A recent Windows driver update of FTDI drivers is silently recognizing counterfeit devices and reprogramming their PID to zero. This means that the devices no longer work - even if you plug them into a Mac or Linux computer.
The devices affected are USB to serial converters. They're present in many devices that connect to your PC via USB. If you have a device with a recognized brand name you're probably safe as, if it uses FTDI chips at all, it probably uses genuine ones.
If you've bought a cheap device from Ebay - maybe a USB to serial interface, an Arduino clone, a multimeter with a serial interface, or one of those devices that reads and resets the fault codes on your car then beware!
If you're enough of a techie, and have access to alternative operating systems, then it's possible to recover the devices so that they work again - but you have to be careful never to plug them into an (up-to-date) Windows system or they'll be bricked again.
I think this action by FTDI and Microsoft is a mistake. I can understand FTDI wanting to hit back at counterfeit devices but targeting the hardware owned by end users is not a good way to go about it in my opinion.
Many end users won't know that their device has a fake chip - all they'll know is that it suddenly stopped working. If they Google for help they'll maybe find out that their device was "broken" by the latest Microsoft update.
If the FTDI driver just recognized the fakes and didn't work with them, and/or displayed a message telling the user that their device has a fake chip that would be okay, in my opinion.
I expect and hope that this action by FTDI and Microsoft will result in them losing sales and becoming the targets of lawyers.
The devices affected are USB to serial converters. They're present in many devices that connect to your PC via USB. If you have a device with a recognized brand name you're probably safe as, if it uses FTDI chips at all, it probably uses genuine ones.
If you've bought a cheap device from Ebay - maybe a USB to serial interface, an Arduino clone, a multimeter with a serial interface, or one of those devices that reads and resets the fault codes on your car then beware!
If you're enough of a techie, and have access to alternative operating systems, then it's possible to recover the devices so that they work again - but you have to be careful never to plug them into an (up-to-date) Windows system or they'll be bricked again.
I think this action by FTDI and Microsoft is a mistake. I can understand FTDI wanting to hit back at counterfeit devices but targeting the hardware owned by end users is not a good way to go about it in my opinion.
Many end users won't know that their device has a fake chip - all they'll know is that it suddenly stopped working. If they Google for help they'll maybe find out that their device was "broken" by the latest Microsoft update.
If the FTDI driver just recognized the fakes and didn't work with them, and/or displayed a message telling the user that their device has a fake chip that would be okay, in my opinion.
I expect and hope that this action by FTDI and Microsoft will result in them losing sales and becoming the targets of lawyers.
via International Skeptics Forum http://ift.tt/1tjWEYn
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