Flash drives are flash drives, and flash drives that count “security” among its top features usually end up to be pretty boring—but necessary—products for Average Joe. But here’s how it gets interesting: by adding hardware-based encryption and an actual numpad for keying in a password. We first saw this on the Aegis Padlock Secure portable drive, but that was a 2.5-inch portable drive. Corsair’s Flash Padlock 2 adds the keypad onto a compact USB flash drive that can fit into a pocket, somehow making “security” way more cool compared to having to deal with encrypting software every time you have to push or pull data securely.
The buttons are actually slapped onto Corsair’s Flash Voyager drive, their mainstream line of flash drives that come with a rubberized shell for extra physical protection. For data protection, the drive can be locked using a 4 to 10-digit PIN code for quick and easy security that’s definitely more intuitive than fiddling with software-based solutions (no software installs needed for it to work). It’s protected by 256-bit encryption, a “hack detection” feature that locks up the drive for 2 minutes after multiple PIN fails, and a feature that deletes everything in case it needs to be reset to default. It’s all good, solid, useful tech, but really, the Padlock 2 had us at “this drive has buttons.”
Available in a single 8GB option for $59, the Padlock 2 will work with any USB port, including Windows, OS X, Linux, and game consoles.
The If-80’s-icons-were-on-this-product’s-marketing-team hypothesis #22110
The Dundee Marketing Parallel: What would happen if Crocodile Dundee worked for Corsair’s marketing department and he was presented with a competitor’s “secure” flash drive?
“You call that a secure USB flash drive?” he’ll say. Then he pulls out the Padlock 2, plugs it into his laptop and keys in his PIN, “Now this, this is a secure USB Flash drive.”
Tags: Corsair, Security, Storage, USB Flash Drives
