APC BIOPOD Biometric Password Manager (USB)

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Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 105.9 x 72.8 x 20.5 inches ; 7 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0001V2N62
• Item model number: BIOPOD
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #21,512 in Electronics (See Bestsellers in Electronics)

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  Electronics > Security & Surveillance > Biometrics

• Date first available at Amazon.com: March 10, 2004

Product Description

Manufacturer

As security concerns continue to grow, so do the number of passwords.The Biometric Password Manager provide users a convenient and secure way to manage and access multiple security phrases and codes. This product reads and identifies users by automatically accessing password protected applications and Web sites.

Product Description

APC Personal Biometric USB POD is a simple and secure way to remember passwords. It includes: CD with software, USB cable, user manual.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cool AND useful, October 9, 2004

By	R. O. Frankel (Washington, DC, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I decided a while ago that $20 was the golden price for fingerprint scanners - the price at which they are worth their cost. However, I got impatient and I'm glad I did. I managed to get my Biopod for $40 including shipping and it has been worth it simply in cool factor. Fortunately the annoying voice files are easily replacable (/Softex/Omnipass/Sounds/) and I have gotten plenty of compliments and "wows" from people in my dorm when my computer asks me in a female British accent for "biometric authorization". Just find one of the many text-to-speech sites out there with an interactive demo, and record your own sound files. As far as authorization goes, I have not seen a false positive from my other fingers or my friends' fingers, and the only time I get a negative is when I scan the wrong part of my finger. The Biopod recognizes my finger from a pretty good range of angles and different placements.

Cool factor aside, the Biopod has saved me a lot of password reset e-mails. It's not secure to use the same password on lots of different web sites these days and it was getting really hard for me to remember them all. When the bundled Omnipass software detects a password field in your active window it prompts you to enter your username and password in the window (for the last time), click on the Omnipass bubble that popped up, and then click on the window containing the fields. From that point on, whenever you visit that site you will be prompted for your fingerprint and logged in. On some sites with certain types of login methods, Omnipass will only be able to fill in the information, not automatically submit it as well, but I have found this to be very rarely the case. The Biopod is a huge time saver. Also, not that I have much cause to use it as a college student, but the encryption feature of the Omnipass software is pretty cool and I'm sure it's useful for those with sensitive data, whether you are hiding it from competitors or your parents.

I'm running XP Home SP1 and had no trouble setting up, installing, and enrolling. I've noticed no slowdown in any way whatsoever since installing the software, although admittedly not much slows down an Athlon 64 3000 and a GB of RAM.

I would strongly reccomend the Biopod to anyone looking to store their passwords, protect sensitive data, or just indulge their geeky side. If you want to wait for it to be $30 I wouldn't blame you, but it's a great little device.

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why didn't I get this sooner?!?!?!?, October 8, 2004

By	Amazon Geek (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

I use Windows XP Pro with Service Pack 2, and had been using a virtual wallet to keep track of all my passwords. This product almost completely eliminated the need for the virtual wallet. The Biopod was up and running and was enrolling fingerprints in no time with absolutely no problems.

There are a few minor issues that are easily overcome:
The default audio instruction is annoying ("Place your finger on the sensor") -Switching to "Beeps only" is much more palatable.
File encryption is a little slow. But hey, at least the files are secure!
The software doesn't work with some websites, such as banking sites. When using Internet Explorer, I get the notice saying that it is "Safeguarding my information" and replaces my ID and Password with asterisks. Remembering one or two passwords is a lot easier that 100!

I would recommend this product to anyone using Windows XP and wants to stay secure without memorizing a lot of passwords.

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not what I thought it would be., September 17, 2005

By	Jerry Walker (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If this product fits your needs, then it probably rates 5 stars. It may be a great accessory, but my experience was not so great. First of all, just the process of setting up the passwords was more involved than the roboform system that I have been using. The biggest problem of all, however, was the fact that it can be used with only Internet Explorer. I never saw any mention of that until I had the packaging torn open. I use Firefox, almost exclusively, so this item now sits here doing nothing at all. Fortunately, its cost was low.