Microsoft Fingerprint Reader

The Microsoft Fingerprint reader is superb! It is precisely what someone like me needs badly (using the PC all the time, sitting in front of it most of the day every day, slightly varying passwords to numerous sites). With that said, I do not recommend this to someone who uses their PC on occasions, or simply does not have to put up with multiple passwords. This device is very accurate. Scanning and registering my fingerprints was very quick and easy. I did not have trouble the first time at all, which surprised me due to a couple of complaints about mis-accuracy in the scanning; however, this is not true--scanning is incredibly simple. It's small, sleek, and it matches and compliments my desktop. It is very much compatible with numerous programs (Netscape Mail & Newsgroups, Internet Explorer, obviously, Netscape browser, G-Mail Notifier, and many online games such as C&C Generals, LOTR: Battle for Middle-earth, et cetera) and almost every site with log-in screens. Simply put, this device is perfect. It is highly compatible, no technical problems, no complicated installation, and it's very easy to clean (simply stick a piece of Scotch-tape on the optical sensor and gently pull it off, only on occasion). Again, I highly recommend this to people have many and great uses for their PCs, along with wanting a complimentary addition to their desktops.

Pros: I gave this item a 4 out of 5 stars because like many of you have so many sites that require logins now a days and some are not atonomous enough to remember your login info or password. This thing really comes in handy when logging onto your bank account website or other frequently viewed websites. So far successful programs that have worked which are non Microsoft programs are, Yahoo Messenger 8.0 and Gmail Notifyer. Logging into Hotmail, other sites like amazon.com are a breeze. Cons: While the hardware is a great product, Microsoft rather slacked on the software side. Yes it is intuitive to a point of recognizing your fingerprint but it is not smart enough on some websites that have a search bar before the login :(. The software program that manages the thumprint registration & manager lacks security in itself. You'd think a program like this would have a password protected login prompt but unfortunately it doesn't. If you have a strong and reliable internet security suite, I highly recommend this product. Final notes, i've read other reviews that say identity theives can steal your thumprint but if your really that concerned about it just clean the the reader surface as instructed by the product regularly and you should be good to go. I agree, this product works very well with recognizing your fingerprint almost effortlessly, and with a price this low you cant go wrong with peice of mind and its ease of use.

I'm quite pleased that Amazon allowed me to return this product. It may work for some PC installations, but did not work for any of my 4 computers. 1) No software support for Windows Vista, neither 32-bit nor 64-bit. No promise of when or even if it might be available. 2) Pretended to work under Windows XP SP2, but I never could register my fingerprints with success. I have used other fingerprint scanners successfully. 3) The software supplied does not treat the scanner as a standard security authentication device, useful for securing all sorts of things; instead, it mostly claims to work for logging into Web sites with IE, although some people say it can be used with Firefox if you get an add-in. I couldn't tell about this, as I could not get it to work at all with 2 XP machines. 4) I would have rated it as zero stars, not even one, but the Amazon review software would not let me do this. But 5 stars to Amazon for taking it back!

Having not tried another fingerprint reader yet (am going to purchase the APC Biometric Reader) I can't say how much better/worse this product is than others. However, though it is easy to install and setup, it: - reads my fingerprint correctly 7 out of 10 times - doesn't include a utility to easily modify previously setup logins - will not allow you to use it to login to a domain network Now, I can deal with having to scan my finger more than once, but the other two issues should be corrected. The program comes with the ability to create quick links that are shortcuts to websites you've setup to use the fingerprint software. However, if one of these links is setup incorrectly, there is no simple one-stop utility to edit or remove them. Additionally, I purchased this unit as a test for moving our office to biometric fingerprint readers in place of standard passwords. Nowhere in the documentation, here on Amazon, does it state that this unit will not logon to a network domain. Microsoft apparently believes we still need to type our password to logon to Windows, which is one of the main things we wanted this unit to do for us. APC's Biometric Reader will logon to a network domain (called and confirmed with them). Simply stated: Good product worthy of 3 - 4 stars, but since they decided not to advertise its inability to logon to Windows, knocked down to 2 stars. A good product for home or workgroup use.

This fingerprint reader is the best product since sliced bread! It gets me into my PC's password to open Windows and most all other programs & sites. I use a different password and user-name for every site I have ever set up a "log-in" for. It was always a hassle to get my password /log-in book to look up my information. There was NO way I could remember them. And of course the "book" was never with the PC I was using at the time. And I found that my "reader" was the same way! So, I just bought another one. Now I'll have the "reader" whenever I need it. There are a couple of sites that the "reader" won't work with. But they are those sites that are extra secure; like SOME banks. Other than those type of sites; which are few in number; it has worked for me most all the time. I do recommend cleaning it like the instructions suggest with a piece of tape. I clean mine every few weeks. I also record 2 fingers on each hand. This way when the reader has a hard time reading your print (occasionally happens) use a different finger and you're right in! When it does have trouble reading your print, it's usually due to being dirty where you happen to "lay" your finger. Using another finger corrects this because you automatically position your fingers in a slightly different position each time you lay one on the reader. Then give it a cleaning the next chance you get. I give this little gem from Microsoft 5 stars! I would give it 6 if I could. I have had my first one for about a year and have had NO problems other than being dirty. Of course I haven't dropped it or "banged" it around either. It's like anything else. If you take care of it; it will take care of you! I'm not a computer "geek" by ANY means! I am just the opposite if anything. So IF I can set up the software; (piece of cake) and plug it in and have it work the first time around; Anybody can! Just follow the directions and you'll be using the fingerprint reader within minutes! Definitely buy it! You'll wonder how you ever got by without it!

Make sure you click on the "See more technical data" link. This device, as well as the Microsoft Keyboard with Fingerprint reader, will only work with Windows XP and it's variants. Nowhere in the "Product Description" or the "Technical Details" (unless you click the "more" link) is there a mention that this will only work with XP and not Win2000. That's a bummer. The compatibility should be one of the first things mentioned in the primary technical details. Shame on me for not digging deeper and discovering the OS compatibility issue. I simply assumed (yes, I know) that a Microsoft Fingerprint Reader would work with most, if not all, 32-bit MS OS. That's what I get for assuming... That being said, when connected to a WinXP machine it works great! I've used this on an XP Pro pc and a Media Center Edition pc and it works every time. There is, however, the issue of not working with Firefox/Mozilla browsers. Not being compatible with Win2K is why this rating was not 5 stars. Otherwise, great product.

This product basically is used for home users. Things it does well: 1. Pretty accurate at reading your finger. 2. Easy to install 3. Keeps track of passwords for websites (Just what we need :( another password manager) Things it doesn't do: 1. If you are a business and want to use this as another authentication to logging in, forget it. Cant login to a domain attached computer. 2. Doens't provide any extra security, which you would think it would. 3. the LED that is used to read your finger is ALWAYS on and it's pretty annoying. You have to turn it over when you are not using it, especially in a dark environment. For a company that is supposed to be more security aware this product from microsoft is a complete failure.

I must admit when I first saw the advertisement for the Microsoft fingerprint reader, I was intrigued by the idea that I could forget about having to remember all my passwords for the various websites as I could just press my finger against the reader and have it logon for me. That is a fantastic idea!! As long as my fingerprint doesn't change I would have access to the websites and it would be as easy as swiping my finger against the reader. The reader is very easy to install and it is fairly compact so it does not take up too much space. I put some Velcro on the back of the reader and stuck it on my keyboard next to the keypad. The software for the reader is very workable and self-explanatory. It doesn't interfere with my other software and it doesn't cause my system to crash so that is a bonus that is more than I can say about some of Microsoft's other software attempts. But after working with the reader for just a couple of days I realized that it is not a simple as Microsoft would have you believe. First of all, the reader can only associate one account per website. Meaning that if you have two checking accounts at let's say Citibank, you can only logon to one account with the reader and you still have to remember your logon and password for the other account. That is one major drawback of the reader since we have multiple accounts at various sites. Secondly, the reader only works with Internet Explorer. It doesn't work with Firefox, and it doesn't work with Opera. I've searched online to see if there are other browsers that are compatible with the reader, but it seems like that if you want to use the reader you will have to use Internet explorer 6.0. That is really infuriating since I don't really like Internet Explorer. I would much rather use Firefox or Opera as they happen to have functions that fit my needs. Furthermore, I don't like the fact that Microsoft pushes the use of their software by limiting the compatibility of their hardware and forcing the consumer to switch over to one of their products especially when there are superior software products out there. I think that is just another example of big business trying to monopolize the industry. The customer service at Microsoft absolutely stinks. I don't like the fact that they have outsourced all of their customer service calls over to India so when you have to troubleshoot you have to talk to 'Mike' whom you can't understand because of the thick accent. So again I had to turn to the Internet for answers to my questions. In summary, the fingerprint reader is good when you can use it, and if you are using compatible Microsoft products. If I were to make the choice again, I would definitely purchase a fingerprint reader, but I would probably get a different brand.

The vendor was great. Unfortunately, this device only operates on Windows XP. There are no drivers available for other operating systems.