The greed of the Chinese language is aware of no bounds. They’ve realized to cleverly counterfeit SSD drives to save cash.

Faux exterior SSDs have appeared in Chinese language shops. From the surface, they don’t stand out in any means, they usually even declare respectable velocity and good quantity, however in actuality, inside they’ve low cost microSD playing cards and a USB 2.0 interface, which a priori should not capable of present good learn or write speeds. The profit is that the price of such “SSDs” is minimal. The issue could very quickly change into widespread.

New stage of falsification

In China, a case of counterfeit exterior solid-state drives was recorded, during which solely the identify and kind issue remained from the SSD. Technically, such storage media are nonetheless solid-state, however they don’t have quick and costly reminiscence modules – the Chinese language have realized to exchange them with gradual and low cost entry-level microSD playing cards. Such playing cards are cheaper, which lets you get extra revenue from every machine offered.

In keeping with the Chinese language portal MyDrivers, a person complained in regards to the forgery as a result of he purchased a full-looking 512 GB exterior SSD drive at an affordable value. The machine specs acknowledged not solely a formidable quantity – in addition they talked about the M.2 interface and help for NVMe expertise, which signifies a excessive information switch velocity. The outline additionally talked in regards to the USB-C connector, and this, actually, is sort of the one factor during which the producer and vendor didn’t deceive the client.

SSD with a shock

Having related his new SSD to the pc and ensuring that it was detected and dealing, the person tried to repeat info to it and was confronted with extraordinarily low write speeds. It was so uncharacteristically minimal for M.2 NVMe drives able to overclocking over 1 GB/s that they determined to look contained in the case.

The “filling” of a contemporary exterior SSD ought to look fully totally different

To his nice shock, as a substitute of the printed circuit board typical of USB flash drives and SSD drives, most of which is occupied by reminiscence modules, he discovered a tiny board with two slots for microSD playing cards. The playing cards themselves have been additionally obtainable, as was the traditional controller from USB drives from 15 years in the past. All this miracle of Chinese language engineering works on the speeds of the USB 2.0 commonplace straight from 2000, which produces not more than 480 Mbit/s or solely 60 MB/s, and that is even in the very best case, beneath excellent situations.

In keeping with MyDrivers, within the very close to future there shall be rather more studies of such deception. Counterfeit SSDs have begun to go on mass sale.

Overly trustworthy producer

The individual chargeable for the looks of such an SSD drive deceived potential patrons in all the things besides two points. The primary is that he actually outfitted his craft with a USB-C connector, albeit with help for the previous USB 2.0 commonplace. Secondly, each microSD playing cards have a capability of 256 GB, which provides a complete of the acknowledged 512 GB.

However within the case of playing cards’ capability, one can’t be fully certain that they will actually retailer a lot info. There are methods to flash small-capacity playing cards in order that the pc acknowledges them as very succesful, and in order that the method of copying info to them goes like clockwork. However, with a excessive diploma of likelihood, it can now not be potential to repeat info from them – if its quantity exceeds the precise capability of the cardboard, it is going to be broken.

Fraudsters might additionally set up playing cards of minimal capability into this SSD and reflash the drive board to attain the described impact. This can be a quite common instance of fraud that permits you to save on putting in high-quality reminiscence modules. This is quite common within the phase of low cost Chinese language SSDs, which, if you can purchase them, accomplish that at your personal peril and danger and with nice warning.

To keep away from changing into a sufferer of scammers, MyDrivers specialists advocate buying drives solely from long-tested and confirmed manufacturers. In addition they advise avoiding doubtful factors of sale and unknown marketplaces that lure gullible patrons with substantial reductions.

The whole lot new is effectively forgotten previous

Faux exterior M.2 SSD drives with microSD playing cards inside are a brand new phenomenon, however solely when it comes to how all the things is applied. In truth, moveable drives offered beneath unknown manufacturers, and typically even out of logos, have been in the marketplace for years.

For instance, on the daybreak of SSDs, once they have been most frequently supplied in a 2.5-inch kind issue with a SATA interface, enterprising hackers positioned gradual and low cost USB flash drives with hacked firmware contained in the case of such drives, which confirmed the fallacious capability. Pocket arduous drives have been counterfeited in precisely the identical means, with the one distinction being that they’re much heavier than only a case with a flash drive inside. To compensate for the load, numerous steel objects have been positioned inside, for instance, nuts, in addition to stones, and to forestall all these from rattling, the producers generously crammed all of it with scorching glue.