Beware Sony of CDs

[MarkMark]

I was going to put this in a tech forum but this is more important than mere nerdyism and could fuck up your listening pleasure if your not careful........

If you like to be able to make MP3s from audio CDs then be sure to turn off AUTORUN of any CD/DVD devices on your PC.

Why?.....

Sony have been producing audio CDs that secretly install their own Digital Rights Management sofware (DRM) onto your PC when you pop it into your CD/DVD drive. It takes advantage of the AUTORUN facility to silently install this thing that keeps tabs on all your music CDs and enforces their antipiracy policies. The method used to install it is pretty much the same kind of trick a virus would use to get into your system.

So in other words, you dont get a chance to say "No" to it, it just happens without your permision.

And worse still, if you simply delete the unwanted Sony files you could even lose access to your CD drive.

w a n k e r s

Here's how Sony were found out:
http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2005/10/sony-rootkits-and-digital-rights.html

And here's some of the press reaction to it

Washington Post
Slashdot
Enquirer
more

 

[peppery]

I wonder what the legal situation about this is? Is sounds like Sony are on very dodgy ground legally to me.

 

[StuPC]

I was going to put this in a tech forum but this is more important than mere nerdyism and could fuck up your listening pleasure if your not careful........

If you like to be able to make MP3s from audio CDs then be sure to turn off AUTORUN of any CD/DVD devices on your PC.

Why?.....

Sony have been producing audio CDs that secretly install their own Digital Rights Management sofware (DRM) onto your PC when you pop it into your CD/DVD drive. It takes advantage of the AUTORUN facility to silently install this thing that keeps tabs on all your music CDs and enforces their antipiracy policies. The method used to install it is pretty much the same kind of trick a virus would use to get into your system.

So in other words, you dont get a chance to say "No" to it, it just happens without your permision.

And worse still, if you simply delete the unwanted Sony files you could even lose access to your CD drive.

w a n k e r s

Here's how Sony were found out:
http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2005/10/sony-rootkits-and-digital-rights.html

And here's some of the press reaction to it

Washington Post
Slashdot
Enquirer
more

What about if I've once before run a Sony CD on my computer? Am I stuffed forever more now, or does it only work on that CD?

 

[MarkMark]

What about if I've once before run a Sony CD on my computer? Am I stuffed forever more now, or does it only work on that CD?

You can check by creating a text file with notepad and then changing the filename to start with "$sys$".If it vanishes from view then you've had the Sony treatment (good luck with removing it.. !!) Apparently all this Sony DRM stuff hides itself using a $sys$ prefix.

Hopefully, this isn't too widespread yet.. but for now, if you're still clean just turn that autorun thing off and you should be ok.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

I wonder what the legal situation about this is? Is sounds like Sony are on very dodgy ground legally to me.

Sounds like it would be illegal under the Computer Misuse Act in this country - "unauthorised modification of computer material". Though I expect their lawyers would make some argument that there was something in the small print that meant you'd given authorisation.

 

[Larry O'Hara]

Fascinating bit of detective work!

 

[MarkMark]

"Beware Sony of CDs"?

and now they're screwing with our thread titles too!

e x t r a w a n k e r s

 

[Flavour]

how do i turn off autorun then?

 

[MarkMark]

Find your CD or DVD drive in my computer, rightclick properties
Select Autoplay Tab
"Take no action" for music CDs
(and possibly for all other types too)

sorted!

 

[Old Gammy Leg]

Mikko Hypponen, F-Secure's director of antivirus research, said hackers could easily take advantage of Sony's software to hide their own files, even from antivirus software. An attacker would only have to make sure that their file starts with "$sys$", the convention the antipiracy program uses to hide its own files

What utter, utter cunts I hope this gets really widely publicised and someone tries to sue them.

It's a shame cos Sony do make really nice hardware. I promised never to buy a Sony product again after the abomination that was Sonicstage - the software to transfer songs onto minidisc. Absolutely the most appalling piece of crap I have used in my entire life.

Stuff like this just makes me even more determined never to buy anything from these wankers.

 

[zog]

I've found a way round it.

Just use soulseek and cut out all that messing around with disks

 

[mhendo]

Sony sued over copy-protected CDs

 

[Rodders]

Sony sued over copy-protected CDs

good. fucking fucking wankers.

mind you, you buy celine dion, you deserve what you get.

 

[Teepee]

It's nice to see the EFF are getting involved.

 

[Wintermute]

The method used to install it is pretty much the same kind of trick a virus would use to get into your system.

It's exactly the same. It's a rootkit. Sony, you're no better than those cunts who release CoolWebSearch. You bunch of utter, utter cunts

 

[silentNate]

Find your CD or DVD drive in my computer, rightclick properties
Select Autoplay Tab
"Take no action" for music CDs
(and possibly for all other types too)

sorted!

Job done
Any idea how long they have been doing this?

 

[magneze]

Virus writers have begun taking advantage of Sony-BMG's use of rootkit technology in DRM software bundled with its music CDs.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/11/10/sony_drm_trojan/

Big problems for Sony, I think...

 

[Flashman]

Find your CD or DVD drive in my computer, rightclick properties
Select Autoplay Tab
"Take no action" for music CDs
(and possibly for all other types too)

sorted!

Seems a shame to disable it just for Sony. Won't holding the shift key work just as well? As long as you remember to do it every time of course.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

I was going to put this in a tech forum but this is more important than mere nerdyism

Nice insult, how the fuck do you think you "non nerds" even know about this?

 

[MarkMark]

Seems a shame to disable it just for Sony. Won't holding the shift key work just as well? As long as you remember to do it every time of course.

Thats just the problem though... I've got a memory like a seive

 

[MarkMark]

Nice insult, how the fuck do you think you "non nerds" even know about this?

Non nerds don't go in the nerd forums.

Neo nerds sometimes do. Or NU-NERD as it's known in the clubs.

 

[magneze]

Non nerds don't go in the nerd forums.

Neo nerds sometimes do. Or New-nerd as it's known in the clubs.

Isn't it "nu-nerd"?

*ducks*

 

[MarkMark]

thats what I said

 

[silentNate]

Non nerds don't go in the nerd forums.

Neo nerds sometimes do. Or NU-NERD as it's known in the clubs.

Bollocks- as a thick fuck I often go to the Tech forums as couldn't get anything to work without a crack team of Tech Urbanites

 

[magneze]

thats what I said

The edit history betrays you!

 

[MarkMark]