Derived from the Greek words, bios, meaning "life", and metron, meaning "measure", biometrics is the study of automated methods for uniquely recognizing humans based on one or more intrinsic physical or behavioral traits.

In information technology, biometric authentications refer to technologies that measure and analyze human physical and behavioral characteristics for verification purposes. Examples of physical characteristics include fingerprints, eye retinas and irises, facial patterns and hand measurements; while examples of mostly behavioral characteristics include signature, gait and typing patterns. Voice is considered a mix of both physical and behavioral characteristics.  However, it can be argued that all biometric traits share physical and behavioral aspects.

That is why Mozcom (www.mozcom.com), the first commercial Internet Service Provider (ISP) in the Philippines, is offering a one-of-a-kind service that makes use of biometric authentication technology.  We were able to review their new product as part of their IP-based Security Solutions.  This is the NetSecure Lite NSL-210 Fingerprint Access Machine.

With dimensions of 240 x 138 x 46 millimeters, the NSL-210 is Mozcom's biometrics-based timekeeping and access control solutions product. It uses fingerprint recognition technology to perform reliable timekeeping and access control for full system integration with vertical applications for home and industry uses.

The NSL-210 that we reviewed supports door access control.  It has a 128 x 64 blue backlit LCD display, with red and green LED that serve as status indicators. The software for this unit uses a Microsoft Windows-based time and attendance management system, but what makes this unique is that the operating system used is Linux.

The unit can be fitted with a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) reader or a smart card reader depending on the owner's preference.  The NSL-210 supports access control with a built-in interface to specialized lock types that includes electromagnetic plate locks, electric strike locks, and bolt locks.

The scanner used on the NSL-210 is the DigitalPersona U.are.U 4000 Optical Scanner and has a fingerprint identification time of 2 seconds once a user places his selected digit fingerprint. The user-friendly and intuitive on-screen menu LCD and built-in speaker provides visual and audio feedback to know if the user has correctly performed the instructed act.  However, for users that have poor quality fingerprints, a PIN number can be defined and inputted by the users as an alternative.

Qualified authorized administrators and users that can access and use the NSL-210 are given a user's login and logout using either their fingerprint or PIN.  The unit has a capacity of 1,500 fingerprint templates that is equivalent to 50,000 transactions.

The NSL-210 can be connected through the use of a RS232/RS485 serial port, a TCP/IP Ethernet network port, or a USB 1.1 Flash Drive port, wherein connection can be carried out locally or on the network for user administration and backup of the unit's database.

We find the NSL-210 a promising leap for biometric security solutions in our country. But several shortcomings were easily noticed by the hardcore techie boys in our department.

First is that the unit is vulnerable to dust and dirt particles that can slightly increase the errors during fingerprint recognition of the user. Another is that the unit is best used for indoor security and not outdoor security. And lastly, the question remains if everyone can afford to buy a unit like this for their homes or offices, given the present economic climate in our country as of this time.

We find the NetSecure Lite NSL-210 a good solution when a user is security conscious. Although biometrics technology is in its infancy here in our country, it's safe to say that we are already going in the right direction for its development.