VeriFace-Face Recognition Login 2011 | 39.5 Mb
Passwords are an integral (and some would say tedious) part of modern society. There are passwords for voicemail, bank PINs, emails, logins, physical access (keypads, etc.), and pretty much anything that requires restricted access.
Many corporate environments also regularly force password changes to ensure that stolen passwords are no longer usable, further compounding the amount of information that one has to memorize.
Unfortunately, this isn’t going to go away any time soon and Sync has previously written about “strong“ passwords, some of the most commonly used passwords, programs to store and manage passwords, and why reusing the same password is BAD.
Fortunately, if you’ve got a webcam and use Windows Vista or 7 (32- and 64- bit), you can skip at least one login.
Luxand’s “Blink” is a free program that will log you into your computer using facial recognition. While it won’t solve all your password woes, it’s a neat little application that’s sure to make your computing experience seem a little more futuristic. (Unfortunately, there’s no Mac support and no Mac equivalent that I could find.) Various laptop makers such as Lenovo, Toshiba and Asus also have their own OEM versions of this feature too.
You simply install Blink, program it with your face and enter your password. Now, any time your computer is locked or is at the login screen, simply look at your webcam and Blink logs you in. Unfortunately, it currently only supports 1 user so you can’t program multiple faces for multiple Windows accounts.
While information technology security researchers have demonstrated that facial recognition software can be hacked (as with any security technology), I wasn’t able to fool Blink with high resolution images off my smartphone or an 8×10 portrait (but that doesn’t mean I won’t keep trying!). Blink requires adequate lighting but didn’t have issues when I put on/removed my glasses. I’ll have to see if I can find a wig to wear!
Many corporate environments also regularly force password changes to ensure that stolen passwords are no longer usable, further compounding the amount of information that one has to memorize.
Unfortunately, this isn’t going to go away any time soon and Sync has previously written about “strong“ passwords, some of the most commonly used passwords, programs to store and manage passwords, and why reusing the same password is BAD.
Fortunately, if you’ve got a webcam and use Windows Vista or 7 (32- and 64- bit), you can skip at least one login.
Luxand’s “Blink” is a free program that will log you into your computer using facial recognition. While it won’t solve all your password woes, it’s a neat little application that’s sure to make your computing experience seem a little more futuristic. (Unfortunately, there’s no Mac support and no Mac equivalent that I could find.) Various laptop makers such as Lenovo, Toshiba and Asus also have their own OEM versions of this feature too.
You simply install Blink, program it with your face and enter your password. Now, any time your computer is locked or is at the login screen, simply look at your webcam and Blink logs you in. Unfortunately, it currently only supports 1 user so you can’t program multiple faces for multiple Windows accounts.
While information technology security researchers have demonstrated that facial recognition software can be hacked (as with any security technology), I wasn’t able to fool Blink with high resolution images off my smartphone or an 8×10 portrait (but that doesn’t mean I won’t keep trying!). Blink requires adequate lighting but didn’t have issues when I put on/removed my glasses. I’ll have to see if I can find a wig to wear!
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