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November 2, 2005 10:55 AM PST
Sony to patch copy-protected CD
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Earlier in the week, security experts said that anticopying technology used by Sony BMG could be adapted by virus writers to hide malicious software on the hard drives of computers that have played one of the CDs. The antipiracy tool is included on many of Sony BMG's latest music releases, from Van Zant to My Morning Jacket.
Sony BMG's technology partner First 4 Internet, a British company, said Wednesday that it has released a patch to antivirus companies that will eliminate the copy-protection software's ability to hide. In consequence, it will also prevent virus writers from cloaking their work using the copy-protection tools.
The record label and First 4 Internet will post a similar patch on Sony BMG's Web site for consumers to download directly, the companies said.
"We want to make sure we allay any unnecessary concerns," said Mathew Gilliat-Smith, CEO of First 4 Internet. "We think this is a pro-active step and common sense."
The issue erupted into the public consciousness late on Monday, when computer developer and author Mark Russinovich published a blog detailing how he had found the First 4 Internet software hiding deep in his computer, after he had listened to a copy-protected CD distributed by Sony BMG.
The anticopying technology included a tool called a "rootkit," often used by virus writers. A rootkit takes partial control of a computer's operating system at a very deep level in order to hide the presence of files or ongoing processes.
Rootkits, while not intrinsically malicious, are viewed with deep suspicion by many in the software development community. They are extraordinarily difficult to find and remove without specific instructions, and attempts to modify the way they act can even damage the normal functioning of a computer.
In the case of the First 4 Internet software, attempts to remove it manually rendered the CD drive of the computer inoperable, Russinovich found.
Several antivirus companies followed Russinovich's news with warnings that the First 4 Internet tools could let virus writers hide malicious software on computers, if the coders piggybacked on the file-cloaking functions.
"For now it is theoretical, or academic, but it is concerning," said Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at antivirus company F-Secure. "There's no risk right now that we know of, but I wouldn't keep this on my machine."
The patch that First 4 Internet is providing to antivirus companies will eliminate the rootkit's ability to hide itself and the copy-protection software in a computer's recesses. The patch will be automatically distributed to people who use tools such as Norton Antivirus and other similar programs, Gilliat-Smith said.
The patch that will be distributed through Sony BMG's Web site will work the same way, Gilliat-Smith said. In both cases, the antipiracy software itself will not be removed, only exposed to view.
Consumers who want to remove the copy-protection software altogether from their machine can contact the company's customer support service for instructions, a Sony BMG representative said.
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disappointed that Sony decided to "sneak this past us". With PC
platforms already at risk for attack, to add one more opportunity to
break the "camel's back" is just plain stupid.
They owe consumers an apology.
Their miserably inadequate response just confirms that these penalties need to be imposed. Whichever executives authorized this need to be in jail, and the corporation needs to face a very stiff fine. the California model of $1,000 per infected computer seems appropriate.
or not Sony broke the law. In fact, it quite
explicitly broke several state laws, but on its
face it may have even violated a provision of
the US Patriot Act. Do we not call companies on
the carpet for breaking the law anymore?
Regardless... why don't people like the EFF jump
on this sort of thing and leaflet record stores
and such. Heck, distribute bootable CDs with
CD-writing software that can be used to generate
rootkit-free copies of the disk. If you're a
legitimate owner of the CD in question,
producing a backup without the destructive
software would be perfectly legal.
Heck, setup a booth at the record store to offer
deskunking of people's purchases.
Is this rootkit really a concern? No, not likely- as those wishing to exploit it wouldn't know it's present on the target.
I, like 99.9% of the people out there, don't like being told how I can and cannot use things I buy. If I want to make a copy of the Music on my iPod, I don't think I should have to pay extra for it.
As I see it, there will always be a DRM game, those who help us use what we purchased vs. those that create a new way to protect it.
Here's a tip for anyone still reading: don't buy Sony "MP3" players, they (for the most part) don't actually play mp3's. They convert the mp3 into another DRM friendly format. This results in quality loss and slower transfers.
Then again, with AutoRun disabled, using a burning application like Nero to read the isc will also defeat AutoRun-installed DRM/copy-protection software as well.
"We've always had instructions available to remove the DRM. The customer just has to contact us for it." Yet they cloak the software behind a rootkit with no notice it is even installed. How does a consumer ask for removal instructions when they don't know there is something to remove.
