# Why would I want a smart-card reader?

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-i-want-a-smart-card-reader/619136
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 18, 2012, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-i-want-a-smart-card-reader/619136 "2012-04-18T08:06:50Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 11

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### Author: ![aerodave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@aerodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aerodave)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2012, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-i-want-a-smart-card-reader/619136/11 "2012-04-19T01:11:19Z")

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> [@Blakeyrat](#):
>
> If you worked for Microsoft, you could log in by slipping your ID card into the reader. When you removed the card, the computer would automatically be locked. It’s a pretty slick system.
> 
> But like others have said, I can’t think of a reason to have one on a home computer.

That’s how we log into and lock our computers where I work (a US Air Force base). To my knowledge, that’s the standard way of operating for most DoD [NIPRNet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NIPRNet) computers. If our heads-up-their-asses IT folks have deployed it, the system can’t be all that slick.

I have a card reader on my personal laptop so I can log into my work webmail from home or on the road. I don’t care to take a work laptop when I travel because I can’t do anything fun with it. And by fun, I mean porn.

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