Kensington VeriMark Gen1 USB-A Fingerprint Key Reader - Windows Hello, Anti-Spoofing (K67977WW)

Excellent fingerprint reader! Works seamlessly with Windows Hello for fast and secure login. Recognition is quick and very accurate. The anti-spoofing technology adds an extra layer of security. Easy to set up, just plug in and enroll your fingerprint. No more typing passwords!

I wanted to add biometric authentication to an older laptop. When I saw this item on sale during Black Friday, I took a chance and ordered it. As usual for Amazon where I live, the item arrived quickly and well packaged. After removing the keyring safety cap, I inserted the VeriMark key into an unused USB port and waited for Windows to download and install the necessary driver. Since I already had Windows Hello set up with a PIN, I simply needed to go to "Windows Settings->Sign-in options" (hint: go to Windows Settings and use the "Find a setting" search bar) set up the fingerprint reader. After that had been completed, I wanted to set up sites like Facebook and Google to use the VeriMark as a 2nd Factor authentication method (FIDO U2F). Try as I might, I could not get these sites to work with the VeriMark device. Since I am a Firefox user, I thought I should try Google Chrome. Low-and-behold, the device worked great with Chrome. After a quick search, I found an article that stated Firefox Quantum currently has U2F support disabled by default. A-ha! Hopefully, this will help others to fully enjoy this great device. Since I cannot post a link, perform a web search for "How to Navigate FIDO U2F in Firefox Quantum". While the FIDO U2F experience in Firefox is limited at the moment, turning it on is very simple. It only takes three steps. 1. Type about:config into the Firefox browser. 2. Search for “u2f”. 3. Make sure security.webauth.u2f is set to "true" to enable U2F support.

Usually recognizes my finger (keep your finger on until it recognizes it, or lights up red, in which case try again), but sometimes I have to try several times. It's not as good as the built-in fingerprint reader on my other laptop. Has bright blue LED on top that lights up when it's waiting for your finger. Haven't tried the FIDO capabilities with browsers yet, but for Windows Hello login it works great. This is MUCH better than facial recognition--My laptop has several different accounts, and I move back and forth between them many times a day. With Windows Facial Recognition, you can only use your face for one account, but with the fingerprint reader, you can use different fingers for different accounts. It makes it very fast to switch between accounts. Installation is not quite automatic on Windows 11 yet. Windows doesn't automatically recognize the fingerprint reader when you plug it in. You need to follow the instructions in the Kensington Windows 11 installation guide, basically there is an optional (as far as Windows is concerned) driver update you need to install to get the Synaptics driver for the device. It took me less than one minute for the whole process. You DON'T need to use the Kensington Verimark Provisioning Tool, which records your fingerprints, that is built into Windows Hello. After you've installed the driver, you can go to Settings->Accounts->Sign in options, click on the fingerprint section, and it will lead you through recording your fingerprints.

I wanted this to work, the price was good and Kensington is a well-known name in security devices for PCs for decades. So I was happy to order it. When it arrived I plugged it into my Windows 11 PC and heard Windows bleep that it saw a new device plugged in and... windows hello says there are no fingerprint readers installed. OK, there must be a driver it needs from the website. So I go to the website and download what I assume is the correct driver based on the pictures they have of the device on the website (there are no model numbers to be found.) Windows tries to install the driver and fails because it timed out trying to install the driver. What? So I spent some time googling for a fix only to find out that this is something so rare with Windows that there's nothing publicly available. Cool, time to call in backup. I called the Kensington support team. The first person that I talked to said they'd send me an email with some instructions to follow (rather than doing any actual troubleshooting) I called back another 2 times because apparently wherever Kensington is located it takes 30+ minutes to send a link to a zip file, but whatever. So I download the link... it's the same manual process that I TOLD them I'd started with. Might've been a different driver version, might not... who could tell. THEN I find out after keeping the guy on the phone that this is a KNOWN ISSUE with Windows 11. He asked for a screenshot of the error and the bios version on my computer. Fun fact - He has no idea what kind of computer I have, so the bios version number is absolutely useless to him. After all of this... I asked if they had any flavor of ETA for when this was going to be fixed. The answer is... they have no idea. So if you're running a new PC with an OS that is at this point 2 years old with some updates... steer clear of Kensington. They know it doesn't work but they won't tell you, because they don't know WHY it doesn't work or how to fix it. I'm returning this for all of the reasons I've outlined above and not doing business with Kensington in the future. Edit - I did try pulling the cab file that others have mentioned. Same problem, windows times out trying to install the driver. No fix to be had.

