Should I disable the fingerprint scanner on my Dell?

January 8, 2009 12:10 PM

Should I fear the fingerprint scanner on a new Dell XPS M1330 as a feature that is going to lock out the computer in the future, or embrace it as a neat piece of technology that will make the computer more secure? And if I should fear it, what steps do I need to take to disable it?

I seem to recall reading a comment somewhere on metafilter from a guy whose wife's computer was rendered unusable when the fingerprint scanner malfunctioned, and that sole half-remembered anecdote has me thinking I should just uninstall the software that came with the computer.

The laptop is running Vista Home Premium 64-bit, and came with Fingerprint Reader Suite. I keep ignoring its attempts to get me to swipe a fingerprint, but I've hesitated on uninstalling the software in case it's actually useful. This will be my dad's computer, and I won't be around if something goes wrong, so I need to know either that this technology is reliable or a permanent way to disable it.

I'd appreciate any personal experiences/tech advice. Thanks very much.

posted by Dasein to computers & internet (12 comments total)

In my experience, the built-in fingerprint scanner on laptops is optional. Even if you enable it, you can still put in a password to log on.

What I would do is use the fingerprint scanner, but make the password something long and complicated. Hide the password somewhere safe, just in case.
posted by JuiceBoxHero at 12:16 PM on January 8

I have a 1530, and after some time of ignoring the program, it stopped bugging me on its own. I played around with the tutorial, and actually found it extremely difficult to swipe a fingerprint properly. I haven't uninstalled though.
posted by Ruki at 12:20 PM on January 8

I had the thumbscan on my old PC. It was a piece. of. crap. It'd never recognize my thumb and constantly throw me out. Fortunately you could enter in your password as an option.
posted by Hands of Manos at 12:22 PM on January 8

Yeah, there's no thumbprint scanner on a consumer laptop (right now) that's reliable enough to be the only way in. There'll always be a password option.

Of the ones that I've used, they've all been too unreliable to be useful. Ignore it.
posted by unixrat at 12:30 PM on January 8

I have the fingerprint scanning set up on one of my two ThinkPads. If I can't scan the fingerprint (common, because it's usually in my docking station and closed, and I'm using an external keyboard), I simply enter the password.

If your father usually uses the fingerprint scanner and only occasionally the password, will he forget the password entirely? That's the biggest concern I'd have, but I don't think you'd have to deinstall it for that. Write the password down somewhere far away from the computer or something. Perhaps at your house.
posted by jacquilynne at 12:51 PM on January 8

I have a kinda similar portable laptop (Fujitsu T2010 tablet) and other than 5 times in the last year I have always logged in with the fingerprint reader. So I have to disagree with unixrat.

You have to get used to it, including how to swipe, but it works, and it's quite reliable for me. I do what JuiceBoxHero recommend - long password or fingerprint - just in case. Try it that way for a few weeks, if you can't make it work reliably then you can disable it.

Key thing is how you swipe. You will need to swipe almost the same way each time - exact pressure, position of your finger before swiping, and speed of swipe. After awhile it becomes automatic.
posted by rmathew1 at 12:55 PM on January 8

I have a fingerprint scanner on my new Dell laptop. I was fully prepared to hate it, but I actually love it. It's come in so useful, that when I'm at work I find myself really missing it.

You always have the option to use your regular password, though. My husband set up a profile on my computer and disabled all the services, including the fingerprint reader. I suddenly found myself unable to swipe into my account. But I could always use the password. And then I made him bring it back. ;-)

I have not had any trouble with it reading my finger.
posted by bristolcat at 12:55 PM on January 8

I have a fingerprint scanner on my HP laptop. I don't use it for the primary login, but it is extremely useful to use with "credential manager", which came bundled. It remembers all my passwords for websites, VPN, etc. and will only start if I authenticate with my finger scan or a long and secure password. For some sites/services, you can tell it to reauthenticate you before logging in as an additional security measure. I've found it is very quick at recognizing my signature.
posted by Hali at 1:05 PM on January 8

I have an a Dell XPS M1530 and I really like the fingerprint scanner. If I don't want to use it, I can just enter the password - but it makes logging into the PC much faster.

Ruki said it is hard to get a good fingerprint scan. This is true - intially - but once you learn how it needs you to scan it, you can get a good scan every time.
posted by Brettus at 1:54 PM on January 8

Generally, fingerprints are "sufficient" authentication, rather than "nessecary". This is because it's a pain in the ass to swipe a print AND type a password. All windows machines I've seen configured themselves in this manner. Locking yourself out is impossible, so long as you have a password set.
posted by pwnguin at 3:21 PM on January 8

I always use my fingerprint scanner on my Sony Vaio laptop. I could just as well use my password to login, but that's much less fun and sci-fi-y.
posted by kirstk at 3:27 PM on January 8

Believe my Thinkpad allows you to disable passwords entirely and rely only on the fingerprint scanner to log in.

And just a contrast to what others are saying, I use it every time I log on to my laptop (10-20 times per day) and it works on the first swipe 75% of the time. Two swipes 99%.
posted by jckll at 4:15 PM on January 8