Give forgotten passwords the finger!
August 10, 2018
Give forgotten passwords the finger!
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with DigitalPersona
We implemented DigitalPersona fingerprint readers organization-wide. In order to ease them into the workforce users were not required to take the units, but were encouraged to see their benefits - which many did!
The units are USB attached to PCs and allow the user to log into their workstation without entering their password. This allows us to have complex passwords that the user doesn't need to know or remember - they simply swipe their finger to log in.
This solution has dramatically cut down on the number of tickets we receive for simple password resets. No matter if a user has been on vacation for three weeks, their fingerprint is still the same!
The units are USB attached to PCs and allow the user to log into their workstation without entering their password. This allows us to have complex passwords that the user doesn't need to know or remember - they simply swipe their finger to log in.
This solution has dramatically cut down on the number of tickets we receive for simple password resets. No matter if a user has been on vacation for three weeks, their fingerprint is still the same!
- Super fast to recognize fingerprint and authenticate .
- Accurate with a wide area of fingerprint. Most windows laptops with built in fingerprint scanners only recognize a small area of print.
- Units are inexpensive.
- Quick and easy to install server software and client hardware.
- When workstations were upgraded from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 the software continued working flawlessly.
- Easy for readers to get irredeemably dirty & need replacing.
- Not a DigitalPerson problem, but users forget their passwords now, which is a pain when they're outside the organization & away from their DigitalPersona scanners
- Group policy set-up was a little confusing.
We initially purchased it purely for the ease of use for logging into Windows workstations. However we're now also evaluating it against Okta for allowing biometric login to suitable desktop apps and websites. Like so much else, I wish I had the time to use it to its full extent.
DigitalPersona is fully integrated into our AD. This means that when a user leaves our organization we can simply disable them in the Active Directory and their fingerprint login will no longer work. This has introduced a small license issue: Following best practice we don't delete people from AD immediately (for one thing their mailbox is often required for a short while) but this means that their disabled user object still consumes a DigitalPersona license. Not a huge issue at the moment, but we're watching it.
We're only using this for Windows 8.1/10 workstation login at the moment, but looking to use it for websites and AD integration apps too.
- I'm happy to say I'm not involved in budgeting or finance, but the financial benefits are easy to state: Less helpdesk time - helpdesk staff don't have to spend time resetting people's passwords.
- Users don't have to wait for Helpdesk to get around to helping them log in.