Customer Reviews

Apricorn Aegis Padlock 250 GB USB 2.0 128-bit Encrypted Portable External Hard Drive A25-PL128-250 (Grey)

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I actually purchased this drive in an effort to beat the encryption. I thought if the drive was stolen by somebody they could reset the drive and use a data recovery program to recover the data. I was wrong. When reset, the data remains forever encrypted and unaccessible (when you reset the drive, nothing is visible on the drive). Most crooks would be too stupid to think of this anyway. I had a large external hard drive hanging around on the floor near my computer, the kind that required a power chord. I realized that any crook who broke into my apartment would have easy access to my data if they stole my drive. So I put all that data onto this Padlock drive and placed the old hard drive [as backup] in my safe. Now I just leave this drive, which to a crook might just look like a Keyboard Keypad or calculator, lying around. If it gets stolen- I'm out the $100 I spent on it, but I don't have to worry about them accessing my data. Also, I can bring all my data to work now and access all my files all the time. Even though this thing is USB powered, there really isn't any noticeable difference in speed between that any my 7200 rpm external hard drive. I love how small and convenient this thing is. I would highly recommend it. Just make sure to have a good password.

Have tried in the past to utilize USB keys to transport confidential data with various encryption methods. The easier methods required admin rights on the host computers. The IT people at one of the hospitals have made the software impossible to use. The PADLOCK has bypassed this problem very well and with great improvement in read/write speed. Very easy to use and in a form which is convenient to carry. Nicely constructed. Would recommend for physicians where data confidentiality is imperative.

Received his item within 5 days. plugged it in and it immediately goes to work. Use it for backing up my entire computer HDD. Now I don;t have to back up on DVD's or CD's. Setting the keypad password is a bit awkward but not difficult. I am extremely happy I got this product. Thanks Apricorn for a fine product.

This drive does work like it says: strong encryption (128 is enough), well-built, and fairly easy to use.

Here are the comments that buyers should consider: the drive does not include an owner's manual, which is weird because one exists--I found it online at the company website. It includes a single-sheet instruction for setting passwords. I had no problem doing this, but then became baffled when I was done using the drive and wanted to re-lock it. It seems nobody had bothered to demonstrate this...not the instruction sheet, not the youtube product videos, not even the manual. They go as far as showing you how to unlock and use the drive, but leave it to the user to figure out the rest. There isn't a "lock" button, for example. You have to eject the drive (using the clumsy "eject secure drive" function in Windows, or drag-and-eject in Mac), and then physically unplug the drive USB. when you re-plug it, it's locked (and my Mac responds to the drive every time with the "unrecognized hardware: initialize, eject, or ignore" popup). You could simply eject the drive and leave it physically plugged, too, but again--nobody tells you this. You have to figure it out for yourself.

The drive is moderately fast, but not blazing. It doesn't feel flimsy, and the buttons seem well-constructed (I was worried they'd be cheap and might make drive use clumsy, but they're not).

I bought one of these less than a year ago and suddenly it quit accepting my user password and the admin password. Same passwords that had been on the device since I first set it up. As a result I lost everything that had not been backed up. With the reliability of disks these days, I am not too conscientious about doing backups so that was quite a bit of data. Usually you have to worry about a disk going bad, but with the Padlock you also get to worry about the Padlock firmware malfunctioning too. Support could not help, and the only recourse was to reset and reformat it.
Bottom line: Be aware that all the data on the Padlock could become inaccessible at any time. I was able to reset it and it is usable again now, but I lost everything that was on it. I will never be able to trust it again.

I bought this drive less than 10 months ago. So far the password has reset itself twice. Without any warning or provocation. The external drive worked fine when it worked. But if the password changes for whatever reason which mine just did for the second time, you're SOL. You have to reset the drive and reformat. Useless. Shutdown the computer last night, disconnected the working drive, plugged it in this morning, entered the password, doesn't recognize it anymore and hence cannot access the data.

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Not much to say - Does what it's supposed to do. Setup was easy and went exactly as described on the half-page quick start guide. Have only had it for a few days, but working perfectly so far. It's a bit slow writing big batches of files. Manufacturer spec is 'up to' 90 Mb/sec., but I am not getting near that in practice. The speed is not a complaint for me, however, it's an acceptable trade-off. The unit works on my 2008 Acer laptop without the Y cable. The cable appears to be of high quality. It was good of them to include it, and not sell it separately.
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The unit comes with a stretchy sleeve that will protect it from dust, and maybe the most minor bumps and scratches. If you are going to buy a better case, remember that the unit has squared-off edges, so will need a somewhat roomy case. Good GPS cases can be had for under $20.
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The complete manual is on the disk. Print this out first thing. There is info in there you could possibly need, and you don't want it encrypted if the drive eventually gives you trouble.
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Overall a good product. No surprises.
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I prefer the Apricon series of portable hard drives because they are lighter and smaller than the competition, and always work with USB power only. The Apricorn Padlock drive is a great addition to collection, because it provides very easy to use protection against someone stealing my data if the drive is lost while traveling. The built-in hardware encryption is a snap to use, and does not slow down data transfer, at least as far as I have been able to determine.

If you need a portable hard drive that is encrypted then this is the drive for you.

When I first got this drive I was looking for the software disk to install to make it work. Guess what, there is no software needed and no disk. So then I tried it with my system first (Win XP) and worked great. I went to my daughters Mac entered my pin number and worked great as well.

Great drive!

Faster than the BlackArmor I used previously, and more easily portable, since it requires no driver or other software installation. I like the option to have a really long passcode (up to 16 digits), and the way it deals with the possibility of brute force attacks is well worked out. Reviews, here, that complain about the documentation seem odd to me; the drive comes with sufficient printed documentation to get it running, and there's a PDF saved on the disk that provides clear additional instructions.

You have the option to create multiple passwords for different users, so that if you later decide to remove one person (e.g. if an employee leaves a company), you can eliminate that one password while retaining the rest.

The soft case is nice (same as on Apricorn non-encrypted drives). The passcode-entry buttons feel robust, which is just as well, since you're screwed if you can't enter your code. I dropped my drive on the floor and it continued to work.

Price is right, and the device satisfies all my criteria. I bought two, so that I can keep them in separate locations in case of fire or theft.

No utility software is included (such as incremental backup software), but that's fine by me, as I'd rather do it my way.