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I am trying to have a program unlock the user's Windows7 desktop. I assume this is easiest in some .NET language however anything will suffice.

I have been reading some posts regarding this on stackoverflow and some say it's not possible. If this was the case how are facial recognition programs or fingerprint readers used on Windows laptops. While I will not be using fingerprints or facial recognition I will be authenticating the user in my own way. The functionality will be the same however since once the user passes my check I will logon the desktop.

user974896
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  • I do think this is related to the "[GINA](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphical_identification_and_authentication)" library. – Uwe Keim Oct 22 '11 at 18:05
  • GINA is dead. Vista killed it. – David Heffernan Oct 22 '11 at 18:10
  • I am aware of all security implementations of this and have weighed them against the utility of my application. Considering the circumstances in which this will be run I have determined that this would be of use. @DavidHeffernan, why would smart card developers or any other custom authentication system want to do this? Uwe Keim, A hackish solution will do as well so long is it does not significantly impact the user experience. – user974896 Oct 22 '11 at 18:16
  • I'm not casting judgement, I'm interested in the motivation behind the question. – David Heffernan Oct 22 '11 at 18:19

1 Answers1

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You will need to implement a Credential Provider, Vista's (and Window 7's) replacement for GINA-based authentication systems in earlier versions of Windows.

I believe credential providers must be written in native (not .NET) code.

Michael Petrotta
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