Poll - Do you use Facial Recognition software?

Title says it all.

 

1) No need
2) too much CPU usage in the background
3) lag
4) not too accurate

Fun to play witht hough

 

I AGREE WITH ALL OF THESE...

 

Agreed, 5 for 5.

BTW sooner or later one of the facial recognition software representatives is probably going to post about it's improved CPU usage in this topic.

 

I do use it. Although it might tire after a while, I've only been using it to log in for a couple of weeks now and it's pretty quick after it gets to know you! Fun to play around with too but it'd be better if I could use it for Chrome and not just Internet Explorer for the web browsing part.

 

No
10 char.


Cin...

 

I used it for a while but it became more of a hassle than anything. It requires decent lighting and unfortunately I am usually in dim lighting. It's accuracy also leaves much to be desired. I found that I can just type in my password faster than I can get it to recognize me sometimes. So No, I no longer use it.

 

I like the face secured web login feature, it saves me hassle and time.

 

Looked cool on the alienware, but after 10 seconds the novelty wore off. I didnt order it with my SXPS, but it came with it anyways. Removed it and never looked back.

 

I use it saves me time. I use a password so its faster than typing. As other commented, it won't work under all lighting, but its useful.

 

It never seemed to have enough lighting with me computer, and as soon as I tested whethor or not I could use a print of my face or not I vowed never used it again. The idea that someone could simply hold up a printout of my face to my computer and get instant access to all my stuff just doesn't appeal to me.

 

It was really fun to play with it when my laptop first arrived. However, as many other people noticed, it's often faster to just type in your password.

I just had to reinstall my OS, and I don't think I'll be installing this software again.

Besides, it's not really that reliable. I guess if I wanted the ultimate security log-in solution, I'd go for a good thumbprint scanner, rather than facial recognition software. I'm sure it'll have its share of problems as well though (I don't really know how reliable they are, I'm just assuming that it is easier to recognize a thumbprint for a machine than someone's face).

In any case, I think a password works just fine for me for now.

 

Hello to everyone. I am the head of tech support at Sensible Vision - creators of FastAccess facial recognition that's on many Dell computers. Since this thread is about all facial recognition I can not speak to everyone's experiences but I will try my best to help with those using Dells. Facial recognition from different manufacturers varies quite widely in quality and feature set. We take all concerns quite seriously and have tried to create a tool that's secure, convenient, and genuinly useful to as many people as possible.

Given the sheer variety of topics broached so far, I will start talking about individual areas one at a time in an attempt to keep post length mangeable. I look forward to having reasonable and helpful discussions.

Let's start with photo recognition. My first recommendation is to read our FAQ posts on the topic as we address it in detail there already. Here is a brief synopsis:

FastAccess has industry leading photo rejection technology. A standard photo is very unlikely to allow inappropriate access because environmental details in that picture such as lighting, camera type and head angle (just to name a few) are unlikely to match how you look through your webcam while actually using your computer. As with all technology, however, there are some situations that are exceptions. Instead of hiding these, however, we actually publish them online, in these posts and even in the help files. We also provide tools to address them when necessary. If any of the following are real concerns for you, simply enable the "Face + Password" tool that periodically prompts for just a few characters of your password in addition to your face. This keeps most of the convenience of facial recognition, automatic web logins and the security of automatic desktop locking while making concern over photo access completely moot.

1. Photos taking THROUGH THE WEBCAM that's later used for facial recognition have a higher chance of being accepted. This is because they're more likely to match the environmental details of how you look at your computer. Do not allow these types of photos and/or enable "Face + Password". Photos taken from the perspective of the webcam but with a different camera are similar.

2. If you hold up any photo with a face and then type your password you are actively teaching the system to recognize that photo as you. Just as you should not write down your password on a sticky-note, this should simply not be done if you value security.

I hope this is helpful. A far more nuanced discussion is available in the FAQs. Thanks.

 

A follow-up question. Several people have now stated that FastAccess is either not "accurate" or not "reliable". What specific symptoms are you seeing that leads you to this conclusion?

I am actually curious to know because in all of our testing (which includes a great deal of real-world use in high security areas such as healthcare, banking and corrections in addition to use by millions of consumers), our numbers indicate that FastAccess is actually significantly MORE accurate than the average fingerprint reader.

Reading patterns of detail either in a face in a frame of video or in a fingerprint is fundamentally the same excercise. Just as one word processor might be better than another, however, it's definitely possible to undertake this excercise either well or badly (or anywhere in between). FastAccess does it exceedingly well in my experience. This is demonstrated by the fact that if there is ever any doubt as the user's identity, we always opt for the conservative route of asking for a password in order to allow access and to update the biometric database (which uniquely improves future performance). Other face recognition in particular tends to error on the side of granting access at the cost of accuracy.

 

Exactly what it means... user sits in front facing the cam and it doesn't accept!

 

And here I am.

