Password-protected, the drive will format itself if the password is introduced incorrectly 10 times

Nov 18, 2009 08:15 GMT  ·  By

There are those who handle their company's trade secrets but need them available at any time. There are those who are working on some personal research and want to protect their intellectual property. There are also people who work with information and must keep a lid on their secrets. Finally, there are also those individuals who might want a flash drive with restricted access simply in order to avoid embarrassment. For all these kinds of people and more, Kingston released its new family of password-protected USB flash drives, the DataTravelerLocker+.

As the name suggests, it is the built-in data protection system that is the true asset of these products. Using 256-bit hardware-based AES encryption, the devices require the input of a special password in order to allow access to the stored information. One should be careful, though, as ten consecutive wrong passwords will immediately result in a formatting of the entire unit.

Measuring a minuscule 65.76 x 17.98 x 10.7 mm, the new flash drives from Kingston have a USB 2.0 connection interface and come with data-storage capacities of 4, 8, 16 and even 32GB. For maximum safety, they are also waterproof, so buyers need no longer concern themselves with just how bad for their drive it would be if they were caught by surprise by a storm, or if they accidentally dropped it in a puddle during secret information exchanges taking place in muddy back alleys.

"Kingston created this drive to address the rise in data loss and theft which has been a growing problem with expensive consequences. This device gives companies a solution that is not only affordable but provides peace of mind in securing mobile data," Mark Akoubian, business manager, Secure USB Products, Kingston, said. "The DataTraveler Locker+ encrypts 100 percent of the contents and is available at a price point that is very attractive for all entities looking to comply with corporate security policies."

The products may be purchased through @ Newegg for prices of $23.99 (4GB), $34.99 (8GB), $84.99 (16GB) and $154.49 (32GB).