Warning about Sony CDs with DRM

[Cloral]

If you've played a Sony CD on your computer that has DRM, you may have gotten a rootkit installed:

http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2005/10/sony-rootkits-and-digital-rights.html

Not only is this underhanded, it opens up a nice big security hole in any system that has this installed (read: race condition). Plus, they don't provide any method for uninstall, and it does not show up in the EULA.

[mike5000]

If you've played a Sony CD on your computer that has DRM, you may have gotten a rootkit installed:

http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2005/10/sony-rootkits-and-digital-rights.html

Not only is this underhanded, it opens up a nice big security hole in any system that has this installed (read: race condition). Plus, they don't provide any method for uninstall, and it does not show up in the EULA.

My head just exploded! That was a good read.

Very interesting. I had no idea about how Virus's and malware could simply cloak itself entirely like that. Makes me wonder why I bother running AVG and Ad-aware anymore. I usally come up clean but if there invisible right under my nose, then damn!

:mad:

[AlexMax]

Stop trying to steal music you little theives, and maybe they wouldn't have to do this.

[Darth Marsden]

But if I don't steal it, how will I ever get to listen to it..? :rolleyes:

This reminds me of when I first got to University and got a virus on my PC. I kept reformatting the PC and re-installing all my essential programs (Windows, WinAmp, Word, etc...) before realising that maybe, just maybe, one of the naughty videos I kept watching was infected. So much for those two lovely ladies having a damn good time. Viruses totally suck ass.

[Eckels]

Someone should start contacting news organizations. Not just magazines, but shows like 20/20 and other investigative TV shows. That's some pretty serious stuff. Sony's little program could piggyback into invisibility, any worm or virus that an author so desires.

I've lost my interest in buying albums because of all this copyright crap. I don't buy any music anymore. And if you've ever seen my music collection, you know that's a huge change for me.

[Cloral]

Sony's little program could piggyback into invisibility, any worm or virus that an author so desires.
Yeah - all you'd have to do is name your virus starting with $sys$ and no virus scanner could see it. So anybody who had installed this unknowingly is now at huge risk.

[vegeta1215]

My friend's band is signed to Jive records, and I purchased their new CD a few months ago. It installed some DRM technology when I tried to play it on on my brother's XP machine. It used sunncomm DRM, which basically installs a device driver on your computer that makes it so if you try to rip or play songs with anything other than Windows Media Player, the songs are poppy and skip throughout the song (which is very annoying)

Thankfully there was an easy fix for it - after rebooting the computer, the device driver showed up in the device manager (if you enabled hidden ones to be shown by connection type). All I had to do was find it in the list and disable it. Even though it was easy to fix, it was annoying. I'm sure stuff like this, and especially this new Sony one violate the DMCA.

Yet another reason why I'm glad I'm on Linux ;)

[ctrl-alt-delete]

Heh. Check this out.

http://www.betanews.com/article/Sony_to_Help_Remove_its_DRM_Rootkit/1130965475

[KingArthur]

i dont see how buying an abulm and ripping mp3's over to your PSP/iPod is exactly "stealing music". and since whenare companies allowed to install crap without the end user's consent anyway? i could understand if it was talked about in the EULA, but it wasnt

[AlexMax]

Apparently, you can now use the Sony Rootkit to counter World of Warcraft's "Warden" anti-cheat software.

Source: http://www.securityfocus.com/brief/34

[vegeta1215]

i dont see how buying an abulm and ripping mp3's over to your PSP/iPod is exactly "stealing music". and since whenare companies allowed to install crap without the end user's consent anyway? i could understand if it was talked about in the EULA, but it wasnt

Record companies want to try and regulate it all as much as possible, and I'm sure they have some success with average folk who aren't very computer savy. But people will always find ways around the protection schemes - after all, these copy protected CDs must be playable is regular CD players.

The sunncomm DRM which was put on my brother's computer prevents you from playing your CD with anything but Windows Media Player and only lets you rip tracks with Windows Media Player (and only a certain number of times). There is also DRM added into the ripped tracks so you can't just take them anywhere.

I wish I had an answer to your second question. It's gotta be against the law, especially if they do things that aren't specifically stated in the EULAs like in the Sony case.

[aramis]

i dont see how buying an abulm and ripping mp3's over to your PSP/iPod is exactly "stealing music". and since whenare companies allowed to install crap without the end user's consent anyway? i could understand if it was talked about in the EULA, but it wasnt

It's really quite simple. I, who write music, have a right to contol the distribution for a period of life + 20 years (Berne & Pan Am conventions).

You, as a consumer have a right to have one playable copy for your money, and one (and only one) ARCHIVAL copy; this is required (by legal precedent and Federal Regulation) to not be kept where it can be played while the use copy is in a functional space.

This is why copy software is not illegal. It allows for the archival copy. Authors can, in theory, deny archival rights, but are supposed to disclose this pre-purchase (IE, The disclaimer inside the wrap on nintendo carts is not valid).

Real-world tests of the cross-platform issue haven't been publicized since the 1970's (taping your LP's to play them in walkmen was deemed fair use; taping them to loan was not).

[koopa]

The BBC just published a list of CDs affected by XCP
HERE (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4441928.stm).

Seems like sony is recalling the CDs. Personally I hope someone gets taken to court over this.



XCP PROTECTED CDS
Trey Anastasio - Shine
Celine Dion - On ne Change Pas
Neil Diamond - 12 Songs
Our Lady Peace - Healthy in Paranoid Times
Chris Botti - To Love Again
Van Zant - Get Right with the Man
Switchfoot - Nothing is Sound
The Coral - The Invisible Invasion
Acceptance - Phantoms
Susie Suh - Susie Suh
Amerie - Touch
Life of Agony - Broken Valley
Horace Silver Quintet - Silver's Blue
Gerry Mulligan - Jeru
Dexter Gordon - Manhattan Symphonie
The Bad Plus - Suspicious Activity
The Dead 60s - The Dead 60s
Dion - The Essential Dion
Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten
Ricky Martin - Life

[vegeta1215]

Seems like sony is recalling the CDs. Personally I hope someone gets taken to court over this.

I read online that the state of California (and others) are suing Sony as we speak.

[Cloral]

http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/11/10/0024259&from=rss

Suit has started here in Cali, as the DRM violated at least 3 state laws. Another will soon start in NY it seems. Good to see that the legal side didn't drop the ball on this.