Digital Trends

APC Biometric Password Manager

April 21st, 2004 | by Jeff Fila

Features and Design

The Biopod is a small 2 1/2-inch by 3 1/2-inch gray device about one-quarter the size of a conventional mouse. It connects to your computer with a six-foot long USB cable which allows it to be conveniently placed anywhere on your desk. Two rubber feet help it from sliding around your desk. Its only feature is a small fingerprint scanner that is less than a half-inch wide and high.

AuthenTec, Inc., a leading manufacturer of biometric fingerprint sensors, provides the TruePrint fingerprint scanner and the software used is OmniPass by Softex Inc. Compatible with all versions of Microsoft Windows since Windows 98, the Biopod also supports the Fast User Switching capability of Windows XP.

Besides managing your passwords and user security, the Biometric Password Manager also includes a file encryption tool that is also driven by fingerprint scans.

The Biopod is a small, simplistic device that is easy to install and use.

Software Setup and Finger Enrollment

Setting up the Biopod is quite simple and straightforward. You simply connect the device to an available USB port, pop in the CD, browse for a suitable driver and then install the APC OmniPass software. The whole setup takes only a few minutes.

Once the device and software has been installed, the application will ask you to “enroll” a finger. This is where you start setting up users, and identifying them by their fingerprint. Enrolling a finger is as easy as placing your finger against the scanner and letting the Biopod read your unique fingerprint. To ensure accuracy, the software will repeatedly ask you to scan your finger until it has enough good scans, up to eight times. From this point on, any access to the user information in OmniPass is controlled by a fingerprint scan or manually typing in a username and password.

We found that it was most comfortable to use the Biopod on the user's mouse-side, and that the index finger was the easiest finger to scan. However, any finger can be used and users can enroll more than one finger if they choose. The software allows you to register up to 20 different users or individual fingerprints.