Kingston Ironkey S1000 4GB Encrypted USB Flash Drive On-Device Cryptochip FIPS 140-2 Level 3 Multi-Password Security Options IKS1000B/4GB

I've owned and used this product for almost 2 years, so I think I'm well qualified to give my opinion of this flash drive. I bought it right here on Amazon. The reviewer who claimed it only had a couple hundred megabytes of memory probably didn't bother reading the instructions on how to properly set it up and use it. Unfortunately for reviews, that seems to be a common theme among purchasers and products. Don't assume! Take the time to learn how to properly use any item. The "security gate" system files that occupy only a very small amount of memory are all that are visible to anyone when first plugged into a computer. Once the secure password is entered properly during normal use or after initial setup, all 8 gigs are available and shown with dual drive letters, the system drive and the storage area drive. It allows you to select your preferred level of security to handle incorrect password attempts, either allowing unlimited reattempts or wiping of all data after the set amount of incorrect entries. You can also select during password entry, whether you want it to open the secure drive section as read only or fully read/writable. The price reflects the quality and security and is well worth it! It appears to be a precision machined aluminum outer body in a brushed finish with an integrated key ring loop at the opposite end of the removable cap. I'm EXTREMELY satisfied with this IronKey 8 gig flash drive and will definitely buy versions with higher storage as well.

These drives mostly work fine, however, they are the Enterprise/Managed versions of ironkey drives. That means that as an independent user, it is impossible to initialize or administer them properly. Only an enterprise-level user with access to Kingston's "management console" can completely initialize the devices. Apparently the "console" itself was deprecated in 2023. I can lock and unlock them cleanly on Windows, but the Mac unlocker software from Kingston will not lock them properly on a Mac. We have to force-eject the secure partition, each time. Supposedly, Kingston does not consider this to be a "product defect" so there's no remedy for fixing this problem. Don't ask me why Amazon sent me Enterprise/Managed versions of ironkey drives. We aren't supposed to have them, but that's what they sent. The purchase date was several years ago, so the warranty has long expired. I can unlock the secure drives and write to them just fine. So the basic functionality is there.

This is the last Ironkey secure drive made by Imation before they sold the Ironkey line, including inventory, to Kingston. It is USB 3.0. The S snd D 100s and 200s were USB 2.0. The case is steel. The silicone is encrypted and completely encased in epoxy, making it virtually impossible to saw the case without destroying the silicone. It is ptotected by a 15 character password. You can set it to either wipe or self-destruct if an incorrect password is entered from 2 to 10 (default) times. If it is set to self-destruct, an internal capacitor discharges and fries it when you exceed the allowed tries. There is. no way to recover a forgotten password. This version is unmanaged, so it never has communicate with a remote server. For most oeople, this is the only password manager you will ever need. It is small enough to putbonba keychain, but very heavy.

Hack-proof hardware, software, and construction. Pricey but worth the security. Destroys itself if a determined number of incorrect passwords are attempted. Reminds me of a popular TV series 1960's/70's. Dump dump, dump dum dump dump.

This is the second type of the IronKey models I’ve used. The first have performed exceptionally well, and a belated thanks to Amazon for giving me several free ones because of an SKU mixup (yes, I notified them and offered to return the extras). This newer model is basically functionally similar to the previous: inserting the device, a partition is automatically mounted containing the utilities needed to unlock and manage the (encrypted) partition. It is (the non-managed version) simple, secure, and frankly the hardware is impressive both in its promised physical tampering countermeasures as well as its aesthetic. This is all well and good, but the downside: this was purchased shortly after macOS 10.15 (“Catalina”) was released; I understood from (now insufficient) research that support would be provided “soon”. Unfortunately, an update was only provided two months after 10.15 and it appears that Kingston has gone down the path of “supporting” macOS but not actually providing a way to update the hardware without the use of a Windows PC. WhIle Windows was a requirement to update an IronKey previously, a virtualized Windows was acceptable, but apparently no longer. I should point out that I have still not gotten my hands on a PC running Windows to perform this, as another limitation is that the PC user must be an Administrator (runas is not supported). The drive does work happily mounting and using the encrypted data in Windows 10 running in VMware Fusion on macOS 10.15, but there are stern (and, honestly, likely valid) warnings about attempting to update the it in that environment. The primary issue in macOS 10.15 is apparently the lack of 32-bit application support, although certainly the constantly updated security platform in macOS may contribute to the problem. My older IronKeys obviously would not run the mounter app on Catalina due to that architecture requirement. I don’t have enough knowledge to form an opinion of whether it would have been reasonable to expect that a “simple” rebuild of the older IronKey’s unlocker app would have sufficed to enable continued use, but I can say it is a shame, as again the physical hardware seems very much built for the long term. Final regret: I remain confused by the product line and the architectural differences between the current crop of Kingston IronKey products. It’s not clear to me (and I admit this might be a naive supposition) why the unlocking applicaton isn’t common across all the products. It’s a fine product, and I can only hope that the company put slightly more effort in making all of the functionality available across all the platforms. Update: A month later, I finally was able to put together a Windows installation (actually used Boot Camp to do this); the upgrade ran without issues on Windows and the drive works on macOS 10.15 (Catalina), albeit the UI is horrible mis-scaled for my display. So, I'm back in business here - it's a good product, and if you can more easily update the software than I did, I'd recommend it. (The unlocker app does only work on this model.)

Muito bom.

Très bien pour ceux qui sont sous Windows, mais c'est un calvaire pour ceux qui sont sous Linux. Le capuchon s'enlève également trop facilement et pourrait facilement être perdu.

If you value your privacy and want to keep data secure, this is the USB stick you need. This is used widely within Governments and even approved for Top Secret use or Nato Restricted levels. Easy to encrypt & decrypt + feels solid. Great value for the product and security you get.

Great security design and features: - FIPS 140-2 LEVEL 3 validated standard - Passphrase can be entered by onscreen keyboard with randomized layout (anti-keylogger/screencapture feature) - Can unlock in read-only mode - Can self-destroy with 10 wrong tries (bricks the device) - Fast data transfer (USB 3 speed) - Works with linux, mac, windows (can re-format NTFS if need large files) - Sturdy and heavy solid metal body Price: for personal use this device is expensive (even for an encrypted USB drive). But if you really need the security, or in an corporate environment, price becomes much more reasonable... when the data itself worth millions (or a security breach could mean a multi-million liability) is not logical to chose the cheapest device in the maket to save a few hundred (and risk millions). Backup: you MUST backup your secure files. This device, like all other storage devices, can malfunction; it can be stolen; it can self-destruct if 10 wrong pass; and you lose your data if another copy doesn't exist somewhere else (eg. your corporate servers). If you want to keep your secure files in USB drive ONLY (no cloud, no server), you can't buy just one; buy 2 (or more) of these devices, and replicate the same data on both (periodically, if data gets changed). Size: with such a price per/GB, could be tempting to buy the smallest size possible your date fits in. However, consider than most storage devices degrade performance (sometimes significantly) if they operate at full or very near full. Also, your data may grow in the future. So, even if I could barely fit my data into a 64GB version (that would be over 90% capacity) would be a poor choice for performance and data grow... so I got the 128GB version.

Ok