Synaptics Demos USB Fingerprint Authentication Dongle for Notebook PCs

Synaptics is using this week’s Computex Taipei show in Taiwan to demonstrate a new USB dongle that enables secure fingerprint authentication on any notebook PC, the company said in a Wednesday announcement. The dongle is a ready-to-use fingerprint module that’‘s “small enough to remain unobtrusively installed in any notebook USB port,” Synaptics said. “The rapid growth of online payments combined with the critical need for protecting access to PC data for businesses and consumers alike is driving the need for high performance biometric authentication,” the company said. “All things equal, fingerprint authentication is significantly more secure than typing passwords, and when combined with the convenience of not remembering and changing multiple passwords, it should end the debate.” Synaptics plans to sample the dongle in Q3 with mass production expected in Q4, he said.