Sony CDs Rootkit Your Systems (Bad news)

[astroglide]

i'm not suggesting that boycotts, even individual ones, aren't fantastic and powerful tools to have in one's arsenal. when i consider such things, i compare my effects to their effects. as matt wisely said, "it's a decision of utility vs anger." of course it can often rate to hurt the boycotter more than the boycottee in many instances. the score is settled on principle, and that's what makes it worth it.

all i was saying was that i think it's reasonable to target sony's audio cd division on principle and leave the rest alone. sony audio cds and sony digital cameras, for example, are going to be such totally separate divisions that they may as well be considered separate companies. the other divisions know about the problem, the other divisions likely had absolutely nothing to do with the problem, and with as much crap as the other divisions make it could tip the scales to the point where the anger/principle doesn't even things out. this, of course, depends on what a person buys and how mad they are.

of course there are going to be alternatives to their general products, especially on rabidly competitive things like digital cameras. what was implied was a strict boycott, not a 'if i'm near the edge i'll buy something that isn't sony' thing. sony pictures releases all kinds of major movies/dvds. can't go see da vinci code, memoirs of a geisha, or (close to your heart) the sequel to underworld. sony could make some sort of revolutionary development like advanced fuel cell batteries, paper-thin cheap microdisplays, or whatever. if it came to that, i'd feel like i was "giving up" if i had declared a boycott and ended up buying anyway. an "i'll avoid sony as much as possible" stance instead of a "2 years: NO SONY" stance makes a lot more sense to me because of stuff like that. they do so much, and 2 years is so long when it comes to technological advancement.

personally i decided to avoid sony's cds, and i buy cds pretty regularly. i've also raised my sensitivity meter against them on issues that might concern rights management/fair use. when it comes to buying a ps3, though, it won't be a concern of mine unless sony is using its adoption to do something like trying to brute force blu-ray movies into the hd dvd standard. in this way i make a statement, and still leave myself in a position where i'm not preventing myself from getting a great product if they make one and it's not related or harmful. i understand if people still want to 'kick it up a notch' and full-on boycott, but i think it's easy to miss how disconnected large company divisions are and how many products a company like sony makes.

to cored, look at some of my links in the post i made last night. they are replacing them in stores, there are refund/replacement program (complete with no-drm mp3 versions) for victims, etc.

[bugstud]

scary stuff. wonder if anyone else has done anything similar, or will write a better one.

[Blarg]

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It is a powerful argument to steal music, isn't it?

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I'm going to get on my soapbox here. I think the notion of intellectual poperty is a useful one. How to maintain it in the face of computer technology is a tricky problem and one I haven't really thought up a solution to. However, the way we are currently going ain't it. The DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) makes it illegal to circumvent copy protection technology, without regard to whether you are doing so for illegal purposes. This pretty much renders the notion of "fair use" moot. Now, the law doesn't define what is and isn't "fair use" of copyrighted content, the publisher does. If the TV networks and manufacturers get together and implement technology to prevent you from recording a football game for later viewing, and you find a way to defeat it, you are breaking the law regardless of the fact that it is perfectly legal to do so otherwise. If Sony or another CD pulisher decides to make it impossible for you to copy a song to your MP3 player or IPOD, you are breaking the law to circumvent that technology.

Sony, and other publishers of copy-protected content, are basicly saying to their paying customers, "we don't trust you, so we're going to restrict your ability to copy our content for legitimate purposes". Sony has takem it a step further by compromising the reliability and security of your computer to do so.

The record companies and movie companies are lobbying heavily to get increasingly intrusive and draconian legislation passed to protect an obsolete business model. Audio CD's as a means of delivering content are really pretty well obsolete now. DVD's, etc. will be soon for movies as bandwidth and storage costs go down. This has several implications. There is less need for mass appeal for content. Internet distribution makes it possible for artists to sell directly to the public, and the costs of production are low enough for content with a small market to be profitable. This scares the hell out of the media giants. Instead of trying to adapt, or accept that their business is obsolete, and invest their money in a viable business, they are doing the equivalent of harness makers in 1915 lobbying for legislation requiring you to hitch horses to the front of your car. They are making deals with computer hardware and software to restrict the ability of computers to copy files. So far, most people seem to be accepting this. The best case scenario would be for consumers to wake up to the fact that they are being screwed and refuse to buy this crap. I'm not sure the Sony flop is going to be enough, but it's a good start.

In the meantime, don't buy any more buggy whips.

OTOH, as oil gets scarcer, maybe buggy whips will be useful again.

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Good post.

I feel the idea of a Sony boycott is a particularly good one because of all the publicity. For the consumer, this is a very large issue that goes well beyond what one company has done. It most certainly extends to the idea of whether companies being allowed to install what are essentially hacks to your computer should be allowed in the first place. Consumers rarely get anything done against the concerted power of the recording industry, et al., because they have not only no money or organization in comparison, but no central rallying point, or one that that requires more familiarity with a problem than most consumers will have or care to develop.

The problem Sony has created is transparently wrong and visible. People of all ages buy music and movies. They also buy all manner of Sony products that play media, as well as the media themselves. This is a problem anyone can identify with, and everyone should.

This makes it a perfect issue to take a stand regarding. Whether it's by boycotting some or all of Sony's products, or just spreading the word about this crummy scheme Sony unapologetically cooked up and stuck up its customers' poop chutes, this is a good issue and a good time to say to Sony, and through example, all other companies -- No. Don't do this. There WILL be negative consequences that may indeed outweigh whatever perceived good you feel you are doing by invading the privacy of your consumers and endangering their equipment to boot. While I don't believe, as Astro implies, that you will be screwing yourself as a consumer or causing some sort of disastrous harm to Sony, either, by a boycott or by not letting this issue drop, I do believe that a shakier than expected quarter or two or three is the least a company deserves that sets out to indiscriminately invade and harm the property of its consumers.

Frankly, it seems beyond question to this consumer that Sony should know better. I don't mind at all being one very small anonymous data point, or human being as they used to call them, who helps make sure they do. And I think it's vital that other companies see such responses, because there are other companies besides Sony doing similar things, and I'm sure many would like to do so or are in the process of developing similar intrusive and damaging products to cash in on the piracy paranoia at the expense of unsuspecting consumers. It's too late to nip that in the bud, but if it could even be slowed down a bit, then at least we've done some small part to exercise our voices as citizens. Whether here on a bulletin board, or in the stores, with the absence of our cash where it would have been. And, perhaps, its presence in the coffers of competitors who have not given us similar reasons for concern about our privacy and the proper functioning of equipment that belongs to US, not some company that doesn't give a damn about its customers and tries to effectively appropriate it.

[Blarg]

Another one that I saw today:

Sony rootkit with some particulars

Here's an interesting bit of it:

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MediaJam installs a rootkit called Aries.sys, which is misnamed as ‘Network Control Manager’ to reduce the chances that you will spot it running on your PC. Presumably Aries.sys is digitally signed by Microsoft, however Microsoft, First 4 Internet and Sony BMG are reluctant to either confirm or deny this. Because Aries is a rootkit it is installed at a very low system level which renders it invisible to anti-spyware software. More worryingly the rootkit is used to hide any code that starts with the characters $sys$, which allows Sony BMG to hide software within Windows to prevent its CD contents from being ripped.

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[astroglide]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051121/tc_nm/sony_texas_dc

now the state of texas is trying to sue sony for $100,000 per violation

http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2005_11.php#004192

the eff has launched the suit that they were considering

eff says that they now have a total of 6 class-action lawsuits against them (not counting texas)

[Freakin]

#577451 +(3143)- [X]

<DmncAtrny> I will write on a huge cement block "BY ACCEPTING THIS BRICK THROUGH YOUR WINDOW, YOU ACCEPT IT AS IS AND AGREE TO MY DISCLAIMER OF ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS WELL AS DISCLAIMERS OF ALL LIABILITY, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL, THAT MAY ARISE FROM THE INSTALLATION OF THIS BRICK INTO YOUR BUILDING."
<DmncAtrny> And then hurl it through the window of a Sony officer
<DmncAtrny> and run like hell

[astroglide]

http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2005/11/victory.html

the man who discovered/exposed the nature of the rootkit claims victory

http://www.sonybmg.com/

it's all over the front page

[CORed]

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http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2005/11/victory.html

the man who discovered/exposed the nature of the rootkit claims victory

http://www.sonybmg.com/

it's all over the front page

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Well, it looks like Sony is finally doing the right thing (mostly anyway) after being repeatedly kicked in the nuts.

[astroglide]

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when it comes to buying a ps3, though, it won't be a concern of mine unless sony is using its adoption to do something like trying to brute force blu-ray movies into the hd dvd standard

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http://www.firingsquad.com/news/news...?searchid=8954

Speaking with FORTUNE magazine, Stringer confirmed that the PS3 will initially be sold at a significant loss in order to drive the Blu-Ray next-generation DVD standard out into the marketplace.

damn i'm good. and this is the sort of thing that people likely won't notice or cry about, unlike the drm scandal.

[vulturesrow]

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Speaking with FORTUNE magazine, Stringer confirmed that the PS3 will initially be sold at a significant loss in order to drive the Blu-Ray next-generation DVD standard out into the marketplace.


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Why should people cry about this?