Kanguru Defender 3000: 30-second review

The Kanguru Defender 3000, despite appearing to the uninformed like any other USB key due to its small, lightweight, and ultra-portable design, is far from average. Without the text and logo on its side, there would be nothing outwardly to suggest its advanced capabilities.

But this isn't your standard flash drive. In reality, it is a fully secure drive, FIPS 140-2 Certified, Level 3, with brute-force protection and FIPS 197 Certified AES 256-bit hardware encryption (XTS-Mode). It can be set up and controlled remotely using the Kanguru Remote Management Console, making it an ideal choice for business. It also features USBtoCloud, USB 3.0 technology (USB 3.2 Gen 1x1) for fast transfer speeds, onboard antivirus, a browser, and a clever Self-Service Password Management system.

Given all these features, the Kanguru Defender 3000 is expensive compared to other secure digital drives. Still, only some other drives are used or trusted by so many top-level companies and agencies

The setup and use are straightforward with the newly designed Management Console, providing an easy-to-use and administer interface for the drive. It's worth highlighting that there are two interfaces; the Command Console on the drive that is used by the user to manage their drive, and KRMC (Kanguru Remote Management Console) which is a different console used separately by an IT Administrator or Security Officer to manage and provision all of the drives in an organization.

The user console enables individual users to set passwords and access parameters in case the drive is lost or stolen, ensuring the contents remain secure. For corporations, the KRMC (Kanguru Remote Management Console) can be used to adminster multiple drives from one location, so they can set access, protection, limit logins, and secure drives either in groups or individually.

While use of the drive, once set up, is simple, the level of security and device management it offers goes well beyond any typical password-protected drive. If you have data, whether financial, passwords, or other sensitive information, that you need to ensure is absolutely safe, then the Kanguru Defender 3000 is one of the best secure drives available.

Kanguru Defender 3000: Price & availability

The Kanguru Defender 3000 is widely available from online stores, including Amazon.com. Prices range from $79.95 to $399.95, and it can also be purchased directly from the Kanguru website.

• Score: 4/5

Kanguru Defender 3000: Design & build

The Kanguru Defender 3000 embodies the characteristics of a high-quality USB drive, with its all-metal alloy casing safeguarding the internal electronics. Additionally, the USB Type-A connector is protected by a cap with a rubber seal to prevent water ingress. The drive is rated as waterproof as long as the cap is firmly in place to offer enhanced protection against water and dust.

The full metal construction makes this drive heavier than its cheap plastic counterparts, at 38g. It measures 72.19mm L x 19.47mm W x 8.92mm H, making it convenient to slip into the bag or jacket's side pocket without adding significant weight or bulk.

A notable design feature is the small lanyard eyelet at the base, facilitating easy attachment to a bag. The drive uses a USB Type-A connector, ensuring maximum compatibility with Windows and PC machines. While USB Type-C is becoming more common, Type-A remains the prevalent choice for corporate Use.

The drive is built to withstand harsh conditions. Its operating temperature range is 0°C to +70°C and its storage temperature range is -25°C to +85°C, making it suitable for most environments. It can also function in humidity levels between 20% and 90%, provided the machine it is connected to can handle such extremes.

Internally, the drive offers options ranging from 16GB to 512GB of Solid-State flash memory. Our review sample is the smallest, at 16GB. Notably, the drive's interior, hidden from view, is designed to ensure maximum data protection. It features built-in brute-force protection, with a water-resistant epoxy compound encasing the cryptographic controller, preventing physical tampering. Any attempt to remove the epoxy will destroy the flash chip, rendering the drive irrecoverable.

Despite its exterior resemblance to a standard USB key, the Kanguru Defender 3000's design is far more sophisticated, intended to uphold the integrity and security of the stored data.

• Score: 4.5/5

Kanguru Defender 3000: Features

The features of the Kanguru Defender 3000 secure flash drive centre on data security, ensuring compliance with various regulatory standards. It holds a FIPS 140-2 Level 3 Certification, signifying its ability to secure sensitive information, making it a valuable asset for transporting data in sectors like government, healthcare, and finance.

The drive offers robust physical brute-force protection with its rugged alloy and tamper-proof engineering both inside and out. Enhanced by a water-resistant epoxy compound, it effectively shields the cryptographic controller, neutralizing physical threats.

At its heart, the Defender 3000 employs FIPS 197 certified AES 256-bit hardware encryption in XTS mode, providing advanced data security while minimizing performance impact during transfers.

Setup and management are streamlined with a graphical user interface via the Command Console. This offers a user-friendly way to manage drive settings and status, monitor storage, and handle antivirus and remote management subscriptions, alongside other onboard applications.

USBtoCloud compatibility adds an extra security layer through encrypted cloud backups, ensuring data remains secure and recoverable even if the physical drive is lost or stolen.

