Sony DRM - Digital Rootkit Manglement

[evan_essence]

So how many of you have the Sony/BMG rootkit from their music CDs installed on your computers?

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5956707.html
http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,...w=wn_tophead_2
http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/200...al-rights.html

Before these details came out, I goofed and bought a CD released by BMG Mexico a couple months ago without realizing it had intrusive Sony Digital Rights Management (DRM) on it. I was so pissed at myself for not noticing the record label at the store because I already knew Sony DRM was bad and I wouldn't have purchased it. Then I decided f**k this shit, I'm not installing their program to listen to it on my computer. Phew, dodged a bullet there.

-Ev

[Casual Observer]

^ What's amazing is M$ is coming to the rescue for users with a patch.

[xdamage]

On the positive side in about a month since Mark Russinovich (from sysinternals.com) posted his findings about this, the outspoken voices on the internet and media has managed to do what years in court might never have done. In a few short days Sony went from a state of denial to providing removal patches, to now agreeing to replace the CDs with unprotected CDs. And hopefully the lawsuits in play will continue, and this will sting badly enough that Sony and other music producers think twice before installing hidden, unsafe DRM software on our computers.

[evan_essence]

Texas Sues Sony Over Alleged CD Spyware

Texas is suing Sony BMG Music Entertainment, alleging the company illegally installed spyware on millions of music CDs that Attorney General Greg Abbott says can make computers “vulnerable to computer viruses and other forms of attack.”
http://www.kwtx.com/news/headlines/1996172.html

You can exchange your SONY BMG compact discs (CDs) containing XCP content protection software for replacement versions of the same CD(s) without the XCP software.
http://www.upsrow.com/sonybmg/

-Ev