McAfee wants to replace Password with Biometric in its next security solution

By Darshik Jariwala - November, 25th 2014

Intel is reportedly working on Biometric technology in a software which it hopes will replace the use of passwords. The software being McAfee, which as we know is owned by Intel. It offers security solutions for computers, tablets and mobile and it will use the Biometric technology to authenticate users.

Number of people purchasing from stores online has tremendously increased over the years and in some cases, using even the strongest of passwords has proved futile, when the company’s databases are being compromised revealing personal information of hundreds and thousands of their users at a time.

The McAfee software that will use biometric technology for security feature will be available to users at the end of this year, so in a matter of weeks, hopefully. Kirk Skaugen, senior vice president and general manager of the PC Client Group at Intel says, “Your biometrics basically eliminate the need for you to enter passwords for Windows log in and eventually all your websites ever again”.

Adoption of Password Managers has been on a rise lately thanks to dozens of social networks, email accounts, online stores, online storage and banking websites that users typically use on a very regular basis.

The rise of Biometric technology and the companies offering biometric solutions has also been quite steady. Wearable technology such as Fitbit and Jawbone have created a niche for themselves gathering personal information like heart rate, calories, sleeping habits and such. Speaking of wearable technology, Intel isn’t new to it either. Intel CEO Brian Krzanich recently showed off BioSport headphones in partnership with SMS Audio. The BioSport headphones come with fitness tracking capabilities.

Dabbling in this technology where a company collects information about your behavior is not new, but it will be interesting to see how McAfee is able to convince users to use its latest software where their fingerprint or a particular body gesture will unlock the plethora of passwords that users store online. The biometric authentication forms which Intel has been working on include fingerprint, gesture, face and voice recognition.

With only a few weeks to go for the end of the year, we look forward to the software as promised by Intel.

Source – CIO

Feature Photo Credit – Toshiyuki IMAI