Flash Drives... Which Brands To Buy?

[Heng]

Made the mistake of buying a 16 gb Kingston flash drive from a no name type shop in Tuk Com. Checking the serial on their website, it came back as fake. Okay, no big deal, it "works" with no problems so far, I'll just use it when I transport photo files to the photo developers.

But for my biz data, naturally I'm going to want a legit drive for peace of mind. Looking for recommendations for brands that aren't copied in China (and anywhere else) ? Have used Corsair and Apacer in the past and have been satisfied... just not sure if those two brands have a large bootleg market or not (Google doesn't seem to turn up much, when compared to Kingston for example).

[rixalex]

I use SanDisk and have been very happy. I have one on my key ring which gets knocked about terribly and frequently gets left out in the rain, but no problems.

The only disappointment for me was that the anti-virus software on it expires after a period and it means you are exposed unless you want to pay extra to extend it. I'd like to know if there are any with permanent anti-virus protection out there.

Of yes, and sometimes when you try to eject it it says you can't because a file is open, when it isn't. It means having to just pull it out without it having been safely ejected. Not sure though whether this is an issue with the flash drive or the computer?

Anyway, fairly minor stuff.

(Oh, and by the way, i too got caught out with a dodgy one. Don't know if it was a bootleg or not. Name of Trek Thumbdrive. It lost all the data i had on it without warning.)

[niller74]

I have been buying SanDisk from real photodealers, not some local pusher on the market.

There is software available to check the brand, producer, model and sometimes serial number. Usually fake products will show up differently than others. Typicall with producer 'Unknown' etc.

I am pretty certain that they would be replaced if I could prove that it is in fact a fake one I had bought.

[Tywais]

I also use SanDisk. The last one I ordered direct from SanDisk Thailand.

[NoSpeakIt]

Made the mistake of buying a 16 gb Kingston flash drive from a no name type shop in Tuk Com. Checking the serial on their website, it came back as fake. Okay, no big deal, it "works" with no problems so far, I'll just use it when I transport photo files to the photo developers.

But for my biz data, naturally I'm going to want a legit drive for peace of mind. Looking for recommendations for brands that aren't copied in China (and anywhere else) ? Have used Corsair and Apacer in the past and have been satisfied... just not sure if those two brands have a large bootleg market or not (Google doesn't seem to turn up much, when compared to Kingston for example).

lol. i was in pantip today and noticed flash drives EVERYWHERE, for 2 GB around 200 baht which is cheaper than on Amazon. I was wondering how that happened.

why not just ask to see the serial number first to check or buy a regular 200-500 gb usb2 drive? i am sure those are harder to copy.

[JSixpack]

why not . . . buy a regular 200-500 gb usb2 drive? i am sure those are harder to copy.

May we assume then that you carry around 200-500 usb2 drive on your keychain? Photos, pls.

Buy flashdrives from reputable dealers such as Hardware House or IT City. They'll exchange them if fake.

I don't see copies of Transcend Jetflash. They make one of the few high-speed (or rather highER speed) drives (look for the r/w numbers on the package). I have one and like it a lot.

[HDRIDER]

Hi

SanDisk, dont think you can get any better, have 2 never had a problem, 1 have been in the washing machine, when it was dry it worked again.

[Heng]

Made the mistake of buying a 16 gb Kingston flash drive from a no name type shop in Tuk Com. Checking the serial on their website, it came back as fake. Okay, no big deal, it "works" with no problems so far, I'll just use it when I transport photo files to the photo developers.

But for my biz data, naturally I'm going to want a legit drive for peace of mind. Looking for recommendations for brands that aren't copied in China (and anywhere else) ? Have used Corsair and Apacer in the past and have been satisfied... just not sure if those two brands have a large bootleg market or not (Google doesn't seem to turn up much, when compared to Kingston for example).

lol. i was in pantip today and noticed flash drives EVERYWHERE, for 2 GB around 200 baht which is cheaper than on Amazon. I was wondering how that happened.

why not just ask to see the serial number first to check or buy a regular 200-500 gb usb2 drive? i am sure those are harder to copy.

Mostly because I don't need that much space and finding a bootleg flash drive was more of an amusement than real hassle.

Problem solved, thanks to all for the suggestions. Should have just bought direct in the first place. Have to wait a few weeks to have it mailed over to me from Texas, but worth the peace of mind surely. Went ahead and ordered from SanDisk (from their US website).

[Old Man River]

I also use SanDisk. The last one I ordered direct from SanDisk Thailand.

Do you know of any free anti virus program for flash drives other than ClamWin? ClamWin is fine, but it does not include an on-access real-time scanner, so you have to manually scan a file in order to detect a virus or spyware. Is there any others out there that are free for flash drives that do have real-time scanning capabilities?