As Douglas Adams put it. They think public display means being in the bottom of a file cabinet in the basement, in a disused lavatory with a sign outside that reads "beware of the leopard."
Look at the situation.
If you purchase content legally, you are
1/Insulted by the implication that you have either stolen or will assist someone else in the theft of this content.
2/Threatened with legal action.
3/Restricted in the use of the content to the extent that you have to re-purchase it if you go beyond what the content holders deem an acceptable number of devices on which you'd like to listen or watch your media.
Funny, but if any other business was in the habit of threatening and insulting their customers there wouldn't be much surprise or sympathy if that business went under.
Which makes it all the more strange that anyone actually sympathises with a media industry that does this to every one of its customers.
So my choices are
1/Continue to be threatened and insulted and restricted in the use of legally purchased media.
2/Not have any media.
3/Steal it - if they're constantly calling me a thief and threatening me with legal action, I might as well be one - and ofcourse be rewarded for doing so because stolen media is rarely infected with copy protection and is usually of the same, or nearly the same, quality as the legal version.
4/Install software that removes the protections from all of your legally purchased media.
Under these circumstances, is it any wonder that so many people are doing exactly that.
I wonder how many were driven to this by the corporations themselves, and if they'd been offered protection free, insult free and threat free content in the first place, wouldn't be stealing it or providing protection free copies via bittorrent.
From:
contentprotectionhelp <ContentProtectionHelp@info.sel.sony.com>
12:04 AM
Subject:
SONY BMG Email Inquiry Acknowledgment
To:
<xxxxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx>
Thank you for contacting SONY BMG.
This message confirms that your e-mail has been received by our support team. You should receive a reply shortly.
Thank you,
SONY BMG Customer Service
So just be patient.
BTW - SonyBMG has released a Service Pack that will also decloak, but not remove, their DRM rootkitware.
My take on this is they MAY let you remove it.
I wouldn't hold my breath waiting!
And why is the MAC immune?
Hummm... Maybe Linux is too. BEG
Just another reason to switch.
I'd rather stick with that than with a Rootkit, but keep in mind the reason this CD doesn't work in Linux or a Macintosh is merely a market share thing: Sony didn't care to commission rootkit for those operating systems becaue the market share was too small, deciding to just leave them out of their market. Had they decided to include them, developing a rootkit (that asks for the administrator to log on as in this case) would have been just as easy. So users of Mac and Linux are in fact lucky this thing came up, since they were certainly next had this been left undercover.
The point is this: Sony, I BOUGHT your CD. Sony, I AM A CUSTOMER. Sony, you have INVADED -MY- COMPUTER.
I, for one, will not be buying ANY Sony products as gifts or otherwise this Holiday season.
What all customers should demand: that Sony STOP making these CDs and provide an EASY process for REMOVING this malware.
the envelope of treating their customers like criminals. I love
music, I have never illegally copied a mp3 (or any other format)
because it is wrong. However, as the industry continues down
this road, less and less law-abiding customers have sympathy
for them. I for one would much rather do without Sony's cd's
than have to put up with the nonsense inflicted by this copy
protection crap. As if this is going to slow down the chinese
pirates more than a few hours. In fact, they will make up the
time with Sony's new CD ripper that can handle 200 CD's
Than Sony gracefully posts a link to a software patch that requires browser with ActiveX Controls support.
Which brings me to my original point -- do I really want to trust those guys THAT much ? ? ?
Note that this Wired article <a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,67696,00.html" target="_newWindow">http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,67696,00.html</a> from May reported that First 4 Internet's clients include Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and EMI, in addition to Sony/BMG.
BTW-- If you want to send your opinion directly to First 4 Internet, here is how to contact Mr. Mathew Gilliat Smith.
info@first4internet.co.uk subject='attn: Mathew' -
Don't know about you, but that would clue me in that something was running around in the darkest parts of my machine, doing who knows what.
In the end, I don't hate them for trying to install DRM. I hate them for installing it without telling you, then lying about it.
If they were open about it and told everyone, "If you want to play our cd, you have to have DRM installed, otherwise take the cd back to the store and get your money back."
This disclaimer should be posted at the store for everyone to read, not just on the start screen of the cd.
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://updates.xcp-aurora.com/" target="_newWindow">http://updates.xcp-aurora.com/</a>
to download the program.
I put on my desktop for future use.