LG GSA-H55N

Today's ultra cautious PC user may be able to offer their system plenty of protection through security software, backup drives and interruptible power supplies, but there are still a number of areas that even the most paranoid cannot reach. Take DVDs, for instance. The typical disc can be picked up and accessed by almost anyone passing by your desk. And should you be sent a DVD through the post, how do you know it's what it purports to be? Here's a drive that has a few rather convincing answers for these issues.

The LG GSA-H55N comes kitted out with SecurDisc technology. Using the specially adapted version of Ahead Nero, you can switch on a number of features as part as the burn process. Password protection can also be activated. A nice touch is the way Ahead Nero assesses the complexity of your password - the more characters and digits you use, the harder it will be to guess.

While you're there, you might want to create a digital signature. This is saved as a file which can be stashed away or emailed to any recipients of the DVD. If they want to be certain that the disk has come from you, they can get the DVD to check itself against the signature.

But the LG isn't just about keeping your data safe. You can also protect the disk from being duplicated, while the integrity check feature lets you assess media for deterioration. Should the data on the disk be in imminent danger of getting corrupted, you have advance notice to move the contents to safety. These features are nice, but they're costly. With all the SecurDisc settings turned on, it took almost double the time to burn 3GB to disk.

Even when used as a normal DVD writer, the GSA-H55N is exceptional. Its 20-speed DVD-R/+R facilities are exceptional, and when you combine these with 12-speed DVD-RAM and 10-speed DVD-RW/+RW, this is clearly a fantastic product.