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Abstract

Biometric is a measurable, physical characteristic or personal behavioral trait used to recognize the identity or verify the claimed identity of a registered user. Physical features typically used for biometric identification are fingerprint, voice, retinal or iris, facial or hand geometry. By determining an individual's physical features in an authentication inquiry and comparing this data with stored biometric reference data, identification for a specific user can be determined and authentication for access can be granted. The term biometrics is derived from the Greek words bio (life) and metric (to measure).

Biometrics

Biometrics is the technology of authenticating a person’s identity by verifying a personal characteristic. Biometric devices grant users access to programs, systems, or rooms by analyzing some biometric identifier (Schmidt 54-62). A biometric identifier is a physical or behavioral characteristic. Examples include fingerprints, facial features, hand geometry, voice patterns, signatures, and eye patterns.

A biometric device translates a personal characteristic into a digital code that is compared with a digital code stored in the computer. If the digital code in the computer does not match the personal characteristics code, the computer denies access to the individual.

The most widely used device today is a fingerprint scanner. A fingerprint scanner captures curves and indentations of a fingerprint. With the cost of fingerprint scanners less than $100, experts believe this technology will become the home users authentication device for e-commerce transactions. To conduct a credit card transaction, the web site would require users to