Lenovo's ThinkPad USB Portable Secure hard drive will make you look, feel more important than you are
This anonymous, yet nefarious looking device -- Lenovo's ThinkPad USB Portable Secure Hard Drive -- has a passcode system that uses a physical keypad (see photo), which should be handy for you always on-the-go, James Bond types. In fact, the tiny unit (3 x 5-inches), which is designed to pair up with ThinkPad laptops, can have up to 10 unique user IDs, and an admin account, enabling the whole family to be in on the encrypting-action. We hear the "Vault" (as they like to call it) will be available by month's end, and that the 160GB model will be $180, while the 320GB will run $219. All we need to do now is find some data worth protecting...
[Via I4U News]
[Via I4U News]

















Ill bet the buttos dont work, they just scare people into not stealing it & make the user feel safe ( /kidding )
I'd get this if it had a skull and crossbones instead of the thinkpad logo. And that keypad better beep when you press the buttons.
I'll get one if entering the wrong code 3 times causes it to burst into flames.
Naw, there should be a place to strap your hand in and it locks with a selonoid... if you get the code wrong once it gives you a mild buzzer shock...
Jack is gonna get Chloe to crack one of these in Season 7. Dammit...
"All we need to do now is find some data worth protecting..."
I'm sure I can help you with that, just send it via FedEx to my house. I'll email you the address.
1. plug into ATM
2. upload custom code
3. punch in a few numbers
4. ???
5. PROFIT!
That may be the best headline ever.
Even owning a Thinkpad itself would make me feel more important than I am... even if it's from the DOS era.
ah. perfect place to keep the greatest porns.
Seriously.
Is the numeric password "69" too easy to guess?
I don't suppose it functions as a numberpad?
dude that would be a sick idea. most laptops dont have a dedicated keypad. seriously, it couldnt be that hard to implement. all it needs is a numlock key to switch from password to keypad mode
That was EXACTLY my first thought! What a great double duty device, an external keypad and secure HDD all in one. Someone needs to run with this idea.
I prefer the "you-have-a-5-gallon-and-a-3-gallon-jug-make-4-gallons" approach.
I'll put it in the Vault, I'm locking the Vault, its a Vault!
So is the data actually encoded, or can this security mechanism be bypassed with a screwdriver?
Don't worry, in order to prevent copyright theft and/or terrorism, screwdrivers have been banned as of today, so your data is safe!
"The new secure hard drive meets the 128-bit advanced encryption security standard to help ensure information remains secure, and real-time encryption means users don’t have to wait for the “lag time” that typically accompanies encrypted drives. The hard drive features full-disk encryption for up to ten unique user ID’s and one administrator, making it an ideal tool for ThinkPad notebook PC users on-the-go or collaborating at work."
A little too much for securing my porn collection.
I rather put a combination lock on a usb port.
Don't you think it would make more sense if that could also function as an attached 9-key for laptops? At least it wouldn't be as pretentious.
Hmm, there seems to be a groove on the side. I don't suppose it can read ID cards and the like?
No, it's a holder for the USB cable. The cable wraps around the groove and fits into the larger end of it. Solves the whole mess with cable managment.
Yes, because everyone needs a credit card scanner on their hard drive.
"card reader" means "magnetic strip reader", and can read a lot more than just credit cards, such as, I don't know, any freakin card you swipe.
Pop it open, pull the drive out, toss said drive into another enclosure, and copy all the data you could want.
Try the "Read" link and everything will become much clearer...
The data is encrypted mate.
...Where's my Bog Roll, I'll have that lifted in 20 seconds
Uh... yeeeeeah. If you don't mind, I'll take the LaCie Safe Mobile 160 GB with fingerprint reader for $122.
(and yes, I've seen that MythBuster's episode)
Batman would use this
I like how it looks like M&Ms.
"All we need to do now is find some data worth protecting..."
porn.
"has a passcode system that uses a physical keypad (see photo)"
Yeah thanks engadget for letting me know that it's shown in the photo; I wouldn't have noticed otherwise.
These drives, if you have a disk error then no normal recovery utility will work right? Not even chkdsk.
Not necessarily. Some disk utilities work on at a lower level; they don't care if a series of bits make a file, they only care if a bit is a 1 or 0. Even encrypted data is comprised of 1s and 0s so even if a bit is ambiguous to the OS, the utility may be able to best guess what the bit was and rewrite it to the same location or move it to a new location. The problem is that this enclosure may not give such utilities direct access to the drive. Removing the disk from the enclosure might work if the encryption hardware is not on the drive itself.
dude omfg. pr0n ftw!
Why is this one not equipped with a / * - + , and a Enter?
Because it's not a numpad.
I'm implying that it easily could have been, and why not make a numpad, harddrive (with code) gadget?
Why is it facing the back of the laptop?
Obviously to thwart would be villains who think you cannot open the lid that way.....ingenious.
I'm not sure I like the look of those buttons. What happens after you've typed in your password a thousand times and your password keys are worn and easy to tell apart from those you don't use?