Microsoft features some of the Windows Hello companion devices

In a blog post today, Microsoft featured some of the companion devices for Windows Hello. According to the company, there are nearly 100 biometric-enabled Windows 10 devices and accessories available. In the blog post, Microsoft featured Nymi Band — a wearable device that lets you automatically unlock your Windows 10 device without any password. All you have to do is turn on your PC, and tap the band when you are on the lockscreen — after that, the band will automatically log you in securely. Nymi uses a technology which it calls HeartID that basically authenticates you by analyzing your heartbeat and a “unique ECG-based authentication technology.”

Microsoft also featured YubiKey, which is a USB-connector Windows Hello companion device that lets you unlock your Windows 10 PC simply by plugging it into the USB port. The company also featured HID Global’s Seos card which basically uses NFC to unlock your PC — this type of solution can be used in big organizations where employees have an access card. Another solution featured on the blog post is the RSA SecureID Access Authenticator app which is essentially a mobile app that lets you verify a login from your phone when someone tries to login to your PC — it’s quite similar to how 2-factor authentication works.

Microsoft also encourages companies interested in developing similar companion devices to get in touch with their team by emailing at [email protected]. If you are interested, you can find some detailed info regarding some of these companion devices for Windows Hello here.