How far, is too far.(ANTI-PIRACY)

[Brigand]

Sony attacked over anti-piracy CD

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4400148.stm

and

Why that mix CD might be illegal


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3256945.stm


Is this fair game by the music corporations, in order to protect their copyrighted material and their assets? Maybe a case of fighting fire with fire? Or a reflection of the extent of the music corporation's boundless quest for 'more'?


An Article on Sony's "rootkit virus-like" system.

http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2005/10/sony-rootkits-and-digital-rights.html

 

[getinvolved]

Brigand,

I think with this issue music companies are caught between a rock and a hard place. I realize that the music industry makes obsurd amounts of money --but like any other industry, they have a right to be as successful as possible as they act within the guidelines of the law.

They need to protect their assets and this problem has become so wide-spread that there comes a point when drastic measures must be taken. Don't get me wrong, I in no way condone prosecuting 12 year olds for downloading Britney Spears songs, and I have plenty of "contraband" in my own CD case -- but just because an industry is extremely sucessful does not give the general public the right to steal from them.

It's a tough spot for all parties I think.

 

[Brigand]

Essentially, your right, of course, getinvolved. But, does it give Sony the right to install, what seemingly appears to be, virus/malware-like code, that potentially could cause problems for YOUR computer and perhaps even rendering it inoperable...requiring a re-install!

As the author of the article, pointed out, the programming wasn't very good and clearly showed what even the smallest of poor coding and mistakes, with deep level operations, could do.

What about the idea that this may indeed 'encourage' piracy, rather than hindering it? those concered with above matters, may not wish to touch any of the music labels CD's again, certainly, knowing what may happen.

 

[getinvolved]

Brigand,

I agree with your point. I know how mad I would be if anything happened to my computer just because I listened to a Beatle album that had the next XPC on it. I think it's extremely important for the music industry to protect themselves- but at the cost of what?

I would not be opposed to this software if they at least put some kind of warning label on the case. I'm sure, as well, that this is a new technology that needs to be tweeked and I can only hope that it is done sooner than later. (and by sooner I mean before anything happens to my computer)

It's a sticky issue and I think at this point the music industry is just trying to keep up with the technology that is screwing them for millions.

 

[Brigand]

Brigand,

I agree with your point. I know how mad I would be if anything happened to my computer just because I listened to a Beatle album that had the next XPC on it. I think it's extremely important for the music industry to protect themselves- but at the cost of what?

I would not be opposed to this software if they at least put some kind of warning label on the case. I'm sure, as well, that this is a new technology that needs to be tweeked and I can only hope that it is done sooner than later. (and by sooner I mean before anything happens to my computer)

It's a sticky issue and I think at this point the music industry is just trying to keep up with the technology that is screwing them for millions.

My own take on this is, I don't see it as the music industries endevour to keep up with technology, so much as it's more of a display of, I suppose, desperation and cupidity.

An interesting contention from iTunes against the music industry:

http://news.techwhack.com/2170/021008-apple-might-face-a-backlash-from-the-music-companies/

An interesting contention against iTunes.

http://www.downhillbattle.org/itunes/

I like the alternatives that downhillbattle offers and it's overall arguement

 

[Brigand]

Hackers hijack Sony DRM technology

Kaspersky Labs has warned the first malicious program to use Sony rootkit technology to hide its presence has been detected.
In a move that has angered many people, and which is already being legally challenged in the US, Sony BMG put digital rights management (DRM) technology on to a large number of music CDs. The aim was to prevent disks from being copied. However Sony decided to use rootkit technology which automatically installs itself when a consumer inserted the CD in their computers.

This technology is not picked up by conventional anti-spyware or anti-virus software unless they use rootkit detectors, because it hides itself deep inside the Windows operating system and mimics legitimate files.
This means rootkit attacks are increasingly being used by hackers and virus writers as a way of infecting PCs. One highly unfortunate effect of Sony's decision to use this rootkit was the possibility that malicious programs would implement the same technology.
Kaspersky Lab virus analysts confirm that this has now happened and said the backdoor program which utilizes Sony's rootkit program is already being spammed to victims.

Attached to the email is a message which uses classic social engineering techniques to entice the recipient into launching the attachment. The attachment allegedly contains a photograph. Once the user launches the attached file, the backdoor code, which Kaspersky has called Backdoor.Win32.Breplibot.b will infect the victim's PC.
It copies itself to the Windows system directory as an executable file. If the victim has unwittingly downloaded Sony's DRM technology the name used by the Trojan means it can use the Sony rootkit technology to hide its presence.
David Emm, Senior Technology Consultant of Kaspersky Lab said: "The development we feared most from Sony's inclusion of rootkit technology to conceal its DRM software was its use to conceal malicious code. Unfortunately, it seems our fears were well-grounded."

http://www.torrentspy.com/article.asp?id=3851