Sony's Rootkit BS

[law.of.averages]

Well CA (Computer Associates) already has classified the sony software as spyware... if others do the same, it will mean cheaters can only exploit it by shutting down their virus scanners..

then they deserve whatever happens.

[Naix]

this is getting out of hand

[pewterdragn]

I'm still watching closely

Do you really want to uninstall?
http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2005/1 ... to_09.html

Call the cops on Sony!
http://www.smarthouse.com.au/Entertainm ... s/Q7P7L4N2

[law.of.averages]

beat me to it...

[pewterdragn]

Lawsuits starting to pop up in California and maybe New York soon. Microsoft "frowning" on the whole thing. Computer Associates has labelled the software "spyware" and the best thing of all: the first trojan horse has surfaced that uses Sony's ridiculous software to hide itself... would that make them liable for damages since they lied in the EULA?

[law.of.averages]

I don't know... I would think so... but corporations have a way of dodging the kinds of things that would get a lone man drawn and quartered

[pewterdragn]

http://www.mp3newswire.net/stories/5002/admonish.html

Bush Administration to Sony: It's your intellectual property -- it's not your computer.

By Richard Menta 11/12/05

Sony knew they were dead in the water when the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) admonished them on the CD rootkit scandal - at a Chamber of Commerce event on combating intellectual-property theft. According to Briand Krebs of the Washington Post the Department of Homeland Security's assistant secretary for policy, Stewart Baker, made at the event "a remark clearly aimed directly at Sony and other labels":

"It's very important to remember that it's your intellectual property -- it's not your computer. And in the pursuit of protection of intellectual property, it's important not to defeat or undermine the security measures that people need to adopt in these days.

The Recording Industry Association of America's CEO Mitch Bainwol was in attendance and you knew that these words had to run a shiver down his spine. He is spending quite a bit of time on the beltway these days pushing several new bills to give Hollywood control of how consumers use future electronic products. But, it is hard to call certain activities illegal when one of your members spreads what security pundits called malicious code to millions of home computers. It just undermines his argument, especially when a senior Bush official looks him straight in the eye and says he agrees with the pundits.

Bainwol has another big worry. The controversy from the Sony scandal has the potential to go beyond Sony by tainting the CD format itself in the eyes of consumers. This could kill the format, though it is not clear yet what effect, if any, this will have on record sales. The word-of-mouth building on the Net looks ominous right now. The industry is now looking to lay low and hope this passes.

That's why Sony backed down yesterday and declared that they would remove this particular DRM from all of their products...temporarily. Sony and the industry as a whole are in damage control mode. So far they have not done a very good job as recent comments by senior Sony exec Thomas Hesse only inflamed animosity on the blogosphere. Sony is also unapologetic about their tactic, which in itself is playing very badly in the press.

One thing is for sure, the industry will not give up on installing DRM tools on their wares. In the end, as more artists continue to use file sharing as a promotional tool, DRM may just become a costly solution looking for a problem.

[Soulja]

You know whats even more sad?

All of the artists that are on their label, whom of which had no say in this I guarantee that. Now they are going to suffer a great deal. But I don't mind if Celine Dion sales dropped, everyone else , I do .

I say Sony gives all of those songs that were put under contract, back to the artist.

[Houdini]

You know whats even more sad?

All of the artists that are on their label, whom of which had no say in this I guarantee that. Now they are going to suffer a great deal. But I don't mind if Celine Dion sales dropped, everyone else , I do .

I say Sony gives all of those songs that were put under contract, back to the artist.

Celine Dion must have made a Deal with Satan.

[law.of.averages]

I can't help but wonder if my letters to the senators had anything to do with it... when the web-form asked me to choose a subject from the drop-down... I chose Homeland Security

It would be the achievement of a lifetime to be the instigator of the riot that causes the fall of the RIAA empire

[pewterdragn]

they have apologized!
http://cp.sonybmg.com/xcp/

November 16, 2005

To Our Valued Customers:

You may be aware of the recent attention given to the XCP content protection software included on some SONY BMG CDs. This software was provided to us by a third-party vendor, First4Internet. Discussion has centered on security concerns raised about the use of CDs containing this software.

We share the concerns of consumers regarding these discs, and we are instituting a program that will allow consumers to exchange any CD with XCP software for the same CD without copy protection. We also have asked our retail partners to remove all unsold CDs with XCP software from their store shelves and inventory. We will make further details of this program available shortly.

We deeply regret any inconvenience this may cause our customers and we are committed to making this situation right. It is important to note that the issues regarding these discs exist only when they are played on computers, not on conventional, non-computer-based CD and/or DVD players.

Our new initiatives follow the measures we have already taken, including last week’s voluntary suspension of the manufacture of CDs with the XCP software. In addition, to address security concerns, we provided to major software and anti-virus companies a software update, which also may be downloaded at http://cp.sonybmg.com/xcp/english/updates.html. We will shortly provide a simplified and secure procedure to uninstall the XCP software if it resides on your computer.

Ultimately, the experience of consumers is our primary concern, and our goal is to help bring our artists’ music to as broad an audience as possible. Going forward, we will continue to identify new ways to meet demands for flexibility in how you and other consumers listen to music.

Now the only question is: are they going to survive the massive amounts of lawsuits that are being filed?

[Naix]

Thats not enough! these bastards gotta get on their knees, and well.......you know.... *unzip*

[Ace]

Look at this s!^t, posted on slashdot:

Zellis writes "In a press conference held on Nov 18 Cary Sherman, the president of the RIAA, stated in reference to Sony BMG's "rootkit" software that "there is nothing unusual about technology being used to protect intellectual property." According to Sherman, the problem with Sony BMG's XCP DRM software was simply that "the technology they used contained a security vulnerability of which they were unaware". He goes on to praise Sony's "responsible" attitude in handling the problem, saying "how many times that software applications created the same problem? Lots. I wonder whether they've taken as aggressive steps as SonyBMG has when those vulnerabilities were discovered, or did they just post a patch on the Internet?" It seems that the latest spin is to portray the Sony rootkit as no more of an issue than a software coding error that unintentionally creates a security hole. Will they get away with it among the non-technical public?" Arguably, Sherman is right -- but I enjoy much more the fact that this whole r00tkit fiasco has set DRM back by years. Gogogo poor implementations!

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And the funniest response post to the above news:
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Given that:

1) The Sony rootkit contains pirated open source code, and

2) The RIAA finds nothing wrong about the Sony rootkit

It follows that RIAA does not consider the piracy of copyrighted material wrong... Well, I'm off to go copy a few CDs, with the cartel's blessing this time.

[pewterdragn]

Add Texas to those lining up for lawsuits.

Shouldn't the DOJ be investigating this? They must be too busy attacking small children and grandmothers instead of those that commit heinous crimes.

[pewterdragn]

Sony BMG is rethinking its anti-piracy policy following weeks of criticism over the copy protection used on CDs

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4514678.stm