Net Nanny offers new anti-music piracy tool

Net Nanny Software has developed technology that uses keystroke recognition to prevent online music piracy.

The company has combined its BioPassword product with keystroke recognition technology to certify the identity of users by the way they type their names and passwords. It is similar to how voice recognition software identifies speech patterns.

The technology will be incorporated with the digital rights management facility of music download provider Musicrypt.com, and both companies are promoting the technique to music labels and online retailers to include in their downloadable music. This will ensure that only the person who downloaded the file can play it back.

While the technology is less accurate than other biometric technologies, such as finger print or retinal scans, it does have a 98 per cent accuracy rate in identifying individuals, according to Net Nanny.

One advantage is that, unlike other biometric technologies, the software does not require any additional hardware. It is also easy to use because it does not require users to do anything else other than type their names and passwords.

John Heaven, president of Musicrypt.com, said: "What we're doing is making the user the key."

While the technology may be attractive to record companies, its use depends on consumer take-up, say analysts. Users will need to install Musicrypt's software on their computers which could hamper acceptance.

Eric Scheirer, analyst with Forrester Research, said: "It's very difficult for [either of the] companies to articulate this in a way that makes it palatable to consumers. This has to be transparent and seamless to get over the first consumer hurdle."