Defender 3000's defence against cyber threats is enhanced by RSA-2048's secure, digitally-signed firmware, which protects against malware tampering and secures network integrity.

Its SuperSpeed USB 3.0 technology allows for quick data transfers, which is essential for accessing large files rapidly, while USB 2.0 compatibility increases the drive's versatility.

BitDefender's onboard antivirus protection provides real-time scanning, and depending on the drive's setup, subscriptions are available for additional security.

For organizations needing centralized data security control, the Kanguru Remote Management Console (KRMC) offers a platform to manage multiple Defender 3000 drives as well as other Kanguru defender drives, enforce security policies, manage configurations, and respond to security incidents. It also allows administrators to send secure messages to the drive, which appear when the user connects the drive to a computer with network connection.

The drive includes self-service password management, simplifying password recovery for users.

Finally, the Defender 3000 complies with regulatory standards, including TAA compliance, ensuring it meets the legal and ethical requirements of government and regulated industries.

• Performance: 4.5/5

Kanguru Defender 3000: Performance

If you're accustomed to plugging in a USB drive, setting basic password protection, and then using it for file storage, the Kanguru Defender 3000 will initially seem like a different world.

Upon the first insertion, the drive launches a setup console that guides you through the setup process, including email and personal association, passwords, and other protection and encryption settings. This relatively quick process secures the drive and its data.

For individuals, this offers peace of mind with various security options, like the number of password attempts before locking, offline usage, and renewals for self-service password management ($6.95 per year) or antivirus subscriptions ($7.95 per year)—both very affordable. Remote login via the KRMC web interface allows access to all drive settings and options, a feature that proves invaluable for larger organizations.

For companies handling sensitive data, these drives ensure hardware-level security. If a drive is lost or stolen, the data remains inaccessible. Changes at the access level, rather than the data itself, can be managed through the KRMC interface for individual or multiple drives.

Administrators can manage numerous drives in the field, adjusting access settings as needed. For example, they can limit offline access to three uses, updating these settings through the console, which then applies when the drive connects to a server. Settings can also be adjusted to allow freer access.

The drive allows setting a homepage for the onboard secure Firefox browser, providing not just security but also monitoring and access adaptability for corporate Use.

For anyone needing secure data storage, this drive is essential. For individuals concerned about securing passwords and digital data, it offers a reliable solution.

After setup, the drive functions differently from standard USB drives. It prompts for a password through a hardware-based interface, similar to a CD or DVD, before accessing the drive's storage. Users can easily switch to the console to adjust settings or administer online, both interfaces being user-friendly and accessible.

• Performance: 5/5

Should you buy the Kanguru Defender 3000?

If security is paramount and you handle sensitive data in sectors like government, healthcare, or finance, the Kanguru Defender 3000 is an excellent investment. Its top-tier security features, including FIPS 140-2 Level 3 certification and AES 256-bit encryption, provide peace of mind. The ability to manage remotely and secure cloud backups adds to its appeal. However, consider the cost and complexity before purchasing; if your data security needs are minimal or budget is a concern, then Kanguru do offer more cost-effective solutions available such as the Kanguru Defender Elite300, Defender Elite30, and Defender Bio-Elite30..

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Integral SlimXpress Pro: 30-second review

The Integral SlimXpress Pro Portable SSD 2TB is an incredibly compact portable SSD, offering a substantial storage capacity. Our review sample is 2TB, but it also comes in smaller 500GB and 1TB versions, as well as a larger 4TB version. This drive represents a growing trend of relatively affordable, high-performance drives with ample storage designed to meet the demands of modern life. The drive is simple in design, with BUS power allowing connection to a computer or other device via a single USB Type-C cable.

This simplicity extends to the drive's operation, with no features beyond the storage capacity to add complexity. Consequently, it boasts compatibility with nearly any device that needs extra storage and has the appropriate connector. In our tests, the SlimXpress Pro Portable SSD was used with an Intel NUC 9, MacBook Pro, and Blackmagic 6K video camera, all of which recognized the drive without issues.

We've tested hundreds of the best portable SSDs in our time, and while the performance was good, it did not fully reach the potential indicated in promotional materials, with transfer speeds in all tests less than half the advertised rate. Although simplicity and compactness are advantages, managing content on a drive of this size can be somewhat daunting, particularly without built-in security or software collaboration features. Nevertheless, this drive is an excellent choice if you need to transport general files or require additional storage for your gaming console or TV.

Integral SlimXpress Pro: Price & availability

The SlimXpress Pro Portable SSD is widely available at most electronics stores and outlets. Considering its capacity, size, weight, and speed, the drive is priced in the mid-range for an SSD, with a slight premium due to its compact size.

