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Re:FTDI removes counterfeit-bricking driver from Windows Update by nitrogen on Friday October 24, 2014 @01:51PM (#8504915)
Check other posts on this HN story; others have proven the drivers were deliberately malicious by analyzing either a USB stream or a driver disassembly (I haven't read enough to know which).
Re:FTDI removes counterfeit-bricking driver from Windows Update by Alupis on Friday October 24, 2014 @03:25PM (#8505445)
It was USB stream.

The problem isn't knowing the driver itself can cause a bricked chip and therefore bricked device.

The problem is Joe-Average isn't going to be able to prove it was this driver and not just a defective device/chip for another reason. Even with a free "testing" tool someone can make to check for the flipped PID bit, Joe-Average has no clue this is even going on, and is likely to just throw away his bricked device.