DriverPacks.net Forum - FTDI driver via Windows Update bricked counterfeit devices

Re: FTDI driver via Windows Update bricked counterfeit devices

null@example.com (TechDud) — Sat, 01 Nov 2014 20:10:10 +0000

Well, i might need to include that driver, which is available directly from FTDI as "CMD v2.12.00 WHQL".

FTDI wrote:

from ftdibus.inf:
"; 1.2 In this Licence a "Genuine FTDI Component" means an item of hardware that was
; manufactured for, and sold by, the Licensor or a member of the Licensor's group of
; companies. It does not include any counterfeit or fake products.
;
; 1.3 If you are a manufacturer of a device that includes a Genuine FTDI Component (each a
; "Device") then you may install the Software onto that device. If you are a seller or distributor
; of a Device then you may distribute the Software with the Device. If you are a user of a
; Device then you may install the Software on the Device, or onto a computer system in order
; to use the Device.
;
; 1.4 In each of those cases you may:
;
; 1.4.1 install and use the Software for your purposes only; and
;
; 1.4.2 only use the Software in conjunction with products based on and/or incorporating a
; Genuine FTDI Component.
;
; 1.5 The Software will not function properly on or with a component that is not a Genuine FTDI
; Component. Use of the Software as a driver for, or installation of the Software onto, a
; component that is not a Genuine FTDI Component, including without limitation counterfeit
; components, MAY IRRETRIEVABLY DAMAGE THAT COMPONENT. It is the Licensee's
; responsibility to make sure that all chips it installs the Software on, or uses the Software as a
; driver for, are Genuine FTDI Components. If in doubt then contact the Licensor.
;
; 2. If a custom vendor ID and/or product ID or description string are used, it is the responsibility of
; the product manufacturer to maintain any changes and subsequent WHQL re-certification as
; a result of making these changes."

Yes, the Terms are included in the .Inf. It is also apparently only a "soft" brick, as you can download their firmware tool & reprogram the HWID's, providing you know what it was ...

Apparently, a competing product, Prolific's PL2303 drivers simply register "Code 10" for counterfeit devices.

What do you, the reader, think?

Re: FTDI driver via Windows Update bricked counterfeit devices

null@example.com (mr_smartepants) — Sat, 01 Nov 2014 14:51:08 +0000

BwaaHaaaHaaa! THAT's funny right there.

FTDI driver via Windows Update bricked counterfeit devices

null@example.com (TechDud) — Wed, 29 Oct 2014 19:19:36 +0000

Brian Benchoff wrote:

"The FTDI FT232 chip is found in thousands of electronic baubles, from Arduinos to test equipment, and more than a few bits of consumer electronics. It’s a simple chip, converting USB to a serial port, but very useful and probably one of the most cloned pieces of silicon on Earth. Thanks to a recent Windows update, all those fake FTDI chips are at risk of being bricked. This isn’t a case where fake FTDI chips won’t work if plugged into a machine running the newest FTDI driver; the latest driver bricks the fake chips, rendering them inoperable with any computer."
...
"Because the FTDI USB to UART chip is so incredibly common, the market is flooded with clones and counterfeits. it’s very hard to tell the difference between the real and fake versions by looking at the package, but a look at the silicon reveals vast differences. The new driver for the FT232 exploits these differences, reprogramming it so it won’t work with existing drivers. It’s a bold strategy to cut down on silicon counterfeiters on the part of FTDI."
quoted from: http://hackaday.com/2014/10/22/watch-th … ake-chips/