At least in the business side of personal computing, biometric devices are becoming more common as optional or even standard features in order to improve information security. But consumers shouldn’t feel left behind because there is a variety of fingerprint readers. Unfortunately not all of them work with Firefox by default.

FingerAuth Password Manager is a Firefox extension developed by A&H Software that provides an interface between Firefox and several fingerprint readers including products from Testech, Secugen, Crossmatch and DigitalPersona.

I tried it with the popular Microsoft Fingerprint Reader (a rebranded and dumbly stripped down version of DigitalPersona). The process was pretty simple. On first start, the fingerprint register wizard guides you through the process of scanning your fingerprints (two finger scans is the suggested minimum).

From then on, whenever you want to associate your fingerprints with a particular login page you just need to scan a registered fingerprint to get a dialog for defining a new credential (username + password). FingerAuth accurately guesses what fields from the web form you need and highlights the corresponding field in the web form for easier identification. You can also change the identified fields and add more fields if needed (like an additional PIN confirmation number or similar) and select the specific submit form button making it really flexible.

Once a fingerprint login has been defined, the next time you visit the web site, a status bar icon will light to let you know you can scan your fingers to access it. Scan a registered finger and the login form is automatically filled. Unless you have more than one credential for the same web site. In this case you would be prompted with a small menu to select the appropriate login.

I guess it must be I am just starting to use it but sometimes I forgot I have defined a fingerprint login for some web sites. It would really help if FingerAuth made a sound notification in addition.

You can always edit the stored credentials. Clicking the status bar icon, select Fingerprint Login Manager. Despite the name, this dialog is for editing the credentials for the particular web site not all of them, and of course you need to scan your fingerprint to access it. Otherwise anyone could mess with your credentials if you leave Firefox open.

Just like the MS Fingerprint Reader itself, FingerAuth notes that it shouldn’t be considered a security mechanism and should not be used for protecting highly confidential data. It’s about convenience. So strong password guidelines should still be followed to ensure proper information protection.

The trial version of FingerAuth is limited to a single credential associated to registered fingerprints. The full version with no credential limitation is available for $30 which I found somewhat steep considering it costs as much as the reader itself.

Check FingerAuth web site to try and buy it.