Smart cards, Fingerprint readers – Dell Studio 1558 (Early 2010) User Manual

Page 254

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Security and Privacy

A strong password:

Contains both uppercase and lowercase letters

Contains a combination of numbers, words, and/or symbols

Is changed on a regular basis

Smart Cards

NOTE:

The smart card feature may not be available on your computer.

Smart cards are laptop credit-card shaped devices with internal integrated
circuits. Using smart cards can improve system security by combining
something a user has (the smart card) with something only the user should
know (a PIN) to provide more secure user-authentication than passwords
alone. There are two main types of Smart Cards:

Contact Smart Cards — These cards have a contact area with many gold
plated connection pads. When inserted into a card reader, the information
from the chip can be read and written.

Contactless Smart Cards — These cards do not require any physical
contact with the reader. The chip communicates with the card reader
through RFID induction technology. These cards require only close
proximity to an antenna of a card reader to complete transaction.

Fingerprint Readers

NOTE:

The fingerprint reader may not be available on your computer.

A fingerprint reader is a peripheral device for your computer with a strip
sensor. When you slide your finger over the reader, the reader uses your
unique fingerprint to authenticate your user identity and helps keep your Dell
computer secure.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

To learn more about creating secure

passwords, see Windows Help and Support:

click Start

or

→ Help and Support.

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