marks in some cases) that will ruin your fingerprint. Otherwise, its quite useful in the long run.

 

Had it, liked it ok, but skipped it this time around.

Voting though, I can't say it's a novelty, or not useful (absolutely provides a higher level of security than pw), just not worth a penny more to me after having used one the past couple of years.

Only reason I liked it is for convenience, but it actually turned out to be less convenient than just using a password sometimes. Every now and then (~1/10), you have to reswipe because you did it too fast or too slow; or sometimes if your finger is too dry it won't register, etc. With a password, you type it right, it works. ymmv.

 

I did not see this, I cant think it to be true eather.

So since the C90S comes with one I will make a point to test it and see how easy it is to fool.

I bet a copy machine copy of my finger print will pass the test and open it.

 

Just got one with my dv6500t, it was only about $25 extra.

 

Are they useful - Yes
Do they keep your laptop safe - to a degree

Fingerprint readers are useful in that they provide additional file security and help prevent people you know from accessing data on your system that you don't want them accessing. They provide fast user switching (to give others limited access to your system should you scan their prints), allow you to use longer passwords, and you don't have to worry about remembering passwords.
In those ways fingerprint readers are useful.

What they don't do is prevent you computer from being stolen, and like others have said if the hard drive is removed the data on the drive can be accessed from another system or copied.

Test of recent biometric fingerprint readers show that they are secure against photos of your fingers, and are heat/chemical sensitive so that a person would not be able to log in as you with your cut off finger.

So - Yes, they are useful as a time saving tool, additional level of file encryption, and alternative method to access your password protected websites.

 

i paid about $25 as well to add one to my laptop, so for that amount, it's not a bad deal

 

A fingerprint reader came standard on my ThinkPad. I really like it - I can log into Windows and anything else that uses a password without a problem. All it takes is a swipe of the finger.

 

I love my fingerprint (most of the time). It's really convenient to log into windows and other websites or to encrypt files. And if you want a nice long secured password this is much easier than typing it in. Sometimes, however, it takes a little longer than I would like for the fingerprint scan request to come up when i load a webpage, but that isn't too often. It's $50...you'll live.

 

Agreed. Spending $50 will not result in death.

 

what they said, but i say its only is worth it if you work for a company or a business person

 

I remember inMythbusters they fooled a real high-end door lock type fingerprint scanner, yet their cheap PC scanner wasnt even fooled for a second They're secure and cool as hell