Biometric devices

Biometric devices

Biometrics devices are technological tools that use biological properties such as fingerprints, retina scans and voice recognition to identify individuals. It is an automated tool that is computerized to identify individuals using their distinctive physio-biological or behavioral measurements. Businesses are now increasingly using biometrics in order to regulate access to their environment and information. Even governments are considering implanting biometric devices in passports, driver's licenses, and possibly a future national ID card to regulate national security. Nowadays, fingerprint scanners are the most popular form of biometric device used, with a variety of systems in the market. These devices used to be big in the past, however now they are found in smaller sizes; it can even be incorporated in a laptop. A fingerprint scanner basically provides an identification of a person based on the acquisition and recognition of those unique patterns and ridges of one’s fingerprint. The equipments for this type of biometric is composed of a reader or a scanner, software that converts the scanned information into digital form and compares match points and a database that stores the biometric data for comparison. The way this device functions is, it remembers the patterns of ridges and valleys unique to one’s finger, then it compares the stored pictures of his finger to the one that is being scanned and when it matches, the result is positive.

sources
http://www.cippic.ca/biometrics/
http://bizsecurity.about.com/od/windowsdesktopsecurity/a/fingerscanner.htm
http://www.bromba.com/faq/biofaqe.htm
http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Computer_Science/2004/fingerprint.asp

fingerprint scanners

What can this device replace?

Biometric systems are basically used to maintain a password system in an organization in order to keep individual identities secured. These devices are only able to detect a person’s information that is available in the device. Even though they are little expensive to install, it is worth it to have it since no one will be able to provide a person’s fingerprint and also it’s a very high secured technology that will help a person to be protected all the time. The information cannot be duplicated or reproduced by another and it will regulate identity theft. These emerging new technologies replace identification methods used, such as smart cards, magnetic stripe cards, photo ID cards, physical, and many more. These pieces can be lost, stolen, duplicated, or left at home. Passwords can be forgotten, shared, or observed. However biological properties cannot be duplicated nor shared. Besides, in today’s fast growing technology world people need to remember a lot of passwords and personal identification numbers (PINs) for computer accounts, bank ATMs, e-mail accounts, wireless phones, web sites, and so forth. Biometrics devices are fast, easy-to-use, accurate, reliable, and fingerprint scanners as oppose to the other biometric devices are very simple to use. For instance, an iris recognition system would involve a learning curve before one learns how to use it, as oppose to the fingerprint scanner which is an easier and more proficient password system.

sources
http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/systems/biometrics.htm
http://www.zvetcobiometrics.com/Support/biometrics_101/biometric_convenience.html

Advantages

Advantages
Biometric devices have many advantageous aspects in organizations. This device’s main advantage is that one has to personally be present in order to confirm his presence. These devices have more importance in industry such as police, crime investigators and detectives. These devices are also important in business dealing with a lot of money to get access to and secret information about clients or the company. These devices can be fixed at the entrance of the valued information, whether it is at the door entrance or on a laptop. Fingerprint scanners are more convenient than iris detector or voice detector because it is found that with age, the voice of a person changes. Moreover, when the person has flu or throat infection the voice changes or if there are too much noise in the environment this method may not validate the presence. Also for people who are affected with diabetes, their eyes get affected which causes changes in the iris and the scanner gets unable to detect. Nevertheless, other advantages of a fingerprint scanner are:

- Others can’t use one’s identity since physical attributes can’t be duplicated like identity cards.
- It is cheap, fast and easy to setup.
- You can't misplace your fingerprints and it does not change with age or get affected by any disease.
- It can’t be forgotten since it’s a physical feature.

sources;

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/fingerprint-scanner.htm
http://www.allpctips.com/technology/biometrics.htm
http://bizsecurity.about.com/od/windowsdesktopsecurity/a/fingerscanner.htm

Disadvantages

Disadvantages

Although fingerprint scanners are convenient in many of the industries, it is not the right tool for the ones who work in Chemical industries, because their fingerprints are affected by chemical substances.
Like all electronics, fingerprint scanners also have some downfalls, however one has to try and put effort into fooling the machine in order to make it work. For example, some of the machines can’t distinguish between a picture of a finger print and the finger itself and sometimes the scanner can be fooled by a mold of a person's finger. And a worst case scenario of an identity theft would be if criminal cuts off one’s finger to get access to a door. These deceptions are done to steal ones identity and to get access into secured system, and once the fingerprint is stolen, they can’t do anything about it. If a person loses his/her finger print identity then that person will never be able to use or replace their fingerprint as their identity.

Sources;
http://www.allpctips.com/technology/biometrics.htm
http://senior.british.edu.uy/it_dept/itgs/2003/Fingerprint.pdf
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/fingerprint-scanner5.htm

Use of blogs

Use of blogs

A business blog is an informal, easily maintained web site to communicate with customers and employees within an organization. As oppose to traditional media, blogs are updated, online journals of opinions, information and links to interesting and relevant content.
Blogs are a powerful tool for marketing and promotion. Their entries are short, and often full of link, therefore they are easy for customers to read and learn more about the company, the promotions and so on. So, they are more likely to come back daily to be updated.
Innovative law firms use blogs as a communication tool to communicate with their Fortune 500 companies which are GM, Sun Microsystems, Microsoft, Google, and many more big companies. Their clients believe that blogs are more convenient than emails, newsletters, pdf's and browse Web sites.

Advantages of blog

· 30-50 million blogs around the world.
· Powerful communications medium.
· Can keep your internals and externals informed with your organization’s latest news.
· If an organization has a limited budget this can be a great marketing/ promotional tool. It is a free communication tool.
· Unlock your organizational stories. Create reputations.


Disadvantages of blog

· It is hard to maintain the coherence of its contents.
· When some people write about irrelevant things, the real expertise within the organization lays hidden, and the clients get drowned in trivia.
· Blogs are time-consuming and need to do research to find and verify if the information is reliable or valid.


Sources:

http://www.tigblog.org/group/fororgs/
http://humanresources.about.com/od/businessblogs/a/business_blogs.htm
http://kevin.lexblog.com/2005/03/articles/blog-basics/list-of-fortune-500-list-of-companies-using-blogs-clients-of-large-firms/
http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2004/08/23/blogs-and-blogging-advantages-and-disadvantages