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Wednesday 21 December 2011

Is this really an improvement in security?

I like to keep up to date with technology but the consumer tech industry issues 'must have' updates far too often for this to be possible, at least with my financial resources. So when I heard that Android 4.0 aka 'Ice cream sandwich' was out on some new smartphones I was both interested and irritated; I already own, and am really pleased with, a Samsung Galaxy SII. There does not seem to be a killer feature on the new os so I will probably wait until it is free upgrade time again.

However one of the features being touted as a reason to buy a new device running ice cream sandwich is the face unlock feature. This means that rather than having to type in a four digit unlock code, which is apparently so tricky to remember, you just hold the phone up to your face and it unlocks. Hmmmm... How many people out there have to carry a security pass to enter their office building? How many of you have a head shot photo on your pass? Am I being stupid but unless this face recognition is cleverer than I predict it is, can it not be fooled by someone else holding up a picture of my face to the screen?

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