Sony CDs Rootkit Your Systems (Bad news)

[Freakin]

In an interview with some high-up Sony dude, I heard him say "Well, most people really don't even know what a rootkit is, so they shouldn't care that we're installing one"

....

Yes, I'm serious.

[wacki]

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Absolutely I want to punish the whole company. It encourages Sony and other companies to create cultures of responsibility and holds them accountable.

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I'm with you on this one Flynn. Also, I totally disagree with astro's opinion that you won't make a difference. Sony may not feel it immediately but you are spreading word via a heavily trafficked forum. Word spreads and consumers, even if they don't fully boycott, may be influenced enough to choose another brand if they are on the edge. Simply laying down and doing nothing only invite more of this behavior.

Also, I don't think a waiter and a giant corporation are all that related. A corporation like sony has the power to set industry standards. A waiter will never effect your life outside of a restaurant. This is simply not true with a giant corporation that has power to set industry standards and effect your everyday life. If you complain to a restaurant manager they will listen and possibly fire someone. Odds are a company like sony will only blow you off if you complain about their DRM techniques being intrusive and too hard core.

That being said I understand what astro meant, I just don't think it applies all that well.

If anyone gets "free stuff" from sony (other than a BMG CD of course) by complaining about their DRM techniques I will truly be amazed.

[Dr. Strangelove]

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Perhaps if people didn't insist on stealing music en masse, this stuff wouldn't exist.



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In other news, two wrongs DO make a right.


And sluts are just asking to get raped. Dressing all slutty and whatnot.

[PhatTBoll]

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Perhaps if people didn't insist on stealing music en masse, this stuff wouldn't exist.



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In other news, two wrongs DO make a right.


And sluts are just asking to get raped. Dressing all slutty and whatnot.

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Did you just compare some software on a computer to rape? [censored] off.

[TomCollins]

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Perhaps if people didn't insist on stealing music en masse, this stuff wouldn't exist.



[/ QUOTE ]

In other news, two wrongs DO make a right.


And sluts are just asking to get raped. Dressing all slutty and whatnot.

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Did you just compare some software on a computer to rape? [censored] off.

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Sony is raping your computer, or at least holding you down while someone else rapes it.

[Dr. Strangelove]

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Perhaps if people didn't insist on stealing music en masse, this stuff wouldn't exist.



[/ QUOTE ]

In other news, two wrongs DO make a right.


And sluts are just asking to get raped. Dressing all slutty and whatnot.

[/ QUOTE ]
Did you just compare some software on a computer to rape? [censored] off.

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I contrasted your "blame the victim" attitude in this case with another situation where the desire to blame the victim commonly occurs, douchebag.

[PhatTBoll]

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[ QUOTE ]
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[ QUOTE ]
Perhaps if people didn't insist on stealing music en masse, this stuff wouldn't exist.



[/ QUOTE ]

In other news, two wrongs DO make a right.


And sluts are just asking to get raped. Dressing all slutty and whatnot.

[/ QUOTE ]
Did you just compare some software on a computer to rape? [censored] off.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sony is raping your computer, or at least holding you down while someone else rapes it.

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Are you suggesting that they are intentionally making computers vulnerable to hackers? If so, you are very dumb.

[Dr. Strangelove]

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[ QUOTE ]
Perhaps if people didn't insist on stealing music en masse, this stuff wouldn't exist.



[/ QUOTE ]

In other news, two wrongs DO make a right.


And sluts are just asking to get raped. Dressing all slutty and whatnot.

[/ QUOTE ]
Did you just compare some software on a computer to rape? [censored] off.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sony is raping your computer, or at least holding you down while someone else rapes it.

[/ QUOTE ]
Are you suggesting that they are intentionally making computers vulnerable to hackers? If so, you are very dumb.

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Really your honor, when I broke into the house I had absolutely NO INTENTION of killing anybody, I just wanted to rob the place.

[PhatTBoll]

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[ QUOTE ]
Perhaps if people didn't insist on stealing music en masse, this stuff wouldn't exist.



[/ QUOTE ]

In other news, two wrongs DO make a right.


And sluts are just asking to get raped. Dressing all slutty and whatnot.

[/ QUOTE ]
Did you just compare some software on a computer to rape? [censored] off.

[/ QUOTE ]

I contrasted your "blame the victim" attitude in this case with another situation where the desire to blame the victim commonly occurs, douchebag.

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You didn't contrast anything. Poopy head.

And I never said that this stuff is "right" or "deserved." It just is. It's business. A group of very rich people and probably several consulting firms came to the conclusion that the potential fallout from this would be worth the protection of the company's rights and money. What was threatening their rights and money? People stealing like crazy.

[Blarg]

Thanks very much for putting this up. I've been reading about this kind of thing over the past couple of days, when reading about the similar Starforce system and how it has damaged some people's computers. Some very interesting forum threads came up in which this damage was noted by some very reliable people as a not-uncommon occurence. Two included a managing editor at Toms Hardware and an editor at PC Gamer(UK) among others, who have had to rebuild systems because Starforce corrupted their test bed systems so thoroughly, and have had colleagues have to do the same numerous times.

If hackers were doing this, they could be put in jail for it. It's on very shaky ground, and Sony is being sued for it in two states for it. Installing things on customers' computers that could potentially damage them without letting them know the potential risks is a double whammy against consumers, most of whom probably have nothing remotely like the skill to figure out what might be causing their system problems, much less reinstall hardware or software components or rebuild systems entirely. Other afflicted with these problems merely report things like system slowdowns, intermittently functioning drives, or non-functioning sound, but clearly under no circumstances would most people be willing to risk having an essentially hostile and damaging piece of software on their system. The basic premises of either installing what is essentially a trojan on your system, as well as that of causing damage and disabling the expensive equipment of ordinary consumers but not being held responsible for it, are pretty insupportable.

This is the kind of "cure" that is worse than the disease. Especially since the very first people who are going to get around this kind of malware are pirates in the first place, exactly the people they're intended to stop. The person who is potentially really going to be hit hard is the person who doesn't even know what is going on or what to do about it, and may spend a great deal of time and money trying to figure it out. And, worst of all -- more than once.

Here's the link to my post on Starforce and Sony's DRM. This includes some good links and a list of Starforced games and publishers. This kind of thing is so important I think it's worth stickying on any forum on the internet regardless of the forum's focus. This is a high-powered attack on absolutely everyone who owns a computer.

Starforce and rootkit post