The majority of CPU use is actually by the camera driver so of course there will be some CPU cycles used...especially in User Switching and Continuous security modes that make constant use of the camera in order to provide real-time convenience and security features. Whether or not those cycles used are worthwhile is a question for individuals to answer based on their machine speed, security/convenience needs, and what else (if anything) those cycles would be used for in the absence of FastAccess.

CPU usage is also notoriously difficult to measure in a meaningful way. Specifically, most CPUs throttle themselves down to save power when possible. Any CPU used is typically measured as a percentage of this now effectively slower CPU...making for an artificially higher reading.

Having said all that, FastAccess typically uses just a few percent or less in all cases (when measured against the total POSSIBLE cycles). Occasional spikes of higher usage may be visible, but overall usage is, or at least should be, really quite low.

Also please be sure to update to version 2.4.95. In this version, FastAccess now fully detaches from the camera in Face Login mode (the most common mode used) which further reduces CPU usage.

 

Ok - I understand better now, thank you. When someone says that it's not "accurate" or "reliable", it can actually have two completely opposite meanings...that's it's making recognitions that aren't correct or that it's not making correct recognitions often enough. I can definitely try to help with this one.

Here's a few things to try to help it recognize you more often. #1 is by far the most critical.

1. When logging in, be sure that the green "square" is clearly visible around your face and tracking your face location. Without that, FastAccess can't see you to recognize you and - more importantly - can't learn about your face when you type your password to improve future performance. I've seen situations where someone will occasionally look SO far down at their hands to type their password that the green square goes away (the camera is looking at the top of their head, effectively). Of course they often won't realize what's happening because they're looking at their hands instead of the video.....just something to be aware of.

Be sure to both get and KEEP that green square as you log in. I think you'll find that performance will improve quite quickly with that in place.

Here are the other standard tips. Note that these apply to FastAccess only. Other facial recognition software (for example from Lenovo, Toshiba, Asus, etc.) works differently.

2. When logging in, act naturally. Place your hands on the keyboard and look at the display.
3. Even lighting provides the best recognition. Strong shadows on your face will require more frequent manual logins.
4. Whenever face recognition takes more than a few seconds, click on your user name and enter your password to login to the computer. This teaches FastAccess to better recognize your face and can improve the speed of recognition under the same lighting conditions.
5. Use a consistent position in front of the computer. While different positions during recognition can be accommodated, a consistent position when logging in will improve recognition speed. Sitting perfectly still is NOT required, however.
6. Hair obscuring your face will slow recognition.

 

Certainly a valid point. Because it uses a camera, it does need light. How effectively a given camera will expose the face area does affect software performance.

Just FYI for everyone, in the next major upgrade (version 3.x) of FastAccess there will be a new feature called "FaceBright". It turns most of the pixels on the login screen white which casts more light onto the face - akin to the "flashligh" app on many smartphones. How much light of course depends on the screen size and brightness as well as how close you are, but from my personal use so far it can definitely help to properly expose the face in many lighting conditions that would have previously been a problem.

 

Let's break this one down a bit more as I'm genuinly curious to get more details and to help out whenever I might be able to (as I hope is shown by how much time I'm actually being encouraged to spend on this forum instead of doing other work )

Hard to argue somone's personal assesment of "need". This may very well be the case for you. I can, however, share some of what people that do value it like the most:

• Web Login feature saves time, helps with forgotten website passwords and adds security to websites with sensitive data
• Parents (or others with sensitive data in public areas) who want to enforce parental controls often appreciate automatic desktop locking to keep the kids out of their account.
• People who have long passwords or who type slowly often appreciate the recognition itself as a time saving measure. Faster typers appreciate this less.

Discussed in other post (and even other threads)

What lag are you referring to specifically?

"Accuracy" typically referrs to the software's ability to make correct (as opposed to wrong) recognitions. Do you mean something else or are you seeing a specific symptom that you're concerned with? I'm eager to learn more and to help if possible.

We actually sold FastAccess for years into healthcare, finance, etc. before bringing it to the consumer market so "accuracy" is something that we take quite seriously.

Glad that it has a certain "cool" factor too.

 

He may be referring to where it takes a few extra seconds for the software to load during Windows start up, right before the login screen shows up.

 

I like to use it to log into websites. I don't like to write passwords down and this remembers them and types them in for me when it sees my face.

 

OK, I think this was one of my problems, and that's why I commented that for me personally, a thumb scanner may be better.

I have a very animated face, and the only time FastAccess seemed to recognize me with no problems was when I looked as if someone just died. So, basically, every time I had to log in, I had to force myself to like like, well, someone just died. And it got kinda dreary at some point.

 

Edited...put on wrong thread

 

I don't even keep my laptop locked..... I don't keep ANY sensitive info. on this just in case it was lost...

I'd rather spend my time making sure the laptop isn't actually TAKEN... cuz being a laptop and quite easy to sneak one off, anyone can just reinstall windows and be happier than ever!!!!

 

I think the other problem for me, as for some of other people here, could be consistent lighting.

I can totally see why you guys have been successful selling FastAccess to businesses - those people mostly log in sitting in their offices/cubicles/labs with the same type of lightning and environment.

This is not the case for consumers, especially if we're talking about laptops, rather than desktops. I use my laptop everywhere - on the couch, in bed, outside, so my surroundings are always different.

Nevertheless, I give you major kudos for being so proactive, and really trying to understand what our concerns are to make your software better.

 

Good question! And kind of an amusing picture.

Here I can definitely help. You shouldn't have to contort your face at all. Fortunately, the learning algorithm that FastAccess uses isn't just a one-time event as it is with other facial recognition solutions. It will actually learn more / capture more versions of how you look each and every time you log in with your password.

Just look normally at the monitor, make sure the green square is tracking your face well and login. That will capture a "normal" look for you and allow you to be recognized either with that normal expression or one that is more "dreary" both.

I hope that's helpful.

 

Thank you very much for the kind words. We do try to reach out, learn from people's experience, support them well and to always, always improve the software.

Your comment about moving between environments is actually pretty accurate. If you go from one lighting situation to another quite frequently, you will need to log in manually somewhat more often. Philosophically, we'd much rather require this then do what other facial recognition solutions do...average out those environmental effects and become extremely susceptible to photo access and incorrect recognitions in the process. In other words we'll always error on the side of certainty, security and accuracy.

In this situation I just hope that some of the other featuers - particularly logging securely and conveniently into websites - still adds value.

My wife is actually in exactly that situation. She takes her laptop between various different schools that she works at and needs to login to Windows more often than I do in my office (though her recognition rate is still decent). She still saves time, however, because she'd need to do that initial manual login 100% of the time without FastAccess. This way she also no longer needs to manually log into websites. She also chooses (and believe me, I could not force her to do this!) to protect confidential student data - not to mention protecting the laptop FROM the students! - by setting the desktop to lock automatically.

Thanks very much for your balanced perspective.

 

Thanks svrep for providing so much information and help. I have just reformatted my new XPS, and held back on reinstalling this software. But I think I'll give it a go, you talked me into it

 

Don't use it... but I would if I could. Managing a zillion passwords and updating them often enough to remain secure is impossible.

 

I use FA to login and admittedly there is a delay on Windows startup where the software and I suppose camera driver are initializing. At that point if I'm sitting in a proper position I could login faster than the software could start.

I find it useful for watching movies though. I can perform setup, cables, remotes, etc. and then login hands-free when I need to mostly. The key is using it often enough to let it learn your face. It's to the point where I can usually just give it a quick glance and goodbye login screen, hello desktop.

The only times I have problems with it is when lighting is really poor. It's hard to directly fault the software for that though. The camera is a basic webcam. It wasn't designed for photographic quality or low light performance.

 

1. I use Firefox, and it saves all my passwords so no need for that there
2. You could just use Windows + L to lock, it's not that difficult. I'm a big keyboard shortcut user, and I don't find the constant 2% of my CPU being used in the background and battery drain worth the laziness of not pressing 2 buttons
3. I guess so, I have a 14-character password and I type quickly
4. I don't read other threads that much so I dunno if it's been addressed or something
5. lag as in I sit there for like 20 seconds and it draws a square around my nose and I'm waiting to be logged in ... I can type my password in like 3 seconds
6. Accuracy as in it rarely recognizes me
7. Cool it is, since it takes advantage of my 2 MP webcam and isn't a feature most people have.

 

No biometrics are perfect, but this software does a really good job for me.

 

If you ever used other biometrics, you would agree this software works reasonable well under most conditions.

 

I downloaded the latest version, and so far I am happy with it. I'm using the face login feature, and the high CPU usage problem in the version that came with the computer seems fixed.

One "problem" I noticed is that when I lock the computer with Windows+L, it just logs me right back in. The message on the screen sometimes says that the facial recognition is suspended for 10 seconds, but it logs me in in about 3 seconds anyway. I believe the FAQ also said that the facial recognition should be suspended for 10 seconds.

 

Good observation. The behavior described in the FAQ is how it worked previously. Due to some recent technical requirements, however, it now works as you observed it to. I need to update the FAQ. Thanks very much for pointing that out!

If you need to lock the desktop manually, move your face out of view of the camera first. I'm glad that your recognition is working well enough for you to necessitate this conversation.

 

I just wanted to throw in one other little tid bit about the accuracy. Say you have long hair and you wore it up or pulled back for most of the early software usage, it seems to be picky if you let your hair hang down where it frames your face a bit which is understandable. Also, I would like to note that I have not downloaded the newest version because I have stopped using it all together but it may be worth a shot in the near future.

I don't expect the software to be perfect but ultimately in a perfected version, this would not cause it to second guess identity.