The Kensington VeriMark Fingerprint Key arrives with a protective plastic cover (not shown) hiding the metal contacts of this USB device. It's a little difficult removing it so just grab onto it and pull it off carefully. Save it in case you remove the fingerprint key for whatever reason, as it will protect the contacts. Installing the key is very easy and straight forward. For a clean install I closed some of the apps that run in the background such as AdGuard and MailWasher Pro. I then inserted the key into an open USB port and followed the directions as they appeared on-screen. This will eventually take you into Windows Security and you'll notice that the option to install a fingerprint scanner is now active. After you're finished with that section, you'll see the blue light, light up on top of the key itself. You'll then go through a fingerprint training exercise with the finger of your choice. I chose my right index finger. Be patient as it takes several slow swipes of your finger for the app to recognize all the ridges and valleys of your fingerprint. I had to start over a few times until I learned the correct speed to swipe my fingerprint. When that was recognized as being successful the instructions ask you if you wish to train another different fingerprint. I chose my left index finger, but I believe you can train any of your fingerprints. After training your fingerprints, Restart your computer. You'll now notice the blue light is lit up and waiting for you to slowly swipe your fingerprint past the sensor. You'll also notice a small fingerprint graphic near the top of your screen/monitor (see 2nd photo). I've noticed that in some of the reviews on this device that a few people say something like, "it worked at first, then it stopped working." I'm thinking they were gradually swiping their finger too quickly past the sensor. After the scan fails 3 times, you'll be prompted to enter your original PIN to access your computer. I believe if you just swipe your fingerprint a little bit slower than a fast swipe, you'll never have a problem. If a problem starts occurring with my scanner/key I'll post an update, but I don't think any issues will show up.

EXTREMELY FAST. Works great in windows 10. I had doubts because I come from apple side of hardware and I did not want to buy a new MBP with touchbar just to get fingerprint. I moved back to windows 10 and the grass is indeed greener over here! First thing on my new PC build was to get a fingerprint reader and this thing rocks! Works flawlessly on PC (never on an apple machine) - has never faulted once for me so far and works even with 2FA from google (you have to configure via google's menu settings). The unit does run warm/hot (but it only turns on when needed to use windows 10 hello unlocking). Otherwise it's off. You can tell from the blue light it emits when it's on. I keep it plugged in always and it's never a problem (the heat you only notice if you unplug and feel). How secure is this? I do not know it's as secure as windows hello. It works with 1password version 7 and you just need to authenticate with password first, then every subsequent use you can use the fingerprint. You do have to click the windows hello icon in 1password dialog menu in order to activate the fingerprint reader. This is just the way windows hello works. This is same way 1password does for apple hardware. First time you need to enter password then after sleep/re-opening of app, you don't need vault password. I got this key to use for unlocking my 1password. Worth the $50 alone! Note: you can assign multiple fingers - and also accepts family members finger prints per login account. This most likely is handled by windows 10 hello.

i wanted a finger print reader to be able to quickly login to my laptop and this does the job most of the time. setup was quite easy on windows 11 and the initial scanning was smooth. unfortunately, it seems like the size of the reader makes it a lot more important to have a perfectly clean finger and perfect placement on the sensor. most of the time when it fails to log me in, i can wipe off my finger and try again with a very specific position and it’ll work. unfortunately, since windows makes you use your pin after 3 fails, it gets really annoying sometimes. i recognize this is partially user error, but it seems like it could be a lot smoother if the sensor was perhaps a bit bigger?

Works great and no problems

Not Working :(

Słabo działa, szczególnie za te pieniądze, często i tak muszę wpisywać pin, ocena 3 jest i tak szczodra.

Denna fingeravtrycksläsare monterade jag på en stationär dator. Fingerskannern igenkänndes omedelbart av Windows 11 och den fungerar alldeles utmärkt. Rekommenderas absolut med högsta betyg.

El dispositivo biométrico funciona perfectamente una vez que es configurado. En mi caso tengo Windows 10 y no funciono el plug an play. Sin embargo descargue el driver de la página y lo instale. Seguí las instrucciones de la página del producto y pude establecer las huellas como contraseñas fácil, y rápidamente, sin ningún problema. Y al bloquear el equipo el dispositivo lo desbloquea inmediatamente. Es pequeño y discreto muy útil para los que buscamos más seguridad en nuestros equipos.

Sürücüyü plug and play olarak kendi yüklemedi, bunun üzerine üründen çıkan etiketteki talimatlara uyarak Kensington internet sitesinden yükledim. Sürücüyü yüklememe rağmen Windows Hello parmak izi okuyucusunu görmüyordu ve Aygıt Yöneticisinde "Bu aygıt başlatılamıyor. (Kod 10)" hatasını alıyordum. Defalarca sürücüyü yeniden yükledim ama sorun çözülmedi. Bunun üzerine İngilizce olarak internet üzerinden üretici firma ile iletişime geçtim. Bana bu ürünün Windows 11 ile uyumlu olmadığını, Windows 11 ile uyumluluğun ne zaman getirileceğine dair bir tarih bilgisi de olmadığını ama bunun üzerinde çalışmaya devam ettiklerini söylediler. Windows 11 dışında denemedim ama internette forum sitelerinde sorun üzerine araştırma yaparken bazı Windows 10 kullanıcılarının da benzer sorunu yaşadığını gördüm, bu nedenle bu sorunun gerçekten sadece Windows 11'de görünüp görünmediğine tam emin değilim. Her neyse, ürünü iade ettim ve DHL ile gönderdim, şimdi para iadesi bekliyorum.