Smart & Wired: Home Safe
May 1, 2008
Furthermore, home networking and other technology simply wasn’t there to support biometrics, says Bill Spence of Albuquerque-based biometrics supplier Lumidigm. "Now, in high-end homes, you’re finally looking at more robust access control situated throughout the buildings. In the past, companies have tried to focus on lowering costs, but by doing so they sacrificed quality," says Spence, who provides biometric technology to "a large Orlando-based theme park."
The final piece of the puzzle is the fact that homeowners are feeling comfortable with biometrics and are requesting it. Previously, consumers worried about having their fingerprints or faces squirreled away in a large database that could, theoretically, be accessed by anyone. The newer technologies that store fingerprints locally do away with this worry. In fact, a recent study by fingerprint biometrics supplier AuthenTec showed that more than 77 percent of Americans are ready and willing to use fingerprint sensors as part of their day-to-day activities; 68 percent say they trust fingerprint biometrics more than traditional passwords.
Indeed, says Spence, this is why many biometrics companies are working with Microsoft, for example, and making it possible for their authentication devices to create a cryptographic certificate. By doing so, they remove the need for passwords, which can be written down and lost (then possibly found by the wrong person) or simply forgotten. You can purchase biometric access equipment specifically for computers and storage devices, even if you don’t want to overhaul your entire home. Companies such as Fujitsu, DigitalPersona and BioCert have products you can install or take with you from computer to computer.
"Remember, there’s more than just your front door to protect," says Spence. "Biometrics will keep growing to log into all kinds of applications, including high-end banking transactions."
Adds Corbi: "In today’s world, the safety of one’s family is no longer an assurance, but rather a proactive pursuit that can only be attained through careful planning."
SAFE, 323.822.9520, www.safenvironments.com
Privaris, 866.213.8252,
www.privaris.com
Lumidigm, 505.272.7084, www.lumidigm.com
AuthenTec,
www.authentec.com
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