Fingerprint Readers on Linux Laptops and Notebooks

TFMESS BioAPI BSP for the UPEK fingerprint sensor (used in IBM's/Lenovo's T42 notebooks and others).

Here are some links to Linux installation reports on laptops with fingerprint readers. Please note currently these documents don't report success with the fingerprint readers.

ASUS B1	Mandriva (Mandrake) 8.0
Fujitsu-Siemens LifeBook P-7120	Debian
HP/COMPAQ 2710p	KUbuntu	German
HP/COMPAQ NC6400	KUbuntu Edgy
HP/COMPAQ NX6320	Debian
HTC Shift (aka P9500, Shangrila, Clio)	Ubuntu
IBM ThinkPad T43p	Debian 3.1 Sarge
IBM ThinkPad T43p	Gentoo
IBM ThinkPad T60	Debian
IBM ThinkPad T60	Novell/SuSE 10.1
IBM ThinkPad T60	Fedora Core 7
IBM ThinkPad X220t	Debian
IBM ThinkPad Z60m	Debian Etch
Lenovo 3000 N200	Linux	French
Toshiba Satellite R20 Tablet PC	Gentoo
Toshiba Tecra M5-402	Debian Etch

Here are some documents, about why fingerprint readers are insecure: Hacking fingerprint Scanners - Why Microsoft's Fingerprint Reader Is Not a Security Feature by Mikko Kiviharju. And More Fun with Fingerprints by dsd.

Drivers, Tools and Applications

• ThinkFinger is a driver for the SGS Thomson Microelectronics fingerprint reader found in most IBM/Lenovo ThinkPads. It is devided into two parts: libthinkfinger and pam_thinkfinger. libthinkfinger is a library to be used in order to communicate with the finger- print reader. The utility 'tf-tool' can be used to acquire and to verify fingerprints.
• The fprint project aims to plug a gap in the Linux desktop: support for consumer fingerprint reader devices. Previously, Linux support for such devices has been scattered amongst different projects (many incomplete) and inconsistent in that application developers would have to implement support for each type of fingerprint reader separately.
• TFMESS BioAPI BSP for the UPEK fingerprint sensor (used in IBM's/Lenovo's ThinkPad T42 notebooks and others).
• aes2501-wy -- Userspace software for USB aes2501 fingerprint scanner. The AES 2501 fingerprint scanner vendor is Authentec and this sensor can be found in: * Medion MD85264 USB sensor * HP/COMPAQ NX6125 notebook * HP/COMPAQ NX6320 notebook * Fujitsu-Siemens P7120 notebook * LG P1 PRO Express Dual notebook.
• Fingerprint GUI is a set of GUI tools for the use of fingerprint scanners on Linux systems. It enables the recording and checking of fingerprints of users and allows login and authentication of users by their fingerprint through its PAM module. An additional "fingerprintIdentifier" application can be used for customized (shell) scripts when users have to be identified or authenticated by their fingerprints. The system is based on device drivers from the "libfprint" project.