These days we all have smartphones, tablets, PC’s and laptops (from the young to the old) and with these we generate a massive amount of data. For all this data there are lots of different storage methods and ways to transfer files from one device to another (portable drives, Bluetooth, email or cloud storage). While email and cloud storage may seem the easiest solution to use your files on other devices, what happens if your internet goes down or you need to take the files to someone without an internet connection? The answer is a portable storage device.
Portable storage devices come in all shapes and sizes. But sometimes we just need something small, fast, simple and secure, like a thumbnail sized flash drive with password protection.
I received the SanDisk Ultra Fit USB 3.1 Flash Drive for review. This is a USB 3.1 flash drive in a tiny thumbnail size. It is ideal for keeping in your bag or pocket and is an extremely easy way to transfer files while keeping the data secure.
The SanDisk Ultra Fit USB 3.1 Flash Drive is a Plug and Play device – all that means is you just plug it in and start using. As it is USB 3.1, it is a high speed device, with a speed of up to 130MB/s and can transfer a full-length movie in less than 30 seconds (based on 1.2GB file), writing at a speed of up to 15x times faster than USB 2.0 (depending on specification of you host device). It is available in sizes from 16GB to 256GB, so has plenty of storage space for all your data needs.
While a lot of other flash drives are unprotected so that anyone using it can see, copy, edit and delete your files, this drive can keep your data private and secure using the SanDisk SecureAccess (powered by EncryptStick) software, which is included on the flash drive.
The SecureAccess software creates a secure area on the drive that is password protected using 128-bit AES encryption (you can upgrade your protection for £14.99 which has stronger encryption should you need it). You run the vault software (included on the drive), set up your password and then just copy and paste / drag and drop your files into the vault and they are automatically encrypted. These files cannot to viewed, opened, copied or deleted until the vault is opened with your password. Be warned, there is no password recovery option so if you forget your password and the password hint doesn’t help then you have no access to your files or that vault. I think this is an excellent feature as it ensures that no one else can get at your files.
Also you may want some files that are accessible to anyone else using the drive and you can just copy these on as normal without using the SecureAccess vault software – these files are available to everybody to see.
This is a very handy gadget for busy people, especially for transporting offices between home and the office, and with Father’s Day approaching it would make a great gift for dads on the go! It is compact, fast and secure. With the high data transfer speeds, you can copy on a full-length film in less than a minute before leaving the house or office and have something to watch on the train while travelling with your laptop or tablet (no internet connection required).
It can used on Windows and Mac devices (you may need to download the Mac version of the software separately) and is compatible with USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: from £6.99 to £49.99 (16GB to 512GB)
For more information visit www.sandisk.com. Available to buy from Amazon here.
