SecuGen EyeD OptiMouse

[Tami]

SecuGen EyeD OptiMouse

By IAN JOHNSON
Globe and Mail Update

[img]http://www.killanet.net/uploads/eyedoptimouse.jpg[/img]

The EyeD OptiMouse from [url=\"http://www.secugen.com/products/eo.htm\"]SecuGen[/url] isn\'t your everyday mouse — it\'s a cyber-rodent with big, pointy teeth.

This mouse is part input device, part security system for your Windows-based PC. The hardware looks like a standard mouse at first glance, but on closer inspection there\'s a glass panel where your thumb rests (for right-handers). Behind the panel is a highly sensitive fingerprint scanner that, together with the SecuGen software, keeps unauthorized people from accessing your PC or reading sensitive files (although I did find a way to get around some of the protective measures, which I\'ll get to further down).

The finger print scanner uses a technique called Surface Enhanced Irregular Reflection (SEIR) and a CMOS image sensor to read the prints. When you try to log on or access a protected file, a window pops up on the screen. You press your finger against the glass panel on the mouse (which is super-hardened and virtually unbreakable, unlike the lens on some types of print scanners — even a key won\'t scratch it), and a red light illuminates your finger for a moment.

The system reads the fingerprint through the glass lens and the software uses a series of powerful algorithms to extract data from the image, mapping the distinguishing characteristics of the fingerprint, the company says. This data is then converted into a 400-byte digital template and stored in memory or on your hard disk — the actual fingerprint image is never stored and can\'t be reconstructed from the templates in order to protect your privacy. Instead, this data template becomes a digital password that gives you access to the system.

To verify a fingerprint the next time you try to access the PC or a protected file (you can use the scanner for on-line passwords, too), a proprietary matching algorithm compares the extracted data from the surface of the finger pressed against the optic module to a previously stored sample. The entire matching process takes roughly one second and the image of your print appears simultaneously in the on-screen window to let you know the system is working (which looks very cool).

Secugen says the scanner can\'t be activated with \"faked\" fingerprints reproduced from something you\'ve touched. I certainly couldn\'t beat the fingerprint scanner, even though I tried with prints that were photocopied or inked onto a plastic slide.

MOUSE:

The two-button mouse comes in white, black or white-and-blue, and plugs into a standard USB port. It uses an optical sensor instead of the traditional bottom-mounted ball, so it will work on virtually any surface and should never need cleaning.

The mouse also has a clickable scroll wheel that can be programmed to call up a file or application. Scroll wheels are handy, but this one is small and set a bit too flush to the top of the mouse to use comfortably.

The mouse has one of those flat-topped, low-profile designs that works equally well with either hand, but the sensor is really mounted for a right-hander\'s thumb. You can press other fingers against the sensor because the orientation of the image doesn\'t matter to the software algorithm, but the placement makes it awkward to activate it with anything but your right thumb.

The scanner itself is excellent. It worked smoothly throughout our review period and never took more than two tries to read a print, even for fingers covered in Dorito cheese (I was at the office late one night and I got the munchies ...). For those who don\'t need a scanner-enabled mouse, the company also has something it calls a \"hamster\" — a standalone print scanner built into a chassis about the size of a salt-shaker that sits on the desktop.

SOFTWARE:

The print scanner is cool, but the real brains of the operation are in the software.

The installation is easy. You plug the mouse into a USB port, it pulls the driver from the CD-ROM, and then you install the software suite that includes SecuDesktop 2000 and SecuManager. The software works with Windows 95/98/NT/2000.

SecuDesktop 2000 is the main program. It\'s a slick piece of software that integrates tightly with Windows to control access to the PC, files and applications. There\'s an icon that is installed on your taskbar for easy access to its features, including a screensaver that requires a fingerprint to bring back the desktop (no fear of prying eyes peering at information on your screen).

SecuManager lets you adjust things like the brightness and sensitivity of the print scanner. The \"administrator\" — by default, the first person who registers their fingerprint with the software — can also set the security level for the PC on a scale of nine possible settings (low to high) to control what types of programs are password protected, as well as manage user login information and access levels for the PC, and so on.

Enrolling a fingerprint is easy. SecuManager brings up a picture of two hands, and you click on the finger corresponding to the one you want to register with the system (you can register all your fingers, or just one or two, it\'s up to you). Then you press the corresponding finger against the glass for about a second, the system takes a picture, you press again to verify the picture was accurate, and that\'s it. No more passwords to remember. But in case you have system problems or, heaven forbid, mangle a finger, the system allows you to create an emergency startup diskette or type in an emergency access password.

The next time you boot up the PC, a window pops up asking you to choose a user. You click on your name from a list (if there are others enrolled on the PC too, such as co-workers or family members) and then press your finger against the sensor window. It reads your print and as long as it\'s a match, the watchdog software gives you access to Windows. Otherwise, the system will refuse to boot into Windows.

Another exceptionally useful feature is the 128-bit encryption. The software allows you to choose files, folders or whole drives to encrypt (although you can\'t scramble the Windows system files). Once encrypted, you have to supply a fingerprint to unlock and view the files. To show that a file or folder is encrypted, a small \"s\" appears in the lower corner of the file\'s icon. The applications and file access are still speedy, even with the encryption turned on.

To avoid having to give a print for every level you go down into sub-folders, you can set the system up so that after you provide the initial print scan, anything you click on automatically decrypts during a specified interval, ranging from a few seconds to half a minute.

You can also program the encryption system so that individuals or a group of specified users has access to certain files. This is great for a home or office setting, where certain users might need access to files on the PC such as financial records or applications such as e-mail and a Web browser, but where you don\'t want everyone to have access to everything.

SecuViewer is another useful tool that comes with the OptiMouse. It logs every successful or failed attempt to access the PC or its files. You can track the events by the date and time they happened or the type of files people attempted to access, in case you want to identify a pattern of someone tampering with your PC.

SECURITY HOLE:

The security offered by SecuDesk isn\'t bulletproof in older operating systems, though. This isn\'t the fault of the OptiMouse, it\'s simply a weakness of the design of Windows 95/98 (an OptiMouse coupled with Microsoft NT/2000/XP is a much harder nut to crack).

The problem is that SecuDesk and the fingerprint scanner aren\'t active until their drivers have been loaded, but you can boot into DOS or Windows safe mode in Windows 95 or 98 and prevent those drivers from ever loading. I beat the watchdog software by logging into Win98 safe mode during bootup, bypassing the EyeD OptiMouse drivers and software and getting basic access to files and directories.

The saving grace is that if you have encryption turned on and set to protect any files you consider \"sensitive,\" people won\'t be able to read those files even in Windows safe mode.

While a determined person with a bit of time and a medium amount of technical knowledge will be able to defeat SecuDesk\'s login system, if you need tighter security than the bundled software offers, the EyeD OptiMouse also works with a number of industrial-strength security programs from other vendors. These include SecuIBAS for Internet authentication; Protocom SecureLogin for single sign-on and advanced workstation security; Novell Modular Authentication Service (NMAS); and Qvoice WhoIsIt client-server software.

THE VERDICT
The OptiMouse does a great job of protecting a system from casual prying eyes while you\'re away from your desk. A determined thief may get past it given a bit of time, especially under older and less secure operating system, but the software can also encrypt directories in case anyone does get past the fingerprint-based logon security. The hardware design is excellent, and you can upgrade to a third-party piece of software (and Windows NT/2000) if you need tighter security. The mouse has a list price of about $300 (Canadian). The company deals mainly with corporate customers and technology resellers, but it will also sell to individual users through its Web site.

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