Review - Digital Persona U.are.U Keyboard - Biometric Security System

Reviews - Digital Persona U.are.U Keyboard - Biometric Security System

"This thing is going to be huge. As far as were concerned it already is…

As soon as it becomes more widely available expect to see it everywhere"

If you us, then you will know that we give products the ratings they deserve. In order for a product to achieve anything above 90% its got to take us to the moon and back. The U.are.U keyboard from Digital Persona is a veritable godsend with 98%. Never have we seen a product that's got the functionality, stability and WOW! Factor of the U.are.U

If you haven't heard the term Biometric before, and are thinking that a Biometric Keyboard is some kind of living musical instrument that's alive somehow… then unfortunately you'd be wrong (although its not a bad idea)

Biometrics is the process of uniquely identifying us all using features such as fingerprints, eye-retinas, voice etc… Sound quite like BigBrother? Well, quite frankly it does, all the top-rated spy movies and Sci-Fi books no doubt feature biometric identification. This Biometric Keyboard uses the users fingerprint to replace passwords and fill in any digitised forms for you.

Imagine the scenario; You switch on your computer, touch the fingerprint sensor and you are logged onto your account. You then check your e-mails; touch the sensor to fill in the password fields and read away. Now you want to surf the net and do some shopping; log onto the website using the sensor, input your name, address and postage details by touching the sensor - If you're a lazy bum, leave you credit card in your wallet and touch the sensor to fill in your credit card details. Finally you type a top-secret report and save it, why not encrypt it with the sensor? Only your finger will be able to open the file again…

When you come to think about it, think how much time you could save by not having to type these trivial fields into your computer… You are the lord-of-the-computer, why bother yourself with such annoyances, wave your hand (or finger) and have it done for you. Once you have used the fingerprint sensor for a week you will realise how god-dammed annoying it is to type these things when you find yourself at another computer.

So the functionality is there, you can use the U.are.U to fill in any thing on your computer, simply set it up and you never have to do it again. Other features of the supplied software include the as mentioned file encryption system and the ability to 'Lock' the workstation to keep those prying eyes and fingers off your system while you're away.

But, like us you no doubt are hesitant regarding the true security and functionality of the thing… What if I cut my finger and have a plaster over it?… What if I live in Arabia and 'borrow' and apple and loose my hands as a result?… What if the FBI hack my computer, can they see my fingerprints?… What if I spill coffee all over it or accidentally flush it down the toilet?…

The great thing about the U.are.U is the fact that the manufacturer, Digital Persona, have thought of all of these things in advance… firstly you can 'enrol' as any fingers as you like - we've done our whole hands so if a finger becomes "unavailable" you have nine others to chose from. Next, if you happen to loose your hands all together or simply have your fingerprints stripped then the U.are.U software has a backup password facility, you can set a password just for backup and reassurance. Next, the most important factor; If you don't like the idea of having your fingerprints stored even on your own computer then don't worry. The U.are.U doesn't store any data regarding your print that is re-constructible. In short when you place your finger on the sensor, it creates a complex mathematical algorithm that is unique to that finger. Even if somebody knew what the algorithm was for they would not be able in any way shape or form to create an actual fingerprint with it.

The U.are.U keyboard is NOT the next best thing since sliced bread, it IS sliced bred. It's the original, the best and model for all biometric innovations of the future. Chosen as the official Biometric product to work in unison with Windows XP, you know this is no gimmick. Distribution to the UK is virtually non-existent. You will have to trawl high-and low to obtain one, but if you do you can recline in your executive leather chair, wave your finger around all day and know that the number of these keyboards in the UK could be probably be counted on all ten of your enrolled fingers.