Windows Biometric Framework

Security and biometrics in Windows 7

In article the Windows Biometric Framework technology and its hardware support in a line of notebooks of ASUSTeK corporation will be considered.^[1]

In the modern world questions of information security are particularly acute owing to several reasons. It and importance of the saved information, its capital intensity, and aggravation of a criminogenic situation in the field of data protection because of the having place of a world financial crisis.

The vast majority of the businessmen and managers involved at responsible positions daily in the work use portable portable devices of information processing - notebooks, netbooks, the PDA and communicators of different function. There is no need much to speak about importance of an information access which is stored and processed in their subsoil, and about effects of its loss or access for strangers to it. All these questions have character of paramount importance.

One of the last operating systems of a line of Windows - Windows 7 offers in the structure complex approach to the solution of this problem. One of principal components of such approach was implementation of Windows Biometric Framework of biometric infrastructure.

For example, in Windows Vista if you wanted to use fingerprints for login, it was necessary to use software of producers of the sensors which are reading out fingerprints. The new feature of security in Windows 7 under the name Biometric Framework provides own support of readers of fingerprints and simplifies a problem of implementation of biometric security in the solution of routine tasks. This technology is used for management of reading of fingerprints. And it is possible to manage settings of biometrics devices from a system control panel, and settings can be configured on permission of an input of users in Windows and/or in the domain, using biometric data. For each user it is possible even to set quite certain finger (its print).

The Windows service of Biometric Service (WBS) is a part of the infrastructure managing readers of fingerprints and operating as the intermediary of input-output between applications and biometrics devices. In this case applications have no direct data access, as improves essentially confidentiality and the general security during the work.

High-level overview of Windows Biometric Framework technology

Use of the fingerprint scanner is based on quite simple methods of work. At first the application scans one or several prints and selects some features of the epidermalny drawing. Further this information allows to check whether that person who provided samples of prints tries to scan a finger or somebody tries to mystify the system of decision-making. Process of receiving samples of fingerprints is known as Enroll. The further repeating check of prints is called Verify. The procedure of search of the user for his prints is Identification. In essence the system of making decision on user identification cannot give definite answer to a question: Whether "Really it is that user who is necessary to us?" Assessment is probabilistic, and there is a certain value or the number of points which show, the error at user identification (MatchingThreshold score) is how probable.

In spite of the fact that the principle of work with fingerprints simple and uniform for any application, at the moment does not exist the standard for universal work with scanners of any producer. Respectively there is no universal set of development tools also (in further SDK) which would allow to use any available scanner. Standardization efforts are conducted, but standards are still not developed. Meanwhile Microsoft together with Windows 7 advances the standard - Windows Biometric Framework (WBF).

Producers of scanners, as a rule, provide SDK allowing to work with their devices. Today such solutions - around $1000 cost expensive. What is interesting, to work with Linux, for example, often there are also free versions of SDK unlike libraries under Windows, but they have a number of restrictions. Is the solution and other producers allowing to use a set of different devices using the same set of SDK, but for each specific scanner it is necessary to analyze questions of hardware support.

The price of third-party solutions is comparable with the price of SDK from producers of devices. Nevertheless there is a free solution working and in Windows, - for example from neurotechnology.com. It is Free Fingerprint Verification SDK. But also in this free library does not do without some restrictions. One of them - existence of the version working only with 32-bit operating systems from Microsoft. At the same time data on users remain only in the special format provided by the producer. It is possible to save data no more than on 10 prints. The Identification mode is not supported.

It is possible to see that such restrictions there are enough perches. In full versions all of them are removed - the library works in any OS, saves data on fingerprints in any database. But also the price respectively will be the amount specified earlier: about $1000. Using the stated approaches, producers turn on the solutions both in personal computers, and in the notebooks used everywhere for solving of tasks - from ordinary domestic needs to business challenges of level of the enterprises.

ASUS, AuthenTec and Microsoft - top three

The conventional world leader in the field of production not only motherboards, but also notebooks is ASUSTeK Computer. Biometric Windows7 platform found broad support among notebooks from ASUS. This fact was confirmed also by the AuthenTec company (http://www.authentec.com/) leading in the world - the supplier of the highly intellectual solutions based on technologies of the analysis of fingerprints. Solutions of AuthenTec based on the Windows platform of Biometric Framework (WBF) were integrated in many models of notebooks from ASUS that allowed to improve significantly touch functions of operation of sensors of the analysis of fingerprints and to raise the overall level of security, convenience and personalisation.

The fruit of joint work of AuthenTec and Microsoft was succeeded to implement ASUS corporations very successfully in the solutions. Today millions of modern notebooks and PC include the intelligent sensors of fingerprints from AuthenTec within implementation of Windows7 operating system providing the highest security levels, conveniences and personalisation. And ASUS just is also engaged in hardware implementation of such solutions, providing the platform for Microsoft. Joint efforts of these giants of the computer industry provide extremely exact and reliable mechanisms of the analysis of fingerprints according to their in advance finished shooting images. AuthenTec sensors are capable to read out information which is below the first layer of a surface of skin in the work, ensuring thereby functioning with areas of "not changing" epidermis and repeatedly increasing the probability of the correct decision-making at an analysis stage of data.

"ASUS once again showed the leadership in the field of the IT market, proposing the technical solutions including the most modern technologies. It is possible to carry the announcement of a new line of notebooks which use the technologies known as Windows Biometric Framework, the offered AuthenTec together with Windows developers to their number", - on the different presentations James Tong, the associate director of ASUS on products repeatedly spoke.

"We were among the first producers of the notebooks in the world using integration of new architecture of WBF and solutions of AuthenTec and are very glad to continue implementation of these technologies further, using touch features of AuthenTec and WBF sensors of the solution of Microsoft", - it continued.

And here opinion of other leader: "ASUSTeK continues to differentiate the products with adding of new features and opportunities, including new Windows Biometric Framework technology", - Tom Ebli, the vice president of AuthenTec told. Continuing a primary subject, he added: "ASUS WBF proposed integrated solution on notebooks long before other players in this industry. We expect further support of integration of WBF in Centrino 2 notebooks from ASUS and also their application in models of notebooks of the next generation with new Intel processors".

Today the model of F8 series which represents an optimal combination of mobility and performance to a full-fledged security system, protecting the notebook and data stored on it can become one of striking examples of notebooks with support of Windows Biometric Framework technology. Confidentiality of data is provided with the built-in scanner of a fingerprint AuthenTec with TruePrint® technology thanks to which the scanner reads out the drawing of a live layer of skin and the accuracy of recognition does not worsen even if the surface of a finger is contaminated or damaged. Besides, the built-in hardware module of TPM (the name of the specification detailing the cryptoprocessor in which cryptographic keys for data protection are stored) allows to prevent the attacks of the hackers who are looking for passwords and cryptographic keys to confidential data. In addition to the specified series the ASUS corporation provides the broadest range of solutions of this sort. Of course, as always, the choice remains for the user, but it already seems obvious, and this choice needs to be implemented here, on the official site of ASUS.

Outputs

Today the undoubted leader in production of the system software product is the Microsoft corporation, and in the field of hardware implementation and support of these software products - ASUSTeK Computer. Implementation in a line of notebooks from ASUS of Windows Biometric Framework technology significantly raises the overall level of security, convenience and personalisation during the work with digital information of any kind. It is obvious that the future when choosing serious devices for work with digital information of any sort lies in the field of competence of ASUS and its hardware products.

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