Customer Reviews

Kingston DataTraveler Locker 4 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive with Encryption DTL/4GB (Black)

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The Kingston "DataTraveler Locker (8g)" is a good choice for those needing to carry important or sensitive data between multiple computers. We provide training at our customer's sites and often have to use their equipment, so this drive filled our requirement of having a way to get the material there without having to worry about someone accessing our proprietary data if we should misplace the drive.

This is a reasonably priced flash drive that works pretty much as expected, here are my observations:

Setup:
When initially inserted into the computer, the USB drive is recognized and is accessible through the normal "My Computer" drive listing. It comes preformatted for FAT32 and does not have an encrypted partition. There are two files on the drive, the encryption program and the instruction PDF (NOTE: make sure to copy this to your hard drive if you want to keep it because it is erased when the encrypted partition is set up). The setup program walks through setting up a password, a hint to help you remember the password (optional), and a "slider" to setup the size the normal and encrypted partitions (see "Cons", below). Once you complete the process, the drive reformats and is reconfigured with the selected configuration.

Use:
When inserted into the USB port, it is recognized like any other Flash Drive and will show it's size as the unencrypted partition (which is OK, but an observant user will notice the difference between the reported drive size and the size printed on the case). Clicking on the "DTencryptor" program will allow the user to enter the password for access to the encrypted partition. Note that you can only access one partition at a time.

Pros:
+ Easy Setup; the drive was quickly recognized by my Windows Vista (64 Bit) and Windows 7 (64 bit) and the setup program ran without any issues (but see "Cons" below)
+ Fast Transfer Rate; once unlocked, the transfer rate was fast enough to handle video playback
+ Solid Construction; the drive is protected by an aluminum cover that rotates out of the way to expose the USB connector
+ "Trusted Computer"; allows users to bypass entering a password on selected PCs

Cons:
- Partition size is selected by slider, making precise selection of size difficult
- No written instructions and the PDF is deleted when the encrypted partition is setup

Misc:
* A little lanyard cable is included (easy to miss in the packaging)

Overall, this unit performs well, is easy to setup and use, and is fairly good physical quality.

Recommended!

CFH

If you need that protection, then this is a good choice.. Be aware that some security programs will try to lock you out, because they do not recognize what is happening when they scan it, and especially if you try to change security programs after you have coded your PC to the USB stik. You can spend some time on the phone with tech people before you get in... I installed when I had McAfee, then later switched to Shield Deluxe, and was locked from accessing even the password entry site.

This drive may be denied access on public computers. It works just great on my own personal computer, encrypting/decrypting stuff easily. But when I tried to use it on a trip, in the hotel guest computers, the decryption program would not run, and I was denied access to all the encrypted files. I also tried it on the computers at my local Kinko's, which also denied access. I called Kingston's Customer Support, but got no resolution. BEWARE.

When I received mine, it said Windows Vista on the container. Ut oh. But I called and they said it was also Windows 7.

I have to tell you, after reading the reviews here, I am a non-GEEK and I was a little bit afraid to get this item. But I wanted something encrypted and I wanted it to not have a cap I would lose. I like the design. Very nice feel. So here are some simple instructions for my non-nerd brethren.

The instructions are micro size and here is what they say: Put it into your USB drive. LOL. I am not kidding. That's it.

My computer recognized it right away and brought up two icons. If yours doesn't, just click on START -> MY COMPUTER -> and you will see it as the E: item. Double click it and two icons will come up.

Once you see the two icons, drag and drop the manual to your dsektop. Just hold your mouse down on it and drag it to the side of the screen and release, then you will see it. You will always have it right at hand, or you can put it in a folder somewhere. Then double click on the other icon---the red mean-looking man--- and you will go through about three screens of easy intructions. When you come to the slider bar, just make sure you don't slide it all the way down. The screen tells you not to do this, but just a little reminder here. The guy on the phone reminded me. Apparently this slider allows you to set how much of the drive you want to be encrypted. I slid mine down about 3/4's. I bought it to encrypt my data. But if you slide it the whole way down, you won't be able to access your password screen, so make sure you don't slide it more than 90%. Remember, the screen gives you this instruction, just a little reminder.

If you get confused at any time, go to your desktop and click on your handy manual and it will walk you through it. Not hard.

The password screen lets you also set a hint. Very nice. Mine is so obtuse, no one would know. You should do the same.

So there you have it. A great buy, if you ask me.

I will update this when I try it with my clickfree transformer(a little gadget you attach which turns a flash drive into an automatic back-up). You don't have to drag and drop anything, you just plug it in and it knows what to back-up and does it on its own. When I talked to Kingston, they couldn't tell me if the two would work together, so we will see.

