Kingston Ironkey Locker+ 50 (LP50) {Hardware} Encrypted USB Overview – Reasonably priced and straightforward to make use of

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The brand new Kingston Ironkey Locker+ 50 USB drive is an inexpensive and safe drive that is a bit completely different from all the opposite encrypted safe drives I’ve reviewed up to now.

There isn’t any FIPs certification, nor bodily safety. All safety is predicated on {hardware} encryption constructed into the drive.

For customers who desire a increased diploma of safety and extra storage whereas remaining simple to make use of, the Kingston IronKey Vault Privateness 80 Exterior SSD is a good possibility.

I doubt this may enchantment to the enterprise market, nevertheless it’s most likely probably the most enticing resolution for residence customers and small companies who wish to defend essential recordsdata.

Specification

• Capacities: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB
• Encryption: XTS-AES {hardware} encryption
• Interface: USB 3.2 Gen 1 Kind-A
• Velocity:
  • USB 3.2 Gen 1: 16GB – 128GB: 145MB/s learn, 115MB/s write
  • USB 2.0: 16GB – 128GB: 30MB/s learn, 20MB/s write
• Supported cloud companies: Google Drive, OneDrive (Microsoft), Amazon S3, Dropbox, Field
• Dimensions: 60.56mm x 18.6mm x 9.75mm
• Working temperature: 0°C to 60°C
• Storage temperature: -20°C to 85°C
• Compatibility: USB 3.0/USB 3.1/USB 3.2 Gen 1

Options of IronKey Locker+ 50

• XTS-AES {hardware} encryption (encryption can by no means be disabled)
• Safety in opposition to brute drive and BadUSB assaults
• A number of password choices
• Advanced password or passphrase modes
• Eye button to show entered passwords to cut back failed login makes an attempt
• Digital keyboard to assist defend in opposition to keyloggers and screenloggers
• Appropriate with Home windows or macOS (see knowledge sheet for particulars)

Configuration / Administration

This is without doubt one of the best models I’ve used for setup and administration. It’s because there isn’t a bodily safety on the drive itself.

You plug it in, then Home windows acknowledges that you’ve a DVD drive and from right here, you possibly can run the IronKey utility.

The primary run will information you thru the setup course of and as soon as full, will load the contents of the drive.

For enter, you possibly can optionally use the digital keyboard to keep away from the dangers of keyloggers.

ClevX USB to Cloud

The LP50 comes with a license for ClevX USBtoCloud, which is a useful little app that it is best to use with warning.

Principally, it’ll again up the contents of the USB drive to your chosen cloud supplier. Nonetheless, no encryption is utilized past that utilized by the supplier itself.

On the one hand, that is handy. If you happen to neglect your password and must reset the USB, you continue to have your essential knowledge.

However many individuals don’t belief cloud companies with delicate knowledge and like to add an encrypted file. So if that service is hacked, the info is protected. That is additionally not an unreasonable safety situation; There are lots of circumstances the place individuals have had their Google accounts hacked. Even when you have 2FA enabled, SIM swapping assaults are pretty widespread and comparatively simple to tug off.

For much less delicate knowledge, this most likely will not be an issue. If you happen to journey with work knowledge, it is good to know that you’ve your knowledge protected on the bodily drive in case you lose it.

Establishing ClevX USBtoCloud is simple. The app robotically hundreds the setup display screen while you first log in to the unit. I set it up with Google Drive and simply needed to authenticate my account via the browser.

Backups are achieved within the background and shortly.

Kingston Ironkey LP50 vs. VeraCrypt and USB Drive

Once I began reviewing this drive, the rapid query that popped into my head was, why not use encryption software program on a USB drive?

This can be a completely viable possibility, and for anybody trying to save cash, it is price doing.

Nonetheless, I made a decision to arrange a VeraCrypt partition on a USB drive, and it isn’t as simple to make use of because the LP50. There are fairly just a few choices to select from, which is nice for some however not so good for somebody with restricted laptop expertise. You’ll be able to encrypt a whole drive, however you possibly can have encrypted volumes. I feel this could possibly be one of many downfalls of some much less proficient customers. It could be simple to finish up creating an encrypted quantity after which put knowledge on the non-encrypted a part of the drive.

The fundamental setup course of additionally takes a while, and formatting the brand new encrypted quantity takes a number of minutes. Once more, not an issue for individuals like me who’re in IT, however many others need one thing that simply works proper out of the field.

Efficiency

There’s not a lot to jot down about efficiency; it is only a USB drive. However, I feel it is price noting how simple that is to make use of. You plug it in, the login dialog opens, you kind in your password, and the drive unlocks.

Efficiency is nice, a lot better than the FIPS-certified USB drives you get. The drive additionally exceeds Kingston’s quoted speeds.

Worth and different choices

Kingston IronKey Locker+ 50 is accessible on Amazon through the product bins beneath. On the time of writing, it is barely costlier than Perception however with free transport.

Perception Direct seems to be the official Kingston companion. Costs are decrease however they cost £7 for supply so it will likely be costlier for particular person merchandise.

• 16GB: £32
• 32GB: £41
• 64GB: £78
• 128GB: £119

By comparability, when you opted for a FIPS 197-certified 16GB iStorage datAshur Personal2, you’d pay virtually double at £60.

Normal

That is my first time utilizing a safe drive like this, and I fairly prefer it. There are two massive promoting factors, worth and ease of use. It also needs to learn/write sooner than most pin-protected drives.

Plugging this in and typing in my password is way more handy than attempting to press tiny keys on a USB. For a small enterprise proprietor and residential consumer like me, I do not actually have any recordsdata delicate sufficient to require FIPS 140 or 197 licensed drives.

The logical counter to this drive can be that you need to use VeraCrypt to encrypt your knowledge on any thumb drive and obtain the identical performance for a lot much less. Kingston DataTraveler Exodia is simply £6 for a 64GB mannequin. Nonetheless, that is a bit much less user-friendly, and I am a agency believer that something that is not user-friendly is dangerous for knowledge safety.

Due to this fact, I feel the Kingston Ironkey LP50 is a superb alternative for anybody on the lookout for degree of information safety that’s inexpensive and straightforward to make use of.

Final up to date on 09-06-2022 / Affiliate Hyperlinks / Amazon Product Promoting API Pictures