Making Passwords Passe

Who Vision Systems Inc. wants to get rid of all passwords and put the cyber-security of your PC at your fingertips.

The start-up in Irvine has developed an inexpensive fingerprint-reading system that can be built into a PC component or connected later as a separate attachment.

“People want to have a sense of control over the information they store on their computer, as well as the data they send out on the Internet,” said Alexander Dickinson, chief executive of Who Vision. “Encryption works, but many people don’t trust something they can’t touch.”

Enter Who Vision’s Tactile-Sense system. Its pad, about the size of a postage stamp, is covered with a specialized plastic sheet that converts pressure into light.

Instead of using a password to log on to a computer system at work, an employee could simply press down on the pad. An image of the fingerprint is captured and compared, and the identity of the person is either confirmed or denied.

The key selling point, Dickinson insists, is the price tag. A stand-alone pad is expected to sell for about $100, but the device would cost only about $25 when built into a computer monitor or keyboard, Dickinson said.

Dickinson, a former research manager at AT&T; Bell Laboratories, hopes to incorporate the technology into other digital devices such as laptops, cellular phones and home alarm systems.

P.J. Huffstutter covers high technology for The Times. She can be reached at (714) 966-7830 and at p.j.huffstutter@latimes.com