USB storage drives are getting cheaper and cheaper day by day, and these devices are so popular that a computer literate knows how to use any USB storage device. And Certain people make copies of these popular gadgets or techs and sell them to people. They even copy the packaging so no one will know that these are the fake one. Now how you are going to know that your USB drive (you might be holding in your hand) is genuine or fake; let’s find out.
There are several tools available on the internet so you can easily tell that your USB drive is genuine or fake.
1. H2testw:
H2testw is an old (released in 2008) but still working tool for checking USB drives.
- Download the tool (it comes as a zip file).
- Extract the zip package.
- Launch H2testw.exe file from the folder.
- Select the target USB drive you want to verify.
- Now click on “write + verify“, the tool will start to write files on your USB drive.
- It will take some time if your USB drive is large.
After writing and verifying the tool will give you all the info about your USB drive. And don’t forget to format your USB drive after using the tool because the tool leaves the files there only after the process.
Download H2testw (216kb)
2. USB Flash Drive Tester:
USB Flash Drive Tester is another tool for testing USB storage devices like pen drives and also memory cards whether it’s MMC or TF cards.
- Download and install USB Flash Drive Tester.
- Launch it by double-clicking the icon on the desktop.
- Select the USB drive you want to verify and select the type of test you want to do with your drive.
- Click on Start Test.
The tool will start the test and let you know the results once the test is over.
Download USB Flash Drive Tester (514kb)
3. Don’t buy fakes:
As you know prevention is better than cure, so better not to buy fakes. Always have these points in mind:
- Always check the price, if the price is very low than the original product, then it is straight away fake.
- Do not buy it from any unauthorized place like a person selling it at a bus stop.
- See the build quality, if it doesn’t look good then don’t buy it because it may be a fake one.
- Check the proper logo on the package; fraud ones use fraudulent logos.
Conclusion
Buying USB drives from websites like eBay can also be a risk because the pictures on the product pages can be faked easily. Always try to buy USB drives from the priority dealer or official online store which the brand sells its products on. These tools listed above can be helpful if you already bought any flash drive and want to check its legitimacy.
