Find out if an USB device is fake with free ValiDrive app for Windows

[harlan4096]

Fake USB devices continue to be a problem. These devices claim to have higher storage capacities than they actually have. These devices are sold in many different places: from Chinese online shops to Amazon or eBay.

While there are some best practices to avoid fakes, including being cautious when an USB drive is very cheap for the storage space it has or has a large storage space that is not even available yet, it is difficult otherwise to find out if an offer is legitimate or a fake.

Software comes to the rescue, but only after you have made the purchase. In 2018, we reviewed eight tools to detect fake storage devices. Several of the programs are still available.

ValiDrive



ValiDrive is a new free tool to test USB drives. It "conducts a data preserving, 576-region spot-check to test the readability, writability, and true storage presence of any drive of any size connected to any Windows' USB port".

The tool has been created by Gibson Research Corporation, known for other high quality tools such as InControl, DNS Benchmark, or InSpectre.

Usage is simple. Download the application from the Gibson website and run it afterwards. It does not need to be installed and is ready right away.

Select the "check USB drive" button in the interface. Once done, insert the USB drive into a port on the computer. ValiDrive should recognize it at this point. Activate "Validate this drive" and wait for the validation to run its course.

Note that it may take some time to complete a scan, as read and write operations are run on the drive to test its validity.

Continue Reading...