Computer Act!ve - UK (2022-04-27)

14 pages of easy-to-follow workshops and expert tips

Workshops & Tips

HOW TO...

35

PLUS

Issue 630 • 27 April – 10 May 2022 35

1

Install your

fingerprint reader

Windows 10 should recognise

the fingerprint reader as soon as you

connect it, although it may not be

obvious that anything has changed.

Before you start using it to log in, you

need to make sure it has been properly

set up.

Click in the search box, or open the

Windows menu, and type device, then

click Device Manager. Device Manager

gives you a view of all the components

installed in your machine, including

drives, peripherals like keyboards and

devices’ would have been created. Click

the chevron to the left of its name to

expand it, and you’ll see an entry for

ELAN WBF Fingerprint Sensor (see

screenshot). As long as there’s no

exclamation mark on its icon, it should

have been correctly recognised and

installed.

If you see the exclamation mark, there

are two possible remedies, which you can

try in turn. Press Windows key+I to open

Settings, then click ‘Update & Security’,

followed by Windows Update. Windows

will search online for available updates

and display what it finds.

mice, and adapters, and lets you manage

and update their drivers.

When you plugged in the fingerprint

reader, a new category for ‘Biometric

I

t’s very tempting, when setting a

password for your computer, to choose

something short and easy to remember.

Avoid that temptation, however, because

short passwords are also easier to guess.

Thankfully, most new laptops come

with a fingerprint reader built in,

which means you don't need passwords

at all: one quick tap and you’re ready

to go. But what if you have an older

laptop without one – or a desktop

PC? Here, we’ll show you how you

can add a fingerprint reader to a

computer running Windows 10, so it

works with Microsoft’s biometric

security system Windows Hello.

As with many items of tech, fingerprint

readers are available at a wide range of

prices, with some tipping the scales at

close to £100. We’ve settled on a far

cheaper option – the Benss USB

Fingerprint Reader for Windows 10 Hello

• which is available via several retailers
  on Amazon. We managed to pick one up
  for £25 (www.snipca.com/41449), which
  we think is excellent value.
  We chose this device because the
  reader surface and the USB plug are a
  single unit, which means we can leave it
  plugged in permanently without it

by Nik Rawlinson

What you need: Fingerprint reader Time required: 60 minutes

Pull Out

& Keep

Issue 630

44 Phone & Tablet Tips

46 Make Windows

Better

47 Make Office Better

48 In the Club:

Run a survey

35 Install a fingerprint

reader for Windows

38 Install missing drivers

and update old ones

40 Readers’ Tips

42 Browser Tips:

Identify fake photos of

people online

Install a fingerprint reader

for Windows

getting in the way (it measures just

21x14x8mm (HxWxD), so doesn’t

protrude much – as you can see in the

photo above.

Windows 10 has added the fingerprint reader

to ‘Biometric devices’ in Device Manager

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