What is a CAC Card Reader?
Before I get into what a CAC card reader is, I need to let you know some other things. First of all, what is a CAC Card? CAC stands for Common Access Card. It is distributed by the Department of Defense to those involved in the Department Of Defense in some way. It is used as a standard identification card for many people involved in the military, including:
-Active Duty Personnel
-Reserve Personnel
-National Guard Members
-Civilian Employees
-State Employees of the National Guard
-ROTC Cadets
-Public Health Service
-National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
-Emergency-Essential Employees
-Eligible Contractor Personnel
All of these different types of people need a Common Access Card for some specific use. Not all Common Access Cards are enabled to provide every single user with the same exact access, a contractor for example may only be allowed to access what he needs to aceess in order to get his job done. This is done in order to maintain national security.
It can be used as an official identification card according to the Geneva Conventions. It is also used for authentication to enable access to Department Of Defense network computers, networks and certain DOD facilities. This card allows encrypting and signing e-mail cryptographically.
The Common Access Card is a controlled item and only a limited number of them are released. As of 2008, 17 million of these cards have been issued, 3.5 million of them are in circulation unterminated. It began distribution in 2006. The USA Department of Defense was one of the first and only governments to use this type of card.
A card reader is a computer peripheral (basically, a computer accessory) which has the ability to communicate with a memory card. It can decode and decipher its data making it accessible to the computer user. Many can be installed into a physical computer. Others are USB based and are simply plugged into the computer. The card will have a memory chip which is read by the reader.
A CAC Card Reader is used to read the information stored on the card. Most CAC card readers will work with any operating system, although there have been problems reported with the 64-bit Vista systems. They are available at Base PX or at retail stores like Best Buy, although you may need to ask for them, or special order. You can also get them through many retail online outlets.
The CAC Card Reader is used not only to read information that you may have stored on your Common Access Card, but also in order to access certain government protected sites, including Department of Defense and military sites which are not publicly accessible. This enables employees to get work done from home or from abroad. This is especially used when deployed abroad and an employee needs to access a database or site from overseas. Common Access Cards have enabled many soldiers to get the information they need to get in a very convenient and easy fashion.