FAQ

What is biometrics?

Biometrics is the science of verifying a person's identity by comparing physical characteristics of his or her body with stored data such as a fingerprint or iris pattern. Biometric authentication devices include fingerprint scanners, iris scanners and voice verification systems. An emerging technology poised to help with information security and privacy issues, biometrics is well-suited to replace passwords and smart card PINs because biometric data cannot be forgotten, lost, stolen or shared with others.

Is one type of biometrics better than another?

While no one biometric technology is perfect for all situations, certain biometric technologies will be ideally suited for specific applications based on factors such as security, ease of use and cost. Based on these key factors, fingerprint biometrics has emerged as the “solution” of choice for corporations, consumers and government organizations and is rapidly being integrated into even more markets and applications.

How do AuthenTec fingerprint sensors work?

AuthenTec sensors use a unique semiconductor-based fingerprint reader that uses small RF signals to detect the fingerprint ridge and valley pattern, thus capturing sharp and clear fingerprint patterns from the live layer of skin just beneath the surface. The RF electronic imaging mechanism, called TruePrint technology, makes AuthenTec’s sensors less affected by common skin surface conditions -- including dry, worn, calloused, dirty or oily skin -- that can impair the ability of other sensors to acquire accurate fingerprint images. This approach, which is in marked contrast with optical, thermal and DC capacitive solutions that read the surface of the skin, gives AuthenTec sensors significant advantages in image quality and in the protective coatings that the sensor can image through.

What is TruePrint Technology?

TruePrint is AuthenTec’s patented sub-surface technology that images below the surface layer of the skin to the live layer where the true print resides. This unique subsurface capability eliminates any acquisition or recognition failures relating to common issues such as worn, soiled, moist, dry or even older fingers that often defeat surface-based fingerprint technologies.

When was TruePrint technology developed?

AuthenTec’s TruePrint technology was first developed in 1998.

How accurate is TruePrint technology?

TruePrint sensors are more accurate than traditional fingerprint sensors because they actually scan beneath the surface of the skin, rather than just looking at the surface. While there are several types of silicon-based fingerprint sensors on the market today, including surface-reading sensors that use either the electrical or thermal properties of the skin surface to detect the fingerprint ridge and valley pattern, AuthenTec sensors are the only silicon sensors that that read beneath the skin surface. Due to this innovative approach, AuthenTec's TruePrint technology offers many benefits, including the most accurate and reliable imaging available today.

How durable are AuthenTec’s sensors?

AuthenTec’s sensors are extremely durable and built to withstand a range of conditions -- ensuring reliable performance with each and every use. In order to provide extreme durability, each sensor has an ultra hard surface coating that withstands greater than 10 million rubs and also makes the sensors scratch and impact resistant. The sensors can also withstand extreme climate differentials from hot to cold, with a commercial temperature range of zero degrees Celsius to more than 70 degrees Celsius.

In what types of real-world applications are AuthenTec’s sensors being used?

As a dynamic technology that is being adopted into new markets and applications at a rapidly increasing pace, fingerprint biometrics are currently used in a range of settings, including the workplace, homes and the government, and in everyday electronic devices. Currently, the largest markets using fingerprint biometrics today are Personal Computers, Laptops, and Peripherals, Wireless Devices and Access Control.

In the PC market, fingerprint biometrics has emerged as the most popular biometric technology to protect critical computer information, enable convenient security and ensure convenience and personalization. AuthenTec sensors are used in 220 different models of notebook and tablet PCs, including those made by 8 of the world’s top 9 PC manufacturers. Our proven solutions have also been designed into a wide range of peripherals devices, including PC keyboards, memory keys, portable hard drives, and password managers.

In wireless devices, AuthenTec sensors are used in more 10 million cell phones and mobile devices to protect the physical device, stored files and secure mobile commerce transactions. As the demands of the wireless market continue to grow, service providers are introducing new and more powerful wireless devices -- making wireless platforms even more valuable – and vulnerable to fraud or theft.

Finally, in access control, AuthenTec's sensors are used worldwide to protect homes, corporate buildings, government offices, airports, and other facilities. Our sensors have been designed into a wide range of access control devices, including multiple biometric door locks, smart cards, remote RF entry keys, time and attendance readers, and other devices. Our sensors are also used in the U.S. government's largest biometrics implementation for the U.S. Census Bureau whereby more than 100,000 fingerprint sensor-equipped PDAs will be used to gather information for the 2010 census.

How many devices are currently available with AuthenTec sensors in them?

With more than 45 million sensors in use worldwide, AuthenTec is the world’s leading provider of fingerprint authentication sensors and solutions to the high-volume PC, wireless device, and access control markets. AuthenTec is the recognized volume supplier leader of biometric fingerprint sensors worldwide -- shipping nearly two thirds of all sensors sold in the PC, wireless and access control markets during the past five years. AuthenTec sensors are used in 220 different models of notebook and tablet PCs, including those made by 8 of the world’s top 9 PC manufacturers. In cell phones, AuthenTec sensors are used in more than 10 million cell phones and mobile devices - protecting phone files and securing mobile commerce transactions.

