Minutia are the points where the ridges split or end. Based on these distinct physical characteristics, a finger scanner should automatically provide more secure access than passwords that can be compromised or guessed. The devices we tested all use light to measure the ridges and nonridges, take an original fingerprint image, capture the minutia points, and create an identifying template from the minutia points. The system retains the template and uses that for verification of fingerprints. Our first product was Digital Persona Inc.'s U.are.
Installation requires the U.are.
It is essential to follow the installation directions exactly, since you'll need to switch from the U.are. When the U.are. U CD-ROM is reinserted, it provides prompting for when you need to plug in the sensor device. With the Deluxe version, another CD-ROM and further instructions permit the user to create a partitioned or Private Space on the hard drive, network, floppy or removable drive for sensitive applications and confidential data. Accessible only through finger access, every file saved in the Private Space is automatically encrypted, temporarily decrypted when the file is opened, and encrypted again when the file is closed.