These days, most every hard drive, SSD and flash drive functions just fine on Macs, PCs and Linux machines. For whatever reason, Kingston Technology's DataTraveler Vault Privacy Edition lacked that OS X friendliness -- until now, that is. At long last, the company has made this highly secretive drive compatible with Macs boasting OS X 10.4x through 10.5x.

Mark Akoubian, Flash memory business manager at the company, explained the move as such: "Our DataTravelerenterprise and government customers who use Windows-based systems and are looking for a safe and secure way to transport portable data. We are happy to add Mac support to this 100-percent secured drive so the Apple community can be assured they have an on-the-go storage solution that is the best on the market at sa[censored]uarding data. Vault – Privacy Edition has been popular with "


Data onboard the DTVP is secured by hardware-based, on-the-fly, 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). The drive has fast data transfer rates and is protected from brute-force attacks by locking down after 10 unsuccessful login attempts. After lockdown, a reformat is necessary to make the Flash drive operable again. For additional protection, the DTVP is made of aluminum and is waterproof up to a depth of four feet.

Kingston DataTraveler Vault – Privacy Edition

Part Number

MSRP (U.S. only. Prices subject to change.)

DTVP/2GB

$ 110.00

DTVP/4GB

$ 177.00

DTVP/8GB

$ 308.00

DTVP/16GB

$ 502.00

DTVP/32GB

$ 910.00

Compatibility Table

Operating System

File Transfer

Password Protection/Data Encryption

Mac OSX 10.4x-10.5x

Yes

Yes

Windows Vista®

Yes

Yes

Windows XP (SP1, SP2, SP3)

Yes

Yes

Windows 2000 (SP4)

Yes

Yes

Kingston DataTraveler Vault – Privacy Edition Features/Specifications

• Fully Supports Macintosh OS
• Full Encryption: 100 percent of stored data is protected by hardware-based, 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)
• Fast: data transfer rates of up to 24 MB/sec. read and up to 10 MB/sec write*
• Secure: drive locks down and reformats after 10 intrusion attempts
• Enforced Password Protection: complex password is user set with minimum characteristics to prevent unauthorized access
• Easy to Use: no admin rights or application installation required
• Guaranteed: five-year warranty with 24/7 customer support
• Durable: aluminum casing
• Waterproof: protects against water damage**
• Dimensions: 3.06" x 0.9" x 0.47" (77.9 mm x 22.2 mm x 12.05 mm)
• Capacities***: 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB
• Compatibility: designed to USB 2.0 specifications
• Operating Temperatures: 32º F to 140º F (0º C to 60º C)
• Storage Temperatures: -4º F to 185º F (-20º C to 85º C)