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Biometrics is the science and technology of measuring and analyzing biological data. Instead of using something you possess like a key or something you know like a password, biometrics uses who you are to identify you. Biometric technology is used for automatic personal recognition based on human body characteristics such as fingerprint, iris, face, palm print, hand geometry, vascular pattern, and voice for authentication purposes. Biometric systems can also use behavioral characteristics—gait, signature, typing pattern for identification purposes. The oldest of these methods is fingerprinting. Fingerprinting has been utilized for over a century by law enforcement officials who use these unique characteristics to keep track of criminals. Regarding the biometric systems, individuals are critics and advocates of the technology for their own set of reasons. Implementation of biometric systems is becoming increasingly common in corporate and public security systems, consumer electronics and point of sale systems.
Biometric systems seem complicated, however they all take the same identical steps: Enrollment, Storage and Comparison. Enrollment refers to first time you use a biometric system, and it records basic information about the sample, such as your name or an identification number. Afterwards, it captures an image or recording of one’s specific trait. During the data Storage, the systems analyze a trait and translate it into a code or graph. Some systems also record this data onto a card that can be carried with a person. Contrary to what may be depicted in movies, most systems don't store the complete image or recording, just the code or graph that can describe the data. After enrollment and storage, the next time you use the s...

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...s among biometrics is the false reading. A “false acceptance” or “false rejection” kind of technical vulnerability becomes a greatest disadvantage of biometrics. In addition, nowadays, the fingerprint of a person is easily copied and used for forgeries. The biometric system scanning can also be copied and duplicated and can be controlled by another person from any corner of the world. An effective biometric system is also costly and is affordable only for large companies and institutions. Though biometric software is designed for complete security it is not an economically advantageous technology. Unreliable – Biometrics like voice recognition or iris recognition cannot be identified properly in case of sickness. If a person suffers from a throat infection or eye defect, biometrics cannot accurately identify the person and hence it is unreliable during such cases.

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