There comes a time where you need a storage with some kind of encryption to keep your files safe. I work as an IT Systems Engineer and I see a lot of people who are interested in keeping their confidential information safe. Of course around the office we have a valid back up storage solutions however when taking data off site, that's a different challenge. Over the years I have seen hard drives and jump drives being taken off site and being lost with potentially compromising company's data and losing something of great importance is never a good thing. There are many companies out there which came up with an idea of encrypted hard drives and thumb drives so even if you lose your storage unit the only way to access data on it is to know the password. Today we have a privilege to take a look at one of the newest encrypted storage units, Data Traveler Locker+ G2. Locker+ G2 is brought to you by Kingston and we thank them for providing us with a review unit.

 

About the Product

Following information is taken from Kingston's website.

DataTraveler Locker+ G2 | Personal Security

Get the peace of mind that comes from knowing all your personal data is safe. DataTraveler® Locker+ G2 automatically protects all of your data with a dual layer of hardware encryption and password protection and even features a password manager to safely store and easily access usernames and passwords for up to 20 accounts. DataTraveler Locker + G2 works interchangeably between Mac OS X and Windows systems and is easy to use, with no extra software or partitions needed. It’s stylish, with a durable metal casing and a built-in key loop that easily attaches to a briefcase, bag or backpack.

Features

• Automatically protects all data stored
• Hardware encryption keeps data safe
• Superior password protection
• Supports Windows® 7, Vista®, XP & Mac

 

Now that we got basic information out of the way, lets take a closer look at Locker+ G2.

Closer look

Front Shot		Rear Shot

So what exactly are we looking at here? We are looking at a 16Gb USB thumb drive. Looks pretty simple right? To be honest there isn't much different about Locker+ G2 from any other thumb drives you might see out there. What makes this little guy different on the inside is the hardware encryption and password protection layers.

Out of the box		Kingston's logo

Locker+ G2 has a solid feel to it. The outer shell if made of the aluminum however Locker+ G2 has some weight to it. Silver color is pretty much it all comes in however Locker+ G2 is offered in 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB capacities. When unit is active the small LED blinks on the top of the unit to show that the unit is active. For your convenience there is a short lace that could be attached to the key chain ring.

DataTraveler Locker+ G2

Testing

The beauty of Locker+ G2 is in the software that it comes with. Locker+ G2 comes with simple to use Settings where you can easily take control of your protected storage.

Password setup		Password Manager

To gain access to your files you need a secret password. Once you set your password you need to specify a hint in case you forget your password. It is important to mention at this point that after 10 consecutive failures, thumb drive formats itself erasing all of the data on it. This is a great feature to have in case you lose it. In addition of managing your password for the Locker+ G2 you have ability to store up to 20 user names and password for your own personal preference.

Password Management		Contact Information

I found password manager feature to be very useful however you can only store up to 20 passwords. As I have mentioned earlier the software of Locker+ G2 is light weight but it does all that is needed.

Language

Since Locker+ G2 has USB 2.0 connection the transfer speeds are usually about 40 MB/s. With added hardware encryption the read and write speeds decrease leaving us with about 10 MB/s read and 5 MB/s write. If you are plan to use large files with Locker+ G2 get ready to get a cup of coffee when uploading data to it.

Conclusion

Its tough to find a good encryption storage in the market now a days. People seems to forget that at times you need to keep data private and if you lose the storage which has you data you might be in real trouble. Today we took a quick look at Kingston's Locker+ G2 and let me tell you they do have something really cool here. Solid structure and hardware encryption that is protected by password, however I do see room for improvement in Locker+ G2. Transfer speeds were not to impressive. We used 16Gb Locker+ G2 in our review and moving files to and from was slow. If you are planning to store large files on this thumb drive you might not like the performance. Our experience with small files such as word documents and excel files was much better than video files which we tried to work with. Kingston is constantly working newer firmware versions and just recently we gotten a memo that one of the software components in the Locker+ G2 will be dropped, Password Manager to be exact. I personally thought that password manager was a great idea, however after speaking with PR we found out that there is a compatibility issue with PC and Mac and the removal of Password Manager enables Locker+ G2 to provide much smoother experience. I feel it is important to mention that upcoming shipments of Locker+ G2 will no longer include Password Manager with it. So how much should you expect to pay for Locker+ G2 and is it worth it? Currently Locker+ G2 is offered at 13 15 25 and 50$ USD for 4 8 16 and 32GB versions respectively. I strongly think that the price per gigabyte with encryption level is competitive and definitely worth it. It would be a small investment for something that you need to keep safe. Our over all experience with Locker+ G2 has been without any issues and we would like to award Locker+ G2 9 out of 10 based on its price and features.

Some pros we found:

Aluminum design.

Very robust and easy to use.

Hardware encryption.

Password protection.

Automatic format feature.

Some cons we found:

Transfer speeds are rather slow.