Sony BMG temporarily loses

Post by **+JuggerNaut+** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 8:06 am

Sony is to suspend production of CDs using its controversial content protection technology, currently being exploited by a Trojan virus.

The technology employed by Sony to protect its music from illegitimate use was picked up by security software as a rootkit which hid files from Windows and made them impossible to detect. But simply using letters '$sys$' in a filename means that any such file will be hidden, even malicious files. And this is exactly what has happened with the latest virus.

i wonder if they're going to dump First4Internet now? more here.

Post by **Psyche911** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 8:24 am

I'm sure they'll come up with something else equally fucked up next.

Post by **+JuggerNaut+** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 8:31 am

i don't think they will. they'll come up with some other protection scheme, no doubt, but they won't do something so diabolical again. guaranteed.

Post by **Grudge** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 8:43 am

Hopefully this will lead to a big, nasty lawsuit.

Post by **+JuggerNaut+** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 8:44 am

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/11/10 ... r_rootkit/

Post by **Massive Quasars** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 9:49 am

I hope Sony gets reamed, using whatever justification is available to the courts.

Post by **+JuggerNaut+** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 10:13 pm

looks like some more (although not at a rootkit level) self install software from some of Sony's catalogue:

What few people realize is that Sony uses another copy protection program, SunnComm’s MediaMax, on other discs in their catalog, and that this system presumably is not included in the moratorium. Though MediaMax doesn’t resort to concealing itself with a rootkit, it does behave in several ways that are characteristic of spyware.

Like XCP, recent versions of MediaMax engage in spyware-style behavior. They install software without meaningful consent or notification, they include either no means of uninstalling the software or an uninstaller that claims to remove the entire program but doesn’t, and they transmit information about user activities to SunnComm despite statements to the contrary in the end user license agreement and on SunnComm’s web site.

LINK

Post by **seremtan** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 11:43 pm

when did they ever leave them?

Post by **+JuggerNaut+** » Sun Nov 13, 2005 1:10 am

Microsoft to include detection for Sony's DRM in their Antispyware Beta and the Malicious Software Removal Tool. It will alsol be included in the signature set for Microsoft Live Safety Center.

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