Kingston 16GB DataTraveler Locker+ G2 USB Drive Review

Final Thoughts & Conclusions

The Kingston DataTraveler Locker+ G2 16GB USB 2.0 drive (1GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes) shows 15GB (1GB = 1,073,741,824 bytes) capacity in Windows . The conversion from physical GB to the virtual GiB is really where the difference lies.

In terms of ease of use, it couldn’t get any simpler. The initial setup takes just a minute to complete before you are up and running. Once set up, future use simply requires entry of a password prior to the drive being available to access. Depending on your autoplay settings (Windows), you may be prompted to do this upon insertion of the drive or you may need to open the drive first which will then prompt you for a password. After 10 unsuccessful attempts, the drive will be wiped, so be sure to remember it. You can currently find the DataTraveler Locker+ G2 in four different capacities of 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB. These were just released so for now we can only give the MSRPs of $18, $21, $37, and $82 respectively. All are backed by a stout 5-year warranty.

We should note that upon insertion, the drive will appear as a CD designated as DTLplus. On OS X, you need to
open this disk, then open the folder named “Mac” and then open the
software. This takes an extra step but no less effective in protecting
the data. Once up and running, we found performance to be a little better than the 10MB/s reads and 5MB/s writes listed in the specifications although the smaller capacities may run closer to those performance numbers. Either way, it’s definitely on the slower end of USB 2.0 drive spectrum but high performance is not really the function of this drive. Data security is the name of the game and at that it does a fine job with the 256-bit AES hardware encryption. It’s this encryption that can hinder high performance numbers. This encryption is really more oriented towards personal application and not heavy duty security. Those needing big-time security for business use may look towards Kingston’s line of DataTraveler secure drives which are specifically designed for the high demands of enterprise data protection and offer differing levels of security.

Outside of the password entry, usage is no different than any other USB thumb drive which keeps the security piece as unobtrusive as possible. There’s a blue LED for usage indication which is helpful to ensure there’s no activity occurring prior to removal if you are one that doesn’t use the eject feature in Windows/OS X. The cap does not fit on the back of the drive which is not uncommon but we always prefer to have a place to mount the cap to keep it from getting lost or forgotten. It’s a minor thing but some may see it as a big deal. However, there is a hole on the back of the drive to attach the small lanyard lead provided by Kingston or other connector (like a keyring) of your choosing. The drive is also relatively small and elegant so for a business setting, it fits right in without garish colors or weird shapes.

Legit Bottom Line: If you are looking for a secure way to carry around your personal data with minimum hassle, the Kingston DataTraveler Locker+ G2 is a great option at a reasonable price as long as you don’t have high expectations in terms of read/write speeds.