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Getting Fingerprint Readers to Read Your Prints?
crypticgeek asks: "I recently obtained a new job, and I'm already at my wit's end. Many of the doors in our facility have finger print readers because they are high security areas. No matter how hard I've tried, I can't get the system to read my prints very well, since they aren't well 'defined'. This means I don't have access to the areas I need to. I have to have someone else let me in to secure areas. I've tried using lotion thinking they were too dry, but that didn't work. In fact, most of the time my hands are really sweaty. Someone suggested I use nail polish remover and that would 'raise' the print, however I'm skeptical. Has anyone else had problems with finger print devices, or know of some possible ways of getting a better read?"
Sit at your desk with no work to do, buddy. Just be sure to set something in motion to get someone else who's job it is to fix these sort of problems on it.
Why should you trouble yourself if the company's assclown policies are preventing you from doing work?
You have to have someone else let you into secure areas? This strikes me as very risky indeed - for your career that is. Among other things, the point of such systems is to audit who enters the areas, and you are circumventing it.
Get them to fix the system so it lets you in - don't put yourself at risk by breaking the rules.
It appears the loops and whorls of my fingerprints are a little lower than average - so when I first tried to use a fingerprint reader I couldn't register with the system, nevermind authenticate with it later. Then, I finally loaded up an admin utility that showed the scanned image that the recognition engine was using - and I noticed the print didn't look complete.
Solution: I put almost half of the required fingertip over the top of the imaging sensor, so the stupid little device gets the part of my print it really wants.
Anyway, it might be worth a try to play around with finger positioning.
Heh, I was being silly. Though I appreciate your support
While at my place they're generally instantly forgiving if I'm loafing because someone else has locked the database or neglected to make a bugfix for a deadline, you'll still lose prestiege in the eyes of some bosses even if it's completely out of your hands. Regardless of even being aware that its not your fault, they'll still subconsciously be thinking "well, he is getting paid for nothing..."
You also run the risk of the boss discovering he actually didn't need you in the first place. They might be doing fine even if you can't get access. So you gotta be proactive after a certain point. Start going over people's shoulders and sneaking access (like he said with getting a friend to let him in) to prove you're willing to break a few unimportant protocols to better the company.
I agree with the people who say this is his bosses' problem, not his...
What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
My wife essentially has no fingerprints due to having had some severe eczema in the past. Her fingertips are fairly smooth with the occational crack or line, but those move week to week. At her last job they had fingerprint locks to keep the animal rights protesters out (when you make new drugs the FDA makes you test on animals... No way around it, but try telling that to the protesters.) and they never worked for her. When she got to work she had to call security to let her in and do an ID check every single day.
Fingerprint locks should be used as a highish security convienience. There should always be a backup system too. Even if that backup system is a big thug checking photo IDs.
Nothing to see here. Move along.