Seagate Backup Plus — 2 Terabyte Portable Hard Drive — Review

© 2014 Peter Free

 

05 September 2014

 

 

Not useful for confidential or classified documents

 

The attractively small and light Seagate Backup Plus lacks password or encryption protection. Something that neither BestBuy nor the manufacturer's box warned me about.

 

Having bought it, I used the drive to back up a larger Western Digital My Book Essential (2 terabyte) unit that is protected. I intended to carry a laptop, plus the Seagate, in a carry on bag during a PCS (permanent change of station) move to Europe.

 

The Seagate’s lack of even minimal security proved to be a mild headache. PCSs frequently require keeping track of a fair amount of luggage, especially when orders come too late to adequately plan for. I felt compelled to keep the Seagate either on me, or in the computer pack at my feet, during the long travel segments. By itself, I would have put the laptop in the overhead bins on the planes. Windows 7 Professional’s password option somewhat protects its contents.

 

Though this sounds like a minor problem, it’s a continuing one. You can’t take a chance on forgetting the Seagate and expect your confidential (or classified) files to stay so.

 

 

For non-confidential data, the Backup Plus is fine

 

It really is small. And it works quickly enough. Unfortunately, most of what I want to keep in the form of electronic files is private. So, for me, the Backup Plus is nearly useless.

 

 

The moral? — I wouldn’t buy another one for any reason

 

Given that cheap jump drives are password protected, Seagate’s omission of the option on the Backup Plus seems silly.