Conclusion:

If keeping the data on your flash drive private is a high priority to you, Kingston's DataTraveler Locker+ series is worth checking out. It makes protecting your data just about foolproof, while still offering transfer rates to rival a typical flash drive. I had assumed that the hardware-based encryption and security software running from the drive would have an impact on performance, but real-world use and benchmarking proved me wrong.



Price may be the biggest deterrent to owning one of these drives. Searching the web finds that the 16GB DataTraveler Locker+ flash drive goes for about $85 (US) at places like Newegg.com. While you can't compare this drive to a typical flash drive in terms of security features, if you were to compare prices anyway you would see that this price is roughly 2x to 3x higher than a typical 16GB flash drive of decent quality.

If the features of the drive are appealing, selecting a different capacity may be the solution to any issue with the price. With models ranging from 4GB to 32GB, you could spend as little as $24, or as much as $154, for a DataTraveler Locker+.

The Kingston 16GB DataTraveler Locker+ flash drive earns the Bigbruin.com "Recommended" award for its security-made-simple, performance, and 5-year warranty.



Pros:

» 100% (hardware-based) encryption
» Software preloaded on to drive
» Respectable transfer rates
» Encryption has minimal impact on performance
» 5-year warranty

Cons:

» 2x to 3x the price of a typical 16GB flash drive
» For Windows or Mac - not Linux compatible

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