How well does facial recognition work for device security?

Some of the laptops around the office as well as some new Androids have facial recognition software that can be used in lieu of a pin or swipe pattern to unlock the device. I haven't taken the time to really test it out since neither my Android or laptops has the feature, and I've had enough other stuff to keep me busy lately. I've used alternatives to passwords/logins in the past with mixxed results. I have fingerprint recognition on my laptops and it works ok, but I have to try it more than once much of the time I use it to unlock them, which negates the whole reason to have it, i.e. ease and speed of accurate identification. As a result, I just use a password most of the time. Does the facial regonition method work pretty well or is it more of a gee-whiz type gimmick?

Tags: devices, facial recognition, laptops, security

Topic: Security

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jimlynch 14 weeks ago

I haven't used it, but here are two background articles that might give you some interesting perspective on facial recognition:

Facial recognition system
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facial_recognition_system

How Facial Recognition Systems Work
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/high-tech-gadgets/facial-re...

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christnertech 14 weeks ago

I have been using facial recognition software for about 5 weeks with a lot of success. I operate an IT consulting company had have used it many different places. The problem I have ran into the most is differing light conditions. But it seems to be working better the longer I use it. I have mine set to require a 4 digit pin even after the facial recognition. You can also put your password in if the camera doesn't recognize you and add those images to the database. I just have a low end 2MP webcam and have had some trouble when it comes out of sleep mode. Occasonally the camera will not work until I reboot my laptop. But it seems to work very well overall.

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christnertech 14 weeks ago

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