Is the Personal Access Reader command set proprietary to SPYRUS?
Personal Access Reader (PAR) is compatible with the PC/SC standard. Most of the commands sent to the reader are standard PC/SC calls, except for the calls to implement secure PIN entry. Microsoft s PC/SC standard does not directly support keypads and displays on smart card readers. Because Personal Access Reader was developed before Microsoft released their PC/SC specifications, we implemented a few functions that users like yourself asked for. The PC/SC standard provides the ability to extend the driver for functions such as those required to implement secure PIN entry. So, these particular calls are proprietary to SPYRUS. If you are a smart card application developer and want to implement the secure PIN entry capability in Personal Access Reader, you need to obtain the PC/SC developer toolkit and PC/SC components from Microsoft (see www.microsoft.com on how to obtain the kit) and use the command set provided with the PC/SC driver on the diskette (included in the Personal Access Reade
