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Comment by henning | Hacker News Reader

unfortunately fingerprint recognition is notorious for bad security. there are exploits for various systems out there that involve sophisticated techniques such as gummy worms and replay attacks carried out by gently breathing on the fingerprint reader.

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I was looking at a sweet one that also allows you to enter a code. It hooked up to the internet and allowed you to program restrictions on codes. For example, if you had a maid come in regularly (wouldn't that be nice?), her code would only work on certain days or during certain hours. Or if you were afraid you left your stove on and wanted someone to check, you could give them a code that would only work one time. I don't know how much you'd actually use those features, but it was a neat gadget.

Personally I'd be happy to unlock my house the same way I unlock my car -- by pressing a button on a device in my pocket. Better still, it would be the same device. Better still, I wouldn't have to press the button at all, it would unlock as soon as it noticed I was approaching, and then re-lock itself as soon as I was inside. That's probably the best solution in the longer term.

Business Idea: the same thing, but with a chastity belt. eh? million dollars, easy. >_>

Yeah, and as a web-service

Like the wireless keys used in various cars like the Prius? You can press the start button, as long as the key is detectable somewhere on your person?

There are some mods to do that kind of thing (door unlocking, etc) with bluetooth. It would be nice if you could access your car and your house with the cell phone you keep in your pocket anyway.

You want to lock yourself in?

From a guy's perspective, those wireless keys are annoying as hell, because I keep it in my wallet. Most cars will start freaking out if you leave the car with it in your pocket while it's still running. Not only that but sometimes you get locked out when you don't want to, etc... because you left a certain radius. Example: returning a cart at the store.

Keyless entry fob... OK. Proximity system... needs some work still, especially from a wallet-carrying perspective.

I'll have to admit, I like just pressing a button on the door handle to unlock and being able to just walk away, but more often than not the slick-factor gets carried away and causes more pain than good.

edit: I have a Mazdaspeed6 with the proxy key.

Bluetooth could do this. Bluetooth proximity locks are available for computers, though I've not heard of one being used for doors. I suspect the Bluetooth "signature" (whatever it is) could be easily sniffed if someone knew about the lock, but it'd still be pretty cool.

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