UPDATE: The design is the best I have seen. I have the ones that have the rubbery things you slip the drive into (called sport of something). Those rubbery things break. I have the ones with the caps---used to have the caps. I have the ones with the retractable drive---err, it retracts when you try to put it in the USB and sometimes I am slipping it in a USB that has other things around it, so that I can not hold the drive and keep it from retracting. THIS ONE HAS NONE OF THOSE PROBLEMS. I LOVE THE DESIGN.

Although I read the reviews that gave some low marks, I also saw the high marks. I should have paid more attention. The flash drive will not encrypt Mac OS 10.5 at all even though stated Mac compatible. Then deciding I would just use the drive for transfers only (nonencryption requiring) although there are many more reasonable drives, I found that this drive works only intermittently. I have many other flash drives, zip drives, etc more expensive and many less expensive and none have been as problematic. To get any rebate, you have to mail it back to them--more trouble than it is worth. I'm looking elsewhere for encrypted drives.

As others have already commented, this device will not work at public places such as hotels or national copy centers. I had to have presentations emailed directly to the copy center staff to get presentations printed, otherwise would have been out of luck!

That said, for use around the office and/or home - I found the UI very easy to use, and loved the peace of mind of having all my files encrypted while going back and forth.

Most of the criticisms for this device regard its encryption... but if you didn't want that, why would you get this drive? There are plenty of other drives without any encryption!
This flash drive is the same quality that Kingston always provides. Great durability, great transfer speeds for data - both upload and download, and the nice security feature of hardware encryption. I've never used a hardware encryption USB drive before, but the setup for this device was simple and intuitive.
I've tested this on my Windows 7 and XP machines, as well as my friend's Vista and Mac OSX. On each and every system the drive worked like a charm, gave access to the data on the drive without a problem. I haven't tried it on public machines as previous users with problems had, but I have tried it on school computers with no problem.
This device is great if you have ever lost a drive with important info on it, that you wouldn't want anyone else to see. After 10 attempts to crack the password, it self-reformats clearing all data! I'll make sure I don't lose it, or forget my password! ;)
All in all, this is a great product!

I paid more for this drive because it has security software built in, but it's proving to be useless. I received this, opened the package, followed the instructions in the setup program, and created a partition of 13 Gigs in size on my new Windows 7 system. A right-click on properties shows 13 gigs free. Then I dragged 12 Gigs of files to the drive. About 5 minutes later, I get an error there is no space free. Now when I right click the drive, it only shows about 2.5 Gigs TOTAL capacity, with 2.5 Gigs used. It also shows the drive is a FAT32, which is apparently the type created by their security software. Kingston's web site is no help at all. I rebooted, and repeated this process several times. I left a message with their support about 3 days ago, and no reply. I'm not sure why this is creating a FAT32 drive, not an NTFS drive. Also not sure if their security software will support a drive reformatting. If Kingston writes back I will update this review.

I have been using the Kingston DataTravler Locker. I wanted to give a couple of observations for anyone to consider that might be looking to purchase this flash drive.
1. It is large. In the present day with such micro memory, there is no reason for this flash drive to be 3 times as large as the other drives I have.

2. The encryption works very well....almost to well. When you insert it into a new computer, it tries to install a small launch program so you can enter your password and access your files. Like others have said, this does not work on secure computers that you don't have the correct rights granted to install the file. I am therefore not able to use this drive at work, or anywhere I do not have full computer rights.

3. I would rather the USB port go inside the drive housing rather then having the large flip over cover...just a person preference.

If you are looking for a secure way to keep files and don't plan on using the drive in places other then your own computer..this could be a good choice if you can get past the size of the drive.

I received the Kingston DataTraveler 8GB from BzzAgent so I could try it out and spread the "Bzz". When the package arrived from UPS, I was very surprised at how small the package was, no software? Turns out, I didn't need it, I plugged it into my laptop (Windows XP SP3) and it installed itself automatically, I didn't even have time to LOOK for a PDF, so I am hoping that I am able to get one off of the support website. This drive is really easy to use and store since you can never lose the cap, which also means little mouths can't accidentally swallow it. The one problem that I have with it is that it won't hold enough!Which is the only reason I gave this model 4 stars. I need to get a much bigger one so I can make sure to have all of the pictures of my kids and our important information backed up, so I'm upgrading myself to the 32GB model for my important photos and documents. I'll use the included lanyard to hook it up to my keys, and no matter what happens I will always have this password protected information with me. With a 5 year warranty and 24/7 FREE technical support if something goes wrong...how can I go wrong?