A Mustache That Fools Facial Rec? Don't Count on it!

Think you can fool Big Brother by sporting a Sam Elliott-style mustache? Think again!

Alex Kilpatrick, founder of Tactical Information Systems, is offering attendees at the Web 2.0 New York conference a few tips on foiling facial recognition systems, based on his own exhaustive testing. Turns out, a beard, mustache, hat or even hood won't do the trick. Your best bet: Invest in some oversize Paris Hilton-style sunglasses. 

Forbes.com reports: 

Without obscuring his eyes, only drawing a virtual burqa on his face managed to defeat a match, whereas sunglasses immediately prevented all recognition.

“You have to break from the human perception of the face,” Kilpatrick says. “We key on big features like hairstyle and beard, but software works on very different principles.”