INTRODUCTION

   Critical data is not something the majority of people out there have but if you happen to be one of those people and are looking for safe/secure storage then your options in today’s market are somewhat limited. Having used and reviewed many hardware encrypted drives over the years i know just how limited those options are and even though there are more choices in the market today than even just 5 years ago these represent but a tiny percentage of the storage media market. Certainly, this isn't something strange, sales numbers are what really matters for most manufacturers and since such drives are primarily aimed towards professionals and government employees working on sensitive projects not many are willing to invest on that. Luckily companies like DataLocker have been supporting this "niche" segment of the market and today I’ll be testing their DL4 FE 1TB Encrypted Portable SSD model.

   DataLocker is a world leader in encryption solutions. With over 35 patents, our technology is at the heart of almost every encrypted hardware and software solution in the market. Our award-winning product line includes everything from encrypted hardware and cloud storage to remote device management. They’re proud to be used by two-thirds of Fortune 100 companies and security and military agencies at the highest levels of the Federal Government. Their products combine convenience with usability and state-of-the-art security to give users a “Simply Secure“experience.

   As the name clearly states the DataLocker DL4 FE (currently available in 1/2/4/7.6/15.3TB capacities for the SSD versions and 500GB/1TB/2TB capacities for the HDD versions) is the successor to their award winning DL3 FE model and so as expected things could only improve from there. For starters the DL4 FE is an FIPS 140-2 Level 3 drive and one of the things you'll notice immediately is that this time over DataLocker has used a color LCD touch screen which you can use to enter your pin and configure the drive properties (also features a rotating alphanumeric keypad which makes it impossible for 3rd parties to guess your PIN). Needless to say thanks to that color LCD screen you just need to plug the drive into your system and follow the instructions, no need to even look for the user manual. Under the brushed aluminum housing of the DL4 FE we find a single common criteria EAL5+ certified controller which helps provide AES 256-bit XTS hardware encryption alongside several features such as brute force password protection (data is erased after a user specified number of failed PIN attempts), silentkill mode (data is erased when a specific PIN is inputted) and remote device detonation (user can destroy the device remotely). Of course, the DL4 FE also comes ready with a read-only mode, onboard anti-malware which further safeguards your data and remote management features (including geofencing) which we don't see by most of the competition. So let's see just how the DL4 FE compares to both its predecessor and several other portable USB encrypted drives.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

DataLocker uses a silver box that has the model name and capacity at the front.

Several certifications along with the drive's internal battery and useful URLs are printed at the rear.

The DL4 FE is placed inside a cloth cover and placed in a formed piece of cardboard.

Along with the DL4 FE and its cloth cover inside the box DataLocker has also placed a USB-A to USB-C cable and an USB-C cable.

THE DL4 FE 1TB

The aluminum body of the DL4 FE measures 123mm in length, 77mm in width and 21mm in height.

Here you can see how that compares to other encrypted portable SSDs including the DL3 FE again by DataLocker, the SECUREDRIVE KP 2TB by SECUREDATA and the DiskAshur PRO2 4TB by iStorage.

On the upper side of the drive, we find the color LCD touch screen and an activity LED right over it.

The USB-C port is located at the front of the drive whereas at the rear we find a Kensington lock.

Turning the drive over we find a sticker with the model name, capacity, serial number and barcodes.

The bundled cloth cover is just enough for the drive and one of its cables.

In case any of you are wondering for the DL4 FE 1TB (i can't speak for other models) DataLocker has used the 2.5" Samsung 860 EVO 1TB SATA III/600 SSD.

DL4 FE MENUS

The first time you use the drive it will ask for you to create your very own PIN/password.

After that you will be required to enter it and choose between read & write mode (Connect) and read-only mode.

Once the drive is unlocked you will be able to see the firmware version and encryptions.

By pressing the lock disconnect option you get to a screen where you can choose to unlock the drive again (will have to enter your PIN again) or power it down.

From the drive settings menu you can change the password, switch between users, enter safeconsole mode (remote), secure erase data (zeroize drive), destroy the drive, set password perquisites, adjust the auto-lock time, enable/disable touch screen sounds, set the brightness level for the screen, enable read-only mode, change the language for the menus and perform a touch screen calibration.

Also don't forget to download and install the latest firmware update for your DL4 FE from the official DataLocker support page.

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   Solid state drives are basically the same as USB flash drives and so we’re using almost the same testing methodology to successfully record achieved read & write performance numbers in our charts*. The benchmark suites used are HD Tach RW (Read Speeds / Long Bench 32mb Zone Testing), HD Tune Pro (Read / Write speeds), Sisoftware Sandra Titanium 2020 (Read / Write speeds), AIDA64 Engineer Edition (Average Linear / Random Read & Write speeds), Crystal Disk Mark 6.0.2 (2GB Read / Write speeds) and finally ATTO 4.00.0F2 (Max Read / Max Write speeds). Every test is repeated a total of 6 times after which the average performance numbers are recorded into our charts (0 = we were unable to complete that test).

   All tests are performed with our main rig running Microsoft Windows 10 Pro installation on a CORSAIR MP510 960GB NVME SSD* with all updates installed up to the day tests started.

* Since August 2019 for portable SSD tests I started using the primary test rig.
** To make a direct comparison easier as of June 2021 I placed all hardware encrypted portable SSDs in their very own charts.

TEST RESULTS - AIDA64 / ATTO

TEST RESULTS - HD TACH RW / HD TUNE PRO

TEST RESULTS - SISOFTWARE SANDRA TITANIUM / CRYSTAL DISK MARK

CONCLUSION

   Just like with every other hardware encrypted drive that has found its way to the lab/office after trying several ways (mostly brute force related) to access the data inside the DL4 FE i was unable to (as expected really). Of course, I’m no hacker (which means that if you have a specific way, you’d like me to try feel free to ask) but at the same time i really see no reason for me to doubt all the certifications such models have so encryption is clearly a pass. Now what i didn’t like with the DL3 FE SSD (and i had discussed about this with DataLocker quite extensively) was its read and write performance. Well, the DL4 FE is over twice as fast and even though that’s nowhere near to what we see with regular USB 3.2 Gen2 or Gen2x2 portable SSDs it’s still quite on par with what the competition offers. Again, i do hope DataLocker takes things a step further and starts using M.2 NVMe drives with Gen 2x2 controllers (even Gen 2 would do fine however) for the extremely demanding users but as things stand i really have no problem with the performance of the DL4 FE SSD. As for the lack of a rubber bumber like with the DL3 FE model, well that's what the cloth cover/pouch is for so that's not really an issue.

   Retailing for USD613 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 554.28Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) the DL4 FE 1TB USB 3.2 Gen 1 Hardware Encrypted Portable SSD by DataLocker is clearly far from what regular consumers would call affordable. Still, it’s really important to remember that hardware encrypted drives like the DL4 FE and many others like it are not targeted towards regular consumers, at least not primarily. So, leaving out the price factor the main question is whether or not one such drive delivers everything the manufacturer advertises it for and since the DL4 FE clearly does it gets the Golden Award.

PROS

- Very Good Build Quality
- PIN Authentication
- Security Measures (AES XTS & CBC 256-bit Hardware Encryption / Brute Force Protection / Auto Lock / Self Destruct / Silentkill / Remote Detonation / Read Only / Zeroing)
- Good Performance
- Color LCD Touch Screen
- Alphanumeric Rotating Keypad
- Available In 1/2/4/7.6/15.3TB SSD Capacities
- HDD & SSD Models
- SafeConsole Remote Administration
- 3 Year Limited Warranty

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Color LCD Screen Durability?