Editors' note: The final rating of this review has been updated to reflect a discrepancy in calculation. None of the individual scores have changed.

We're not surprised to see the Maxtor Black Armor emerge in a time when so much confidential data is transported by external hard drives. The 160GB Black Armor drive ($150) is a portable storage device with built-in Advanced Encryption Standard hardware-based encryption to prevent digital theft. Unfortunately, this added security comes at a significantly higher cost per gigabyte. Unless you need an external storage device with the highest level of data protection, we recommend looking to a more wallet-friendly drive.

Drive type	External Hard Drive
Connector options	USB 2.0
Available capacities	160GB
Capacity of test unit	160GB
Drive size	2.5-inch
Drive speed	5400rpm
Cache	8MB
Dimensions (LWH)	0.67x3.32x5.17 inches
OSes supported	Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, Ultimate, Business or Microsoft Windows XP Home, Professional, Media Center Edition
Software included	Maxtor Manager software

Design and features
The Black Armor drive isn't going to win any design contests; it's just a 5.17 inch by 3.32 inch black rectangle with a few silver accents and a small reflective strip on the front. The top of the drive has a single exposed USB 2.0 port for connecting to your computer, but, sadly, there's no FireWire.