Many have microSD cards soldered to their circuit boards.

  • Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz
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    8 months ago

    Reminds me of the time when I bought a stack of microSD cards and readers from alibaba. About half of the cards and readers were dead on arrival, and the remaining ones died within a few years.

    Now I’ve learned my lesson. This is what happens when a company outsources quality control to the customer.

    • VelociCatTurd@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      I had a less technical savvy coworker putting together a raspi for something, emulation I think. And he was notoriously cheap, he told me he got a micro SD from China for a suspiciously low price.

      Well during this endeavor, he would keep asking me about random errors he was seeing. And I kept saying bro it is that cheap SD card you bought. He wouldn’t hear it.

      Eventually, he tried out another SD card and sure enough, no more weird errors.

    • smotherlove@sh.itjust.works
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      9 months ago

      The rough part is that quality products are now hard to come by even when you’re willing to spend more.

      • Squizzy@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        Absolutely, the companies are just so big the choice is so small so they can all be shit

        • smotherlove@sh.itjust.works
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          9 months ago

          I put the blame more on retailers for failing to assure the quality and authenticity of what they sell. You pay for one thing and get another.

  • KittenBiscuits@lemm.ee
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    9 months ago

    Is no one else paranoid to put a free usb stick in their computer? I thought that was the classic social engineering hack.

    (full disclosure: I’m not in I.T. and my info might be older than the hills)

    • swab148@startrek.website
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      9 months ago

      They used that trick in Mr. Robot, so I’m pretty sure it’s legit. As long as not too many people know about it 🤫

    • helpImTrappedOnline@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      Yes, it is still a thing to be concerned about. Perhaps the method of handing out free usbs is less common now. If there’s a drive lying around in public, don’t plug it in.

      A new name brand 64gb usb costs around $10. The free ones are usually 2 to 8gb and a probably a 50¢ micro SD card. Free usbs go in trash.

  • rem26_art@kbin.social
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    9 months ago

    i just had one of those free sticks that I got from an event die on me the other day. I should pry it open and see if it’s just a microSD card lmao. Didn’t lose anything of worth on it cuz it was only like 128MB