Customer Reviews

Eikon Digital Privacy Manager USB Fingerprint Reader

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

This product is really cool. I used to always get my passwords confused because even though I tried to use just a few passwords (one for my bank and credit card accounts, one for stuff like webmail, and one for sites that don't matter), different sites have different requirements. Some require a number or symbol, some don't. So I used variations of a password, but I could never remember which sites I used the variations for. And then I'd either have to request to receive an email that reset my password, or sometimes I'd even get locked out and then have to call customer service. Arghhh!

It takes a little practice to learn how to swipe your finger, but once you get it the Eikon always recognized me and got me into my password protected websites in a flash. I tested to see if my friends could get in... it wasn't scientific, but it was comforting to know they couldn't. There is a one-time "registration" of all your accounts, but once that's set up there's no looking back. I counted over 50 websites with passwords that I don't have to worry about anymore!

I received the fingerprint reader from UPEK as a gift at Christmas. I am running a Mac Powerbook 17" with 10.4.10. Please note that the software for the Mac is BETA. OK, so I gave it a go and it read my fingerprints just fine. No problem 'registering'. From there onward it did not work. So I emailed the manufacturer.

To my joy and satisfaction they replied with a detailed series of fixes. Many of them involved getting it on a PC, so that was not an option. After a while of testing (we have been Apple Developers for many years), it just did not work.

Tech support at UPEK was emailing me daily, wanting to know if it worked, what the issue(s) were, etc. They were truly on top of the situation. When we realized that it might have been a hardware issue they said they would send me one in the mail.

A few days later I asked them if they had sent it. Within an hour I received a courteous and amazing letter from tech support saying that they apologized (how many manufacturers every say that?) and they would send me TWO units next day delivery.

The two units came and work just fine. Again, the Mac software is not what the PC software is, but hopefully that will be up to snuff soon.

Kudos to UPEK and their team, especially Brian! It means more to me to have someone listening and actively working with me, especially on something which is relatively inexpensive, than anything else.

April, 2008 - The Mac software was just released. This should improve functionality greatly!

As long as you do not trim the tip off of your scanned finger while slicing onions or cut if off in the wood-shop, this is a great security device! Having a very complicated data storage system (6Tb) of irreplaceable images on RAID 1 and my main office machine in a very public space by choice, there has been easy access to my computer by anybody who thought they needed it. No more; I absolutely love this simple biometric scanner. It was totally easy to install (do read the directions). It works like a key lock but no key to loose. And, because it scans my fingerprint only, there will be no opportunistic quick access to my system. If someone wants to steal any of it they are going to have to work (hard) at it.

I purchased this for use on the MAC (since it indicates MAC compatibility). You must download the software from the manufacturer site. Unlike the PC version, it does not store passwords, etc into a databank for use of the biometrics when you enter the site. It appears only to allow system log-on and allows you to unlock your login keychain at startup.

It would really be nice if, when you went to a secure site (that requires a name and password) that it would make you scan your finger(s). It's kind of an all or nothing device. This function is already available via Safari preferences (under edit users and passwords). Scans easily though for log-on.

If anyone figures this out, let us know. The lack of page specific scan requests gives it a 3 out of 5 since that is what it is supposed to accomplish. I can easily use my keychain built in to do the same thing.

This works great. Until a new version of Firefox comes out. Then you need a new Firefox extension to make the fingerprint reader work. Does UPEK provide this for free? Nope: they make you pay. So keep in mind that UPEK treats purchasers of this product as a continuing revenue stream.

It logs me in to everything with ease. I'm running Vista and I mainly use Firefox. So far I have absolutely no complaints. It took me a few tries to realize that slowly swiping my finger is the key to login with only one attempt (I didn't read the manual, I just watched the demo on screen)

I also use RoboForm to generate and manage my passwords and they work great together. Since I also use it to login to Windows I opted to use a password as backup... just in case.

The device itself feels solidly built and it looks great on my black desktop.

Since Microsoft deosn't support their fingerprint reader in Vista 64 I was looking for someone who does. I ordered this product with great hopes. It installed without a problem and was working within minutes. It works better than the Microsoft product when I used that with XP and then Vista 32. It did a better job of recognizing fingerprints the first time versus the MS reader. Plus, it has other features that the MS reader doesn't have and best of all, it is less expensive. Great product.

Earlier I wrote a positive review for this product, but I am revising it.

For basic use on a PC, I give the product 4 stars. The hardware is very nice, but the Protector Suite software is marginal. Also, they charge for even minor updates.

For a Mac, I have to give 1 star. They say the reader works on a Mac, but it doesn't. It did, more or less, until OS X 10.6 was released. UPEK said they would release an updated version for that OS, but now (January 28, 2010, long after Snow Leopard's release) they still have only a beta that performs minimal functions. I also have used the reader in Windows XP running under Parallels. It works fine for a day or two, then stops recognizing anything except the Protector Suite software itself. Sometimes I can reinstall the software and the reader will work again for a couple of days.

I am disappointed in this fingerprint reader.

I bought this because it said it worked with the Mac; it had a
'little' problem about locking you out completely and failing to recognize either a typed password or a fingerprint. I uninstalled it and waited a year; I saw that they had "fixed" this problem around January '09 (extremely slow response for a killer defect). I reinstalled - still more problems and lockups. Maybe I'll try it again in a year. Do not buy this piece of cr*p, and do not support Eikon - they didn't support me, and they obviously don't care.

I'm sorry, but a fingerprint-scanner is a mission-critical piece of hardware; don't friggin' release it if it has bugs, or at least set it to fail gracefully and not lock you out of your computer.

You want one of these, I'll mail you mine free - and you'll think the price was too high!

Cam

I did a lot of research before buying this product. Other devices I looked at were quite bulky and some other had serious software issues. Also the price tags on those devices was more than $100.

Accidentally, I came across UPEK web site and read technical docs about Eikon. I decided to give it a try. And here we go - this is the most helpful thing I ever had for my computer needs. Few main reasons why I like it:

1. The scanner did not give me a single error while using my finger. You just need to read a short page on how to scan a finger, and I bet you - you'll never have any problems.

2. Software that comes with a scanner is a real gem. They just released a new version (v5.8) that is available thru UPEK web site. Just email them and they will send you a link. The scanner comes with version 5.6 that is also very good. It is quite robust and allows you to register any web site (for online banking or shopping or discussion forums) that has user name and password on it. I'm using it for all my secure online transactions and emails. Never had a problem. The only time it won't work - when in order to get to your account you need to go thru several pages. For example, Bank of America and Amazon store credit cards are using this method when they ask you a username on the 1-st page and password on the 2-nd page and some other stuff on the 3-rd page. Of course, you can register multiple pages with Eikon one by one - but it's not that convenient compared to a single registration page. To summarize - Eikon is helpful in 98% of cases with web based password management. It also can capture software dialogs that use username and password. For example, the account settings in Outlook Express - you can save (manage) those using Eikon.

3. It works very good with windows logon and locks computer from unauthorized users.

I was so impressed with this tool that I bought a second one last week. I am highly recommending it to anyone who wants to use a powerful tool for secure password management and make all internet shopping and banking much easier and faster. No wonder UPEK are the guys who supply Sony, Toshiba, Asus and many other notebook manufacturers with built in fingerprint scanners for their laptops. You can check their web site for more info. Good work UPEK!!!! Thanks.