Friday, November 22, 2024

Fake Flash Drives, SSDs and SD Cards | c’t uplink 44.0

Date:

We at c’t have been drawing attention to counterfeit USB flash drives for 20 years, but there are still plenty of counterfeits on Amazon, eBay, AliExpress and many other online stores. And their vendors are bold: they invent fancy hardware with impossible memory sizes and sell it at ridiculous prices. And when connected to PC, said USB stick actually shows 10TB or more, even though only a fraction is available. The perfidy: everything still seems to be in order when transferring data. Only when you urgently need the backup stored on it or the photo collection, the fraud is exposed and the data is gone forever.

The weekly c’t podcast c’t uplink is available…

Among other things, USB sticks, portable SSDs and MicroSD cards are affected. My colleague Christof Windeck ordered some to test for fakes. Some of the builds are downright ridiculous: there’s a circuit board with a MicroSD card inserted into the SSD case, or the manufacturer just wrote the fake storage size on the hardware with a marker pen.

At c’t uplink, we talk about the best way to recognize such hardware before you buy it or how to reliably check it on your own computer afterwards. Storage expert c’t Lutz Labs has also tested some devices and portable SSDs with 1TB, which actually record a lot of data.

Also present: Achim Barczok, Lutz Labs, Christof Windeck

the c 16/2022 is available at the newsstand, im browsers and in the c’t app for iOS and Android.

=== Ad / Sponsor Notice ===

This podcast is sponsored by **LastPass**. The secure and popular password manager for business and private users. Look at this: lastpass.com/heisectuplink

=== End of advertisement / sponsorship ===


(ab)

to the home page

Ebenezer Robbins
Ebenezer Robbins
Introvert. Beer guru. Communicator. Travel fanatic. Web advocate. Certified alcohol geek. Tv buff. Subtly charming internet aficionado.

Share post:

Popular

More like this
Related

Practice Acrylic Nail Techniques Without Needing a Fake Hand

When you're starting your journey with acrylic nails, practice...

Inside the World of Common Snapping Turtles: Behavior and Habitat

The common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) is one of...

How to Use Video Marketing to Promote B2C Products?

Video marketing has emerged as a powerful tool for...

Adapting to Change: The Future for Leopard Tortoise Environments

Leopard tortoises, known for their striking spotted shells and...