Fingerprint login and logging in on websites using fingerprint

[mbohets]

Hi,

I installed fprintdemo, libpam-fprintd, fprintd and am able to scan my fingerprints using the integrated fingerprintreader of my laptop, so that part works ok.

The next part is to use it to log into kde or on websites like this forum, I have no idea how to do this, can anyone help ?

[SteveRiley]

That would require support for fingerprint login at whatever site or thing you wish to use it for -- the likelihood of which is essentially zero. Fingerprint readers are not ubiquitous, and incorporating support in a display manager or a web site takes more work than you might think. The communication channel between the reader itself and the object requiring authentication is a rich target for attack. This is especially true for web sites: how can something on the Internet establish a secure channel to a particular hardware device on your laptop?

Practically speaking, the only universal way for a web site to perform an authentication challenge is to ask for a password. A variety of "password manager" utilities exist, and you might be able to find one that integrates with your fingerprint reader. Into this tool you would enter each web site you want to access and the password you currently use. It's quite easy for locally-installed software to query for your fingerprint, and then (assuming your finger passes) consult its password database and feed a stored password to a login page.

As for logging onto the computer, there is supposed to be support for fingerprint readers in LightDM (the graphical login UI). Instructions: https://launchpad.net/~fingerprint/+.../ubuntu/fprint. Note that this is specific for LightDM with Ubuntu's Unity greeter. Google returned a number of reports about the KDE greeter not working with fprintd.