[HDRIDER]

HI

The Sandisk i bought was a Cruzer Titanium it came with virus and back up program, and you can wash it to

[jeffer]

Do you know of any free anti virus program for flash drives other than ClamWin? ClamWin is fine, but it does not include an on-access real-time scanner, so you have to manually scan a file in order to detect a virus or spyware. Is there any others out there that are free for flash drives that do have real-time scanning capabilities?

Try Avast U3 if you have a U3 capable flashdrive (e.g. SD).

Lots of really cheap flashdrives for sale in Thailand at the moment. I don't know why but they seem as cheap if not cheaper than almost anywhere in the world right now. You can get the 8GB SD Cruzer for about 1100 baht. Other brands are even cheaper but as others have said San Disk are a brand with a good reputation. Not always the very fastest but value for money. I have a couple and if they're fake then they're very good fakes

Edited July 7, 2008 by jeffer

[Veazer]

Do you know of any free anti virus program for flash drives other than ClamWin? ClamWin is fine, but it does not include an on-access real-time scanner, so you have to manually scan a file in order to detect a virus or spyware. Is there any others out there that are free for flash drives that do have real-time scanning capabilities?

I've been looking for this as well, but all I can find are U3 apps and AV apps that lack realtime scanning. Let me know if you find anything.

I did find an app called MX One, but it's in spanish and there's rumors that the app itself has a trojan....

[Old Man River]

Do you know of any free anti virus program for flash drives other than ClamWin? ClamWin is fine, but it does not include an on-access real-time scanner, so you have to manually scan a file in order to detect a virus or spyware. Is there any others out there that are free for flash drives that do have real-time scanning capabilities?

Try Avast U3 if you have a U3 capable flashdrive (e.g. SD).

Lots of really cheap flashdrives for sale in Thailand at the moment. I don't know why but they seem as cheap if not cheaper than almost anywhere in the world right now. You can get the 8GB SD Cruzer for about 1100 baht. Other brands are even cheaper but as others have said San Disk are a brand with a good reputation. Not always the very fastest but value for money. I have a couple and if they're fake then they're very good fakes

That is the one I have been using, but it is free to try for 60 days, then you have to pay. The Home version is free, but as far as I know, not the U3 version. I did register for a Home version and tried to put this in the registration field for the flash drive version, but it wouldn't work.

[Old Man River]

Do you know of any free anti virus program for flash drives other than ClamWin? ClamWin is fine, but it does not include an on-access real-time scanner, so you have to manually scan a file in order to detect a virus or spyware. Is there any others out there that are free for flash drives that do have real-time scanning capabilities?

I've been looking for this as well, but all I can find are U3 apps and AV apps that lack realtime scanning. Let me know if you find anything.

I did find an app called MX One, but it's in spanish and there's rumors that the app itself has a trojan....

I will PM you if I ever find one, and please, do the same.

[Gary A]

Before flash memory was commonly available, I used Sony Memory Sticks. The Sony reader and writer works great. I have two Sony cameras so they served a double purpose. I have four Sony sticks and four Lexar. They are six or seven years old and none have had any problems.

Since then the price has dropped drastically and everything I have bought is Kingston. Again no problems with the CF, SD Micro or the Data Traveller. Are they all genuine? I have no idea but never worried about it because they are no longer expensive. I had no idea that there are counterfeits out there.

[Tywais]

I was just digging out a couple of my old flash drives. Have a 1GB and a 2GB Imation flash drives several years old and look the worse for wear also. Still working fine as I just took one and made it into a XP bootable device (BartPE) which has some recovery and virus tools in it for emergencies.

[jeffer]

Seems Avast for U3 is $19.95 for a one year license. I've got it on a few flashdrives and thought it must have been free but apparently not.

Problems with fakes have been more about flash memory cards for cameras. eBay has had a lot of complaints about this issue. Doesn't seem to be nearly as big a problem with flash drives and they are getting so cheap that there's probably not a lot of money to be made selling fakes now. Buy from any of the large shops like IT City, Hardware House etc. and it's unlikely you will get a fake but seeing how a few big shops were reported for selling fake ink cartridges a while back anything is possible. The ink cartridge problem was a result of some otherwise good shops buying from a not so good wholesaler.

[Veazer]

BTW, if anyone is looking for extremely small drives, I got a PQI i810 2GB awhile back and i've been happy with it.

Read speeds (according to HDTach) are an extremely respectable 29-32 MB/s (faster than the website specs, strangely), and write speeds are so-so at about 6 MB/s.

The size of the drive itself, if removed from the protective case, is just 22mm x 12mm x 2mm. I'd recommended leaving it in the case though....

And it handles trips through the washing machine quite well.

[ajarnmark]

Always used kingston and never had a problem of fake usb.

I trust in kingston more than any other brand.

Just bought kingston MicroSD 2gb for 390 baht in pantip

[JetsetBkk]

I've got a 4 GB Kingston "Data Traveller" for use with the DVD player. Bought it 8 months ago, so you can get 8 GB ones now for the same money.