• Score: 3/5

Integral SlimXpress Pro: Design & build

Portable storage has always been relatively small, especially since the introduction of the 2.5" HDD. However, the advent of SSDs has dramatically changed the size and shape of external hard drives, with external drives not only decreasing significantly in size and weight but also increasing in speed, durability, and now capacity.

Before delving into the size options of this drive, it's worth highlighting its compact size, which measures 74mm x 34mm x 7mm. This size will comfortably fit into a pocket, not just a jacket pocket but even a small shirt pocket. Not only is the size incredibly compact, but it is also paired with a weight of just 28g, excluding the USB Type-C cable, making it impressively light.

On the exterior, there is little to see, but the silver metal casing feels durable, and the rounded edges provide a good tactile feel.

The design is simple yet extremely functional, with the flat sides making it easy to attach Velcro and adhere to the back of a laptop for neat increased storage, or to the back of a TV or console. Its small size and weight make it easy to position and discreet.

Along with the simple aesthetic, there's just a single USB Type-C port on one end that connects to the cable to make the connection with your computer. A small white light indicates that the drive is connected and ready to go. Having this light viewable from both sides would be beneficial, especially if the drive is attached to something or you need to plug it in quickly; it's convenient to have an easy line of sight to the status light to confirm that everything is connected correctly.

One of the best features of the design is the raised detail by the USB port. This allows you to feel which way up the drive is and where the port is located. In normal situations, this might not matter, but there are occasions, such as when linked to the back of a mounted TV or working with video or camera equipment, when you can't always see what's happening. Therefore, being able to feel your way around the device is extremely helpful.

Aside from the design aesthetics, which are simple and functional, there's little else to the build and handling except that Integral has ensured this drive is as straightforward as a plug-and-play storage device can be. 

• Score: 4.5/5

Integral SlimXpress Pro: Features

The Integral SlimXpress Pro Portable SSD has capacities ranging from 500GB to 4TB, making it one of the external SSD drives with the largest capacity ranges available. The latest SSD technology makes this capacity possible, with Integral quoting transfer rates of up to 2000 MB/s for both read and write speeds. To deliver these speeds, the SSD utilizes USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 technology, which also contributes to the drive's small and lightweight profile.

Simplicity is a key feature of the SlimXpress Pro, offering straightforward plug-and-play functionality without the need for setup, software, or any other complications. This ensures the drive's extensive compatibility, allowing it to be used out of the box with Windows and Mac computers, Linux systems, Android devices, Smart TVs, and game consoles. While not a native Thunderbolt drive, it is compatible with Thunderbolt 3.

Design-wise, the SlimXpress Pro is compact, featuring a slim metal case that is durable and ultra-portable. Measuring 74mm x 34mm x 7mm and weighing 28g, it is one of the smallest and lightest storage solutions available, particularly considering the range of storage capacities offered.

In addition to its performance and capacity, the drive comes with a 4-year warranty or coverage until it reaches a maximum of 3000 terabytes written, whichever occurs first.

• Score 3.5/5

Integral SlimXpress Pro: Performance

Every portable SSD has a unique selling point (USP), and the SlimXpress Pro's USP is its sheer simplicity. The large capacity and transfer speeds are impressive, but the drive still needs to be completed.

However, it's important to note that this is strictly a storage drive, lacking extra features like security software; it's essentially a digital cupboard. Plugging it into almost any device instantly recognizes the standard ExFat file system, allowing immediate use of the storage capacity for files on computers, cameras, TVs, and more. While some small intricacies of connections may require consideration, overall use is straightforward.

When used on a MacBook Pro, the drive was instantly recognized and could be reformatted to APFS via Disk Utility, serving as a working drive for Final Cut Pro, Apple's best video editing software. The drive consistently met the demands of the application and workflow, proving sufficient for editing 4K video without proxy media. And overall, a fine companion with any of the best video editing laptops for mobile editors. The drive did warm up during use but maintained consistent performance throughout the day's editing. File transfers were quick, with 140GB moving in about 4 minutes.

Benchmark tests yielded read speeds of 1030.32MB/s and write speeds of 953.79MB/s in CrystalDiskMark, with other tests showing similar results. While these speeds are around 50% of the quoted values from Integral, they are still impressive and more than adequate for most daily tasks.

In real-world applications, such as with a PS5, the SlimXpress Pro's high transfer speeds and large capacity facilitated the easy storage of numerous games and data once it was configured as external storage.

The drive also worked well with a Blackmagic 6K camera, directly storing large 6K raw files, and with an iPhone 15 Pro for storing Apple ProRes files. Additionally, its small size and light weight made it convenient to connect to and position with a Smart TV, where its 2TB capacity served well for storing recordings and a media library.

In conclusion, the SlimXpress Pro delivered an impressive performance across various devices. Although it didn't fully match the quoted transfer rates, its performance was more than sufficient for most use cases.

• Performance: 3.5/5

Should you buy the SlimXpress Pro?

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