Can the sensor be used for purposes other than security?

Yes, AuthenTec's award-winning family of sensors delivers a range of benefits that extend far beyond security, and even beyond user authentication (also known as password replacement). The sensors take full advantage of The Power of Touch by utilizing the company's patented TruePrint^® technology to deliver the most convenient, reliable and cost-effective means available for enabling touch-powered features such as scrolling, fast-user switching, speed dialing, password replacement and transaction authorization.

For instance, in PCs, users no longer have to enter a password for each protected web page, such as subscription based web sites and their personal banking account. All they need to do is simply swipe their finger across the sensor. Additionally, AuthenTec’s sensors are already used in more than four million biometrically enabled cell phones around the world to provide enhanced convenience, navigation, gaming and personalization features, as well as to enable Mobile commerce capabilities. With a fingerprint sensor, users don't have to type in a separate PIN or password – they just swipe their finger across the sensor to authorize a secure purchase from stores, vending machines, or via the wireless web.

Is it possible to trick the sensor?

AuthenTec’s pattern matching technology and TruePrint Technologies make “tricking” the sensor virtually impossible. AuthenTec’s suite of TruePrint technologies includes four key components that come together to provide superior and extremely accurate authentication and matching capabilities. Because AuthenTec’s TruePrint Technologies embrace a unique subsurface approach; provide the most accurate fingerprint matching possible, based on a patented algorithm technology; and analyze all fingerprint data to ensure that only real fingerprints are read.

Is it possible for a thief to steal a fingerprint in hopes of invading personal devices such as laptops and cell phones?

There have been reports of spoofing studies that have successfully used gelatin molds of a person’s fingerprint to trick a sensor. AuthenTec’s sensors rely on a sub-surface technology – meaning the finger needs to be “live.”

Would a dead finger authenticate?

No! The company's patented TruePrint^® technology reads below the surface of the skin to read the live layer, where the true, living fingerprint resides. Specifically, TrueFinger -- part of the TruePrint technology - ensures that only real, live fingerprints are read by converting the properties of the skin into digital data which are delivered to the host computer for analysis. Because of the approach, anyone who attempts to swipe the finger of a dead person in order to access their important physical or logical data would not succeed in getting past TruePrint.

Aren’t all fingerprints on the same hand exactly the same?

Just as each person has a unique set of fingerprints that is different than everyone else’s, each finger has a distinct print from the other nine fingers on the hand. The person’s prints will fall into the same general pattern of whorl, arch or loop, but they are distinct from one another. This is an important advantage for consumer electronics manufacturers who look to using the sensors to launch different applications, buddy lists, contact lists and Web-accounts using different fingers on the hand – something AuthenTec calls “The Power of Touch.”

What about when people try to ‘remove’ their fingerprint from their finger?

TruePrint technology relies on the print below the surface of the skin. So, while at one time criminals were successful in “removing” their prints by filing or rubbing their surface skin smooth, this tactic would fail at fooling a fingerprint sensor with TruePrint. AuthenTec’s sensors are used to provide access to users who have already been confirmed as “good guys” – they can take heart that their severely damaged, roughed up, grubby, greasy or oily finger is capable of authenticating for access to devices and buildings where they need to be.

Do twins have the same fingerprint?

Twins do not have the same fingerprint. They are as capable as non-twins of using biometrics to protect their devices and data from theft. Not even their siblings can break in!

Do fingerprints change with the seasons?

In some climates, fingerprints change with the seasons due to changes in weather patterns, whereby fingers become more dry and cracked in cold winter weather OR more callused from gardening in summer weather. In order to authenticate, it’s therefore important that the sensor use TruePrint technology to access the actual print from the live layer of the finger.

The pattern of the fingerprint does not change appreciably with the seasons, what does change with the seasons is the moisture and oil content of the skin. The moisture and oil affect the physical properties of the skin, and hence the ability of different kinds of fingerprint readers to accurately capture that pattern.

Do other mammals have fingerprints?

Fingerprints in mammals, including man, seem to have evolved in animals that use their hands constantly and require a high level of manual dexterity. Animals that grasp or hold things in their hands can best hold slick or slippery objects if they have ridges or fingerprints on their gripping surfaces. Gorillas and other primates do have fingerprints, but man’s closest “relative,” the chimpanzee, does not. Koala bears also have fingerprints. Individualized fingerprints have only been demonstrated in are apparently restricted to humans and gorillas. To date, there have been very few serious studies of fingerprint uniqueness in other types of animals.

Are some fingerprint types (whorl, arch or loop) harder for a sensor to read than others?

Not for TruePrint technology. Some nationalities with particularly dry skin, such as Asians, are problematic for fingerprint readers that read only the surface layer – but TruePrint reads below the surface of the skin, so authenticates reliably no matter the sex, race or creed!