Identity Theft Protection

I live for the day when there are some kinds of sensors on things...computers, cars, houses, etc., that you can only access via thumb prints, or the like. Crimeny, this is the 21st century after all !

They do have thumb print access thingies for computers.

then they should be part of all the new ones you buy...not something you have to buy separately. :P

Many new notebook PCs do have them built in. There are reasons not to want them, though. For one, it is an added cost. They're also not infallible. If you happen to slice up the finger(s) you set your identity with, you're screwed. If you work in a hospital, they're also a bad idea. We had fingerprint readers for years here, and they were almost universally hated. People have to wash their hands so often that there aren't enough oils on their fingerpads to allow for a decent scan. They were having to buy $40 oily wetstones to dab before scanning, and departments that didn't want to pay for those were told to rub their fingers on their noses or behind their ears. Gross? Very.

There are ways around fingerprint devices by capturing fingerprints, and there are several places that teach that online.

I remember reading a suggestion somewhere to use your toes for validation. That way if someone ever knocked you out or killed you, your files would still be blocked unless your attacker was good at parallel thinking.

Now I've got this image of some psycho with a stack of notebooks and a keyring with fingers dangling from it...