Expert's Rating
Pros
- Aluminum construction balances durability, weight
- Touch screen simplifies setup and log-in
Cons
- Key beeping can be too loud
- Power cord may be needed on some systems
Our Verdict
The touch-screen controls on this drive look like a gimmick, but they make common tasks far easier.
In our recent look at eight encrypted portable drives, we considered several models that require Windows for log-in, setup, and maintenance. If you want to use an encrypted drive on several computers with different OSs, you need a way to enter a password through something other than Windows software. That’s where the Data Locker Pro AES ($340 for 320GB) and its touch-screen LCD come in.
The Data Locker gives you a numeric keypad for entering a six-digit passcode that lets the drive mount in an operating system. You can also use the LCD screen to change the passcode, dismount the drive, toggle the encryption on or off, or wipe the drive clean. One annoyance, however, is the loud beeping that it emits when you press the screen (and you can’t turn the sound off).
The Data Locker’s relatively high price factors in the cost of the additional hardware, but the touch screen is definitely slick, and this drive is worth considering if you need to move sensitive data between machines.