MESSAGE
| DATE | 2005-11-02 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Re: [NYLXS - HANGOUT] Sony Ships Sneaky DRM Software
|
This would make ripping their CDs now a felony with a free Software
system.
Ruben
On Wed, 2005-11-02 at 13:25, Inker, Evan wrote:
> Sony Ships Sneaky DRM Software
> Music giant uses spyware and virus writers' techniques to prevent
> unauthorized music copying.
> http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,123362,00.asp
> Robert McMillan, IDG News Service
> Tuesday, November 01, 2005
>
> SAN FRANCISCO -- Mark Russinovich couldn't understand how the rootkit had
> sneaked onto his system. An expert on the internals of the Windows operating
> system, he was careful when it came to computer security and generally had a
> pretty good idea of what was running on his PC at any given time. And yet
> the security tool he was using to check his PC was pretty clear: It had
> found the rootkit cloaking software typically used by virus and spyware
> writers.
>
> After a bit of detective work, Russinovich eventually tracked down the
> source: a Sony BMG Music Entertainment CD titled Get Right with the Man,
> performed by country music duo Donnie and Johnny Van Zant.
>
> It turns out that Sony is using techniques normally seen only in spyware and
> computer viruses in order to restrict the unauthorized copying of some of
> its music CDs. Sony's software, licensed by Sony from a Banbury, UK, company
> called First 4 Internet, has become the basis of a dispute that once again
> pits computer advocates against an entertainment company experimenting with
> new ways to prevent the unauthorized copying of its products.
>
>
> Sony Says Copy Protection
> Sony has been using First 4's XCP (Extended Copy Protection) software since
> early 2005 as a copy protection mechanism for some of its music CDs,
> according to Sony spokesperson John McKay. He could not say how many of
> Sony's CDs currently use the XCP software, but he said it is one of two
> digital rights management products used by the company. The other is
> SunnComm's MediaMax software, he said.
>
> The XCP software prevents users from making more than three backup copies of
> any CD, and Sony puts an XCP notification on the back of CDs that use the
> mechanism, according to Mathew Gilliat-Smith, First 4's chief executive
> officer.
>
> Although the Van Zant CD software came with an end user license agreement
> (EULA) informing him that he would be installing software that would reside
> on his PC until removed, Russinovich, who works as chief software architect
> with systems software company Winternals Software, said he never expected to
> be installing a product that would then prove to be virtually undetectable
> and extremely difficult to remove.
>
> Sony's McKay believes that the disclosures in the license agreement are
> adequate. "I think the EULA's pretty clear about what it is," he said. "The
> reason why consumers have really high acceptance levels of these
> content-protected discs is because they have the functionality that people
> want."
>
> The First 4 software does nothing malicious and can be uninstalled, should
> the user want to remove it, McKay said.
>
> That uninstall process is not exactly straightforward, however, and cannot
> be done through the Add or Remove Programs utility in the Windows control
> panel. When asked for instructions on how to uninstall the software, McKay
> directed the IDG News Service to a section of the Sonybmg.com Web site where
> users could ask Sony customer support for uninstall directions.
>
>
> Who Controls Your PC?
> Although many computer users may not care much about the finer points of
> EULAs, people like Russinovich say Sony's software calls a more important
> issue into question: Who gets to have control over your computer?
>
> "When something like this installs and doesn't advertise itself, you've lost
> control of your own computer," he said. "And the EULA description that
> they've presented doesn't let you make an educated decision about whether
> you'd want this installed or not."
>
> Ironically, the invasiveness of the XCP software punishes users who pay for
> their music, said Fred von Lohmann, staff attorney with the Electronic
> Frontier Foundation, a digital rights advocacy organization based in San
> Francisco. "They are installing software in a way that makes it very
> difficult for you to know what was installed and makes it very difficult to
> uninstall it. And, worst of all, the software is not very well written," he
> said. "I think most computer users will find that to be very outrageous."
>
> Lawyers might also be interested in the software, von Lohmann said. The EFF
> attorney said a lawsuit was conceivable. "Sony is using a piece of your
> computer in a way that you didn't expect or authorize," he said. "Depending
> on how clearly this was disclosed, some consumers may be able to make an
> argument that this is actually an unauthorized intrusion," he said. "It's
> not beyond the realm of possibility that Sony BMG could be liable for this."
>
> In 2001 the other provider of Sony copy protection software, SunnComm, was
> involved in a lawsuit that alleged that the company's software, which was
> then being used by Music City Records, did not adequately notify consumers
> of its capabilities.
>
>
> Changes
> In the long term, Sony appears to be moving away from the techniques that
> have incensed Russinovich.
>
> First 4's Mathew Gilliat-Smith said his company has spent the last month
> developing a new version of the XCP software that does not use the
> controversial rootkit techniques. "We won't use the same methodology that
> makes the software hidden in the way that people are concerned about," he
> said.
>
> Neither Gilliat-Smith nor Sony's McKay could say when this new software
> would begin appearing in Sony's products or how many existing titles were
> shipping with the XCP software.
>
> "This is a legitimate technology that we've been charged to produce,"
> Gilliat-Smith said. "People who aren't comfortable with the technology can
> apply to have the software removed."
>
>
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