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Author Topic: Van Zant CD taking a beating for containing this Sony Rootkit thing.  (Read 13096 times)

tinyvillager

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Not Van Zant's fault obviously,but hopefully consumer backlash will dictate this out of control DRM crap.

http://www.amazon.co...ing=UTF8&s=music

Carol Haynes

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Re: Van Zant CD taking a beating for containing this Sony Rootkit thing.
« Reply #1 on: November 04, 2005, 05:40 AM »
What would really make a difference would be if big suppliers (like Amazon) refused to stock the item because of the hassle ...


tinyvillager

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Re: Van Zant CD taking a beating for containing this Sony Rootkit thing.
« Reply #2 on: November 04, 2005, 05:48 AM »
I agree.I here of alot of people deciding to boycott Sony.On an the audio aspect this would be easy,plenty of
Artists on different labels,as far as portable players,they're are many great alternatives,you don't even have
to go the iPod route (i own an iPod 20gig,not impressed)but when it comes to video games,the playstation
dominates.I haven't owned a gaming console since Super nintendo so i don't much about games anymore
but i hope Nintendo dominates them.I for one will make the effort to look on the back of Cd's before i purchase.   

Carol Haynes

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Re: Van Zant CD taking a beating for containing this Sony Rootkit thing.
« Reply #3 on: November 04, 2005, 11:25 AM »
And another getting a slating Santana: All that I am

Strange really as it is available on iTunes rather cheaper, has 2 bonus tracks and can be burned to CD !!

The other question which doesn't seem to have been answered is "does this just applying to Windoze users?", or can Linux/MacOS users play without restriction (or not at all) ???

Carol Haynes

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Re: Van Zant CD taking a beating for containing this Sony Rootkit thing.
« Reply #4 on: November 09, 2005, 06:50 AM »
The story goes on ... This in todays Desktop Pipeline Newsletter

Editor's Note: Smarten Up, Sony

Question: You have two pieces of computer code. Both install themselves on your PC without your permission or knowledge. Both hide their files from the operating system so that they can't be detected or removed. Both keep track of what you're doing on your PC. Both transmit the information they collect across the Internet. One was written by an anonymous slacker in either Peoria or Budapest and sold to a fat guy with multinational mob connections. The other was written by First 4 Internet Ltd. in London and sold to Sony BMG Music Entertainment, a multinational corporation.

Which of these pieces of software is malware?

For my money, both of them are.

Sony, for its part, says its "antipiracy" software is no such thing.

Forgive me, but Sony's credibility isn't at an all-time high with me right now -- not after last week's report that CDs from the company install a rootkit on PCs that play the disks. At the time I wondered how stupid could these guys be?. Then this morning The Boston Globe had a story saying the Sony spyware surreptitiously collects data.

I'm having trouble believing even Sony is so stupid they'd use a rootkit to invade the privacy of their own customers, so I'm inclined to accept their denial. I mean, anonymous slackers and fat mob guys don't have too much to lose from public-relations backlashes, but you'd think a company like Sony would have thought it through, wouldn't you?

Well, just wait, it gets worse.

After the rootkit foo hit the fan Sony posted a patch to reveal the files, and a link to contact the company for help in uninstalling the rootkit. But Mark Russinovich, one of the researchers who first revealed the Sony rootkit, told The Globe that the patch doesn't work and can cause data loss.

Sony and Mathew Gilliat-Smith, chief executive of First 4 Internet Ltd., the company that sold the rootkit to Sony, deny that, too.

"In theory there should be no concern," Gilliat-Smith told The Globe.

Yeah, right. I quote Balaban's Law: "In theory, theory and reality are the same thing. In reality, they're different."

My advice to Sony has short-term and long-term components:

In the short term, Sony, like later this afternoon, remove the rootkit from your CDs and offer to replace any copies that escaped into the wild for free. That won't keep the rootkit out of the hands of hackers, but it will perhaps reduce the annoyance felt by the rest of us.

And in the longer term, quit treating your customers like prison inmates. Treat them like customers. There's a solution to this whole CD piracy thing, and it works in a way that is very much in line with your business model: You sell me something.

In particular, you sell me a one-time license to do what I want with the products I buy from you. I'd even agree not engage in activities that materially reduce the market for your products, like distributing an unreasonable number of copies. If you'd figure out how I could do it, I'd be happy to pay a reasonable fee for copies I give to others, perhaps a couple of dollars, something equivalent to the profit you would make on the copy based on the figures you report to the recording artist in royalty statements.


I can hear you screaming, but believe me, I'm making a big compromise here. I don't treat any other company that sells me a product that way. I don't pay Ford a fee when I drive my car, for example.

I realize that computers and the Internet have changed things. But you've got to realize it, too. The quicker you do, the smarter you'll look, and right now, Sony, you could use the help because you're not looking so smart. If you got stuck in a police line-up I couldn't pick you out from the anonymous slackers and fat mob guys.

David DeJean
Editor, Desktop Pipeline
[email protected]
www.DesktopPipeline.com


TheGiant

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Re: Van Zant CD taking a beating for containing this Sony Rootkit thing.
« Reply #5 on: November 09, 2005, 08:47 AM »
Dang Sony, well, there goes my purchasing the Van Zant or Santana CD anytime soon, and I like them too. Ugh. I have something on my PC that can bypass copy protected CDs, but it doesn't always work right, and right now I'm not willing to even try.

Carol Haynes

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Re: Van Zant CD taking a beating for containing this Sony Rootkit thing.
« Reply #6 on: November 09, 2005, 09:29 AM »
Try DVDIdlePro

It disables all the 'shared content' on CDs ... I never want to see any of it anyway even when it isn't the Rootkit rubbish.

It also repairs 'damaged' directories and file layouts.

Works fine for me

Carol Haynes

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Re: Van Zant CD taking a beating for containing this Sony Rootkit thing.
« Reply #7 on: November 15, 2005, 06:32 PM »
Latest update ... http://www.desktoppipeline.com/173602402

By the way the news today had Sony in trouble in the UK again (not sure about the rest of the world).

Apparently they are being taken to court by a group of UK Internet retailers because they now have a policy of charging internet retailers more for their goods than high street sellers to try and combat the lower web based prices. Web retailers are retaliating by taking charging them with unfair trading practices.

I think the "Boycott Sony" campaign has a lot of life in it - and Sony have really lost credibility big time !!!

f0dder

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Re: Van Zant CD taking a beating for containing this Sony Rootkit thing.
« Reply #8 on: November 15, 2005, 07:52 PM »
First, turn off "autplay" and "cd change insert notification" (or what it's exactly called) - that'll keep you from getting your PC dirty without knowing. If you want to exercise your rights in copying these protected CDs, the best solution is probably a plextor drive and plextools professional - that combination is capable of some tricks.

Next, when shopping for CDs, make sure they have the Philips CD logo - if a CD doesn't have the logo, it's a pretty good indication it's using one of those lame protections.

Cross-forum information thread: http://win.asmcommun...ex.php?topic=22275.0
- carpe noctem

Carol Haynes

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CAPITULATION: Sony Rootkit thing.
« Reply #9 on: November 29, 2005, 10:14 AM »
Final outcome of this :

Sony Capitulates: see http://www.sysinternals.com/Blog/

The direct link to the Sony "explanation" is here

Check if you have any of the affected CDs here to get an unprotected replacement.

2 million coasters - someone must sure like their coffee (couldn't happen to nicer guys)  :D
« Last Edit: November 29, 2005, 10:22 AM by CarolHaynes »

f0dder

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Re: Van Zant CD taking a beating for containing this Sony Rootkit thing.
« Reply #10 on: November 29, 2005, 10:25 AM »
Nice!

But as Mark says, it's not a complete victory...
- carpe noctem

mouser

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Re: Van Zant CD taking a beating for containing this Sony Rootkit thing.
« Reply #11 on: November 30, 2005, 01:17 PM »
nice mainstream article on the issue:
http://www.businessw...c20051129_938966.htm

Mark0

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Re: Van Zant CD taking a beating for containing this Sony Rootkit thing.
« Reply #12 on: December 01, 2005, 06:39 AM »
Link: Washingtonpost.com - Security Fix - Brian Krebs on Computer Security

Mark Russinovich of Sysinternals will be joining the legal team led by New York attorney Scott Kamber, who filed a lawsuit earlier this month against Sony BMG and First4Internet, the British company that produced the anti-piracy software. (This may be nothing, but First4Internet's Web site is looking rather Spartan at the moment.)

Russinovich said he opted to join the suit because he "wanted to make sure that a message was sent loud and clear to Sony and hopefully to the rest of the industry. And if a technical expert is required to back up the suit, then that’s what I’m willing to do to make sure that message gets driven home."

Bye!

Carol Haynes

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Re: Van Zant CD taking a beating for containing this Sony Rootkit thing.
« Reply #13 on: December 02, 2005, 11:35 AM »
Two further things to read ---

Mark Russinovich's latest Blog ... here

and a fun cartoon if you don't want to read more Sony vilification

f0dder

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Re: Van Zant CD taking a beating for containing this Sony Rootkit thing.
« Reply #14 on: December 03, 2005, 12:54 PM »
Nice, Mark0! :D
- carpