Quick Question- Smart Card Reader

I just received my smart card and have the software. I also have a new computer with a smart card "slot". Will this work or do I need to get the reader?

Thank you all for your posts. It is lifesaving because I think I would given up if I did not find this forum.

I also got the Breeze mask today and hope this helps with my leaks!

Tkuentz wrote:I also have a new computer with a smart card "slot". Will this work or do I need to get the reader?

Your new computer has a memory card slot, which isn't the same thing as a smart card slot. Even if your slot can take this weird kind of card (unlikely), encore pro itself was written to only support 3 models of smart card reader. They wrote special drivers for those exact devices, so if you don't have one, you won't get encore to work with something else.

One is USB, one is serial (RS232) and one is PCMCIA. I find the USB one (Mako Infineer DT-3500) is the easiest to deal with and the one that will be most compatible going forward. You'll need that exact device (or one of the other two) if you wish to use Encore Pro.

Actually, quite a few new laptops come with a SmartCard slot--many corporate cardkeys use a standard card style and they use these slots to enable VPN security, for example.

That said, it would be very unlikely if the Encore smartcard was not very proprietary. Even if the card hardware was readable by a standard SC slot reader, it would surprise me if the embedded software were readable.

It'd sure make it easier, though...

Thanks - I will order the card reader. It seems to me that if I have a smart card reader, it should be able to be universal . . . but then I would not need to buy more and more and more stuff . . . thereby keeping the electronics industry alive!