Alright, after that mouthful of a title, here’s the post. Recently, I had the chance to try out DigitalPersona’s Personal Fingerprint Reader, and in short, it’s pretty awesome. Personally, I think fingerprint reading tech is one of the coolest things out there, and this is no exception.

Instead of on some laptops, where there is a little strip that is a slide reader where you slide your finger, this is a full fledged finger print pad, and the difference is noticeable – throughout all my time testing, I never ran into one misread, which is impressive. Accuracy is also good – the reader was able to recognize my prints, but rejected my twin brother’s, which says a lot of how accurate it is. There are several features built into the software that it comes with, that all work pretty seamlessly with Windows (sorry, no Mac support)– logging into Windows, protecting folders, and Internet logins are some of the specific areas where the program works. Logging in is simple– you set up the password, and when the reader is plugged in, when you log in, it’ll give you the option to just scan a finger, and presto – it logs in. Websites work similarly– when you visit a site with a login box on it (like say your email or a site like Twitter or Facebook), a fingerprint icon will appear in the corner of the browser, asking you if you’d like to register an account. It all works simply and efficiently, just as you’d expect. File encryption also works in the same way– select a file, encrypt it, and it can only be accessed by your finger alone.

However, it is a little pricey – costing $90. A cheaper version of the software and reader is available, although I have not tested it, and is instead being a swipe style reader (similar to those found on laptops), and does not include the file encryption software.

Overall, the Personal Fingerprint reader is a cool, interesting way to use fingerprint technology on the web and on your PC. If it’s something you’ve just wanted to try, it might be a little expensive, but for those who like fingerprint security, this is an excellent implementation of it. We are going to give it a very good rating of 4 out of 5, losing points only for the somewhat high price.

We give the Personal Fingerprint Reader a Very Good 4 out of 5

You can order the Personal Fingerprint Reader from DigitalPersona’s site here.