I agree that this is a poor choice by FTDI. Users who don't know any better will suddenly start having products fail and have no idea it was maliciously planned. It's also surprising that Microsoft signed off on a trojan driver that bricks hardware. I'd guess that Microsoft will revoke their signature and the windows driver update shortly if they want to maintain a positive Windows user experience. I don't support counterfeit chips however it's a bad move to poison your market like this, FTDI. On Thu, Oct 23, 2014 at 8:35 AM, RussellMc wrote: > On 24 October 2014 04:05, Mike Hord wrote: > > > https://www.sparkfun.com/news/1629 > > > > Shameless self promotion: that's my employer and I wrote that blog post= .. > > Still, it's a good summary of what's going on. > > > > The STUXNet of the SUB/Serial world > > I tend to agree with the comment on your blog by nsayer. I have no desire > to support counterfeit parts, and I do not know the relative merits of FT= DI > claims. It's evident that the ICs concerned are different enough from > 'genuine' ones that the code used will affect the former and not the > latter. > > Any manufacturer who sees fit to use trojans, viruses, or code distribute= d > by an automated system whose aim is to improve security and system > stability, is aligning themselves to some extent with the dark side and c= an > expect the ultimate results to reflect the inevitable outcome of such > alignments. I have no current involvement with FTDI (or clone) products > AFAIAA but will certainly add them to my mental 'arrogant or incompetent = or > otherwise dangerous and so best avoided' list for future reference. > > nsayer saith: > > " > No designer can ever be sure that the entire supply chain - yes, includin= g > the big, reputable firms - will forever be uncontaminated by knockoffs. > FTDI taking this action has made it unsafe to depend on chips with their > logo on them - regardless of where you get them. > I can assure the universe at large that henceforth I will no longer use a= ny > FTDI parts in any of my designs. I think all responsible designers should > follow suit. SparkFun is in a position to make a very powerful statement = - > not only about irresponsible manufacturers but about open standards > generally - by replacing the FTDI cable(s) in its catalog with CDC > equivalents." > > > Russell > -- > http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive > View/change your membership options at > http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist > --=20 http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .