Wintermute
Member
- Jul 7, 2005
- 51
- 0
Just wanted to alert everyone here to an issue with some Sony BMG Music CDs.
Sony has at least 20 different discs on the market right now that have a very nasty piece of "Digital Rights Management" software included on the disc. If you attempt to play the CD on your Windows based PC it will silently install software that will control what you can and cant do with the affected Sony Music CD.
Even if you don't care about DRM issues and fair use you need to be worried about these CDs. As I said before the install of this software is silent, it also cloaks itself in the system so that the files and running processes cannot be seen. The software intercepts Windows system calls so it may interfere with the operation of other software on your system. The software is, according to reports, very poorly written and may create an avenue for virus writers, etc. to take control of your computer. The icing on the cake though is that if you attempt to remove the software using a "rootkit removal tool" you will break your system.
These stories from the British IT site "The Register" cover this problem:
<tt>http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/11/01/sony_rootkit_drm/
</tt><tt>http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/11/03/secfocus_drm/
</tt><tt>http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/11/03/sony_rootkit_drm/
Wintermute
-----------------------------------------------------------
If you hold a Unix shell to your ear can you hear the C?
[/color]</tt>
Sony has at least 20 different discs on the market right now that have a very nasty piece of "Digital Rights Management" software included on the disc. If you attempt to play the CD on your Windows based PC it will silently install software that will control what you can and cant do with the affected Sony Music CD.
Even if you don't care about DRM issues and fair use you need to be worried about these CDs. As I said before the install of this software is silent, it also cloaks itself in the system so that the files and running processes cannot be seen. The software intercepts Windows system calls so it may interfere with the operation of other software on your system. The software is, according to reports, very poorly written and may create an avenue for virus writers, etc. to take control of your computer. The icing on the cake though is that if you attempt to remove the software using a "rootkit removal tool" you will break your system.
These stories from the British IT site "The Register" cover this problem:
<tt>http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/11/01/sony_rootkit_drm/
</tt><tt>http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/11/03/secfocus_drm/
</tt><tt>http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/11/03/sony_rootkit_drm/
Wintermute
-----------------------------------------------------------
If you hold a Unix shell to your ear can you hear the C?
[/color]</tt>