Use fingerprints as passwords in Vista

Jan 9, 2007 11:36 GMT  ·  By

Place your password at your fingertips, literally. The Redmond Company has announced at the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that the Microsoft Fingerprint Reader, with software updates from DigitalPersona Inc., supports Windows Vista.

"This is an exciting time for PC users with the launch of Windows Vista, and we want to ensure that our products are enhancing the new operating system. We've added new features to our mice and keyboards, and the Fingerprint Reader is no exception, with updates to make Windows Vista features more convenient," said Sean Butterworth, product marketing manager for Microsoft Hardware. "The Hardware team worked closely with DigitalPersona to enable password mobility and administration, which is a huge timesaver and something many customers have requested, especially those who will be making the move to Windows Vista this year."

"DigitalPersona Password Manager 2.0 is the result of our ongoing collaboration with Microsoft," said Vance Bjorn, CTO of DigitalPersona. "This update offers the latest fingerprint technology to consumers and utilizes the enhanced features in Windows Vista."

For a price of $39.95, customers can already purchasing the Microsoft Fingerprint Reader, although they will have to wait till the end of January in order to get Vista. The DigitalPersona software permits not only the replacement of traditional text passwords with user fingerprints, but also enables users to manage their fingertip passwords delivering import and export capabilities across multiple machines.