User interface developer Synaptics is generating some excitement over PC biometric authentication with its latest product. Called IronVeil, the fingerprint sensor was unveiled at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in partnership with Thermaltake, which integrated the sensor into its Black V2 mouse.

The system works with Windows Hello and Windows Passport, which stores and transfers Windows Hello’s authentication data. This means that it has a wide range of applicability; Windows is perhaps the biggest operating system brand in the world, and with a wide range of products and applications taking advantage of its features—including the Windows Hello security apparatus—there is more incentive than ever for hardware and software developers to enable biometric authentication. Moreover, Synaptics’ adherence to FIDO Alliance standards further ensures interoperability, especially now that FIDO is growing so large and influential.

CES attendees seem to have been impressed. Writing for The Tech Report, Jeff Kampman said the IronVeil system, as implemented in the Black V2, “logs you in with only the slightest delay,” saying he “found it far easier to use” than a password-based system. And while Forbes’ Patrick Moorhead took issue with Thermaltake’s placement of the sensor on its hardware, he asserted that the “overall experience of using IronVeil has been fantastic and has genuinely shaved off quite a bit of time” for login.

It’s encouraging feedback for Synaptics and for the biometric authentication industry at large, as casual PC users get increasingly interested in biometric security.

Sources: Forbes, The Tech Report

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(Originally posted on FindBiometrics)