If you're looking for a fast, portable, secure and password protected, 4TB external hard drive, look no further than the Toshiba Canvio Advance Plus. It comes with 2 cables, which I didn't expect but very much appreciate. There is one USB-A cable and one USB-C cable. From my understanding, the newer USB-C is supposed to be faster. My laptop has both connections and I noticed a decent increase in speed with the USB-C. Still, USB-A is fast enough. It's physically small enough to carry around. However, I do recommend buying a protective case if you intend to travel with this drive. 4TB is just the right amount of space to have these days.
Now for the main reason I bought this drive, the password protection software. If password protection is not a concern then this drive functions normally. This drive has optional password protection software, which is free but must be downloaded from the Toshiba Canvio link included in the hard drive when it is plugged in. After downloading, installing and configuring the external hard drive with this software, it will be password protected. It's a fast and easy process. All files will now be secured and won't be visible or accessible until the password is entered and I love that. I recommend that the password protection software be installed first before transferring any files over to the external hard drive. For the longest time I used SanDisk thumb drives and their Datavault software for password protection but no more. SanDisk encrypted files are still visible when you plug in a thumb drive. Even though these files are encrypted and don't identify their contents, they can still be accidentally or maliciously deleted and then the drive becomes useless. This is not the case with Toshiba's Canvio Advance Plus. So if privacy, security and safety is important to you, Toshiba Canvio Advance Plus is the answer. I never really endorse any tech company products but I'll sure endorse this one. This is my second Toshiba external hard drive. My first Toshiba external hard drive was a Canvio 500GB that I purchased back in 2014 and it still works to this very day. I expect the same longevity from this hard drive as well. Overall, a great investment.
