Windows 10 to support biometic authentication to access apps and websites
I hate entering password to unlock my Windows or OS X deskop, every single time. I once had a Thinkpad with finger print scanner it was so much easier using biometrics to unlock the computer than entering long password which cannot be kept short due to the fear of someone stealing my data. Thanks to Microsoft Windows 10 development team, people like me can use biometric authentication to login to Windows 10 devices without the need to install a 3rd party application.
Windows Hello is a new feature that allows you to login to your Windows 10 computer and it can scan your face or your finger (if there has supporting hardware). Users can also authenticate applications, enterprise content and some online experiences without entering a password. Do note that this will not work on every Windows device. For finger print recognition, a finger print reader is required and for facial recognition, special hardware for facial/iris detection is needed that can differenciate between a live face and a photo of a face. The special hardware (camera) will use infrared tech to identify a person’s face or iris and will even work in varied lighting conditions. Intel® RealSense™ 3D Camera (F200) is one such camera that is compatible with Windows 10 biometric scanning.
Microsoft is also working with enterprises, developers and website authors to bring in a new “Passport” programming system that provides a more secure way of letting users to sign-in to websites and applications. This new system will completed remove the need to have a shared password on the servers and this is a welcome move given that lot of servers are getting hacked these days and millions of users accounts/passwords/credit card data is getting compromised.
Windows 10 will ask user to verify using PIN or a biometric scan whether he/she is the rightful user that should be allowed to access the website/application. On correct authentication, Passport will allow access to apps/website. Thousands of enterprise Azure AD services will be compatible with Passport at launch and Microsoft has joined FIDO alliance to support replacing passwords with better security services. The best part is that the biometric signature is not shared like a password. It lies locally on the device and is kept secure.
