[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

People are making a big deal out of the fingerprint scanner, but it isn't all that great. It's fingerprint scanner is significantly different from Apple's in that it is an active scanner that requires a physical swipe of the finger across the sensor which surrounds the Home button, while Apple's is passive in that you merely place the finger on the screen in area that functions as the fingerprint scanner.

What this means is the Apple version is easier to use; and its simplicity is the reason why that system can be so easily fooled. The Galaxy fp scanner requires that you learn to repeat the specific speed and angle with which you swiped the sensor at registration time. It is MUCH harder to fool, but it is also MUCH harder to use. If you remember the Motorola Atrix from a few years back, it is much like THAT fingerprint sensor and about as reliable.

Neither system will stop a dedicated thief, but both will stop a casual thief cold I should think. After a day of use though, I quit using it. About 2/3s of the time, I had to use the manual over-ride password anyway. I didn't worry about the security so much as I decided the security wasn't worth the hassle.

Biometric security is a farce. All you are doing is trading away security for the sake of convenience.

And I don't remember one is easier to hack, but if it is the iPhone it is definitely not because the S5 requires swiping.

EDIT: And it's the S5, see linked article in second quote below.

Some observations I made in a previous post:

Originally Posted by eschwartz

Granted, that will still protect your phone from being casually accessed, but only to the extent at which you are already protected by using a basic password. So it's kind of pointless, although it does make a good media claim.

Originally Posted by eschwartz

... and there is no lockout after failing the scan.

They reiterate how unlikely a successful hack is. Of course, whether password or biometrics a hack will most likely come from someone close by who sees your password or has access to your sleeping finger... that is the most likely source of a password hack as well. And now they can get into your PayPal too! Yay!

Helpfully, they also point out that biometric security is about swapping security for convenience. This is very true and I implore you all to remember it. This can only lessen your security, by whatever extent.