Fingerprint Recognition with Linux & IBM's T42

Michael R. Crusoe writes "UPEK, provider of popular fingerprint sensors to IBM's T42 notebooks and others, has announced that they will be providing a BioAPI compliant library to perform biometric authentication under GNU/Linux. Will Linux be the first operating system to have integrated biometric user authentication 'out of the box'?"

This is great news because...

[Linker3000]

Wow, I am really looking forward to giving Linux the finger...er wait..

Re:Ahem, PAM

[/ASCII]

Keeping the password file in a non-standard location like /hack/me/now is simple security through obscurity. Kind of like using ROT13 to encrypt your DRMed ebooks [zdnet.com]. This is a very common security technology used through out the IT industry. It's just a question of time before Bezos patents it!

Re:To answer the question: No.

[GekkePrutser]

The question said 'out of the box', I think that means 'without having to install any drivers'.

All biometric solutions I've seen use the OmniPass software from Softex that needs to be installed first. Just plugging one of those fingerprint scanners in your computer (e.g. APC Biopod) does nothing without installing the software.

Re:To answer the question: No.

[stevey]

But this is OPEN SORES!

The combination of open sores and a finger scanner doesn't sound too hygenic to me.

I guess if I had a fingerprint scanner I'd want to clean it regularly if people are going to start trying to use it randomly...

Re:To answer the question: No.

[Anonymous Coward]

Bullshit.

W2k and XP implimentation of smartcards sucks and is 1/2 assed requireing a "suprise" windows server on the network to use them.

the fingerprint crap is CERTIANLY not built into the OS but a crappy add-on application that does not work worth a damn and will not work decently with active directory and domain models. It's a "toy" for people to use at home nothing more.

when they pull their heads out of their asses and impliment it right and you see it easily deployed in corperate without special software requirements (and the morons at IT let it happen) then I'll agree..

Until then it's still a half assed bolt-on.

Re:Password renewal

[Anonymous Coward]

You use another finger. =oP
The cool part begins when you start having to take off your shoes to log in.

re: "the day you nicked you finger doing DIY"

[TheLoneGundam]

"You know, you've gotta watch it with those circular saws," Tom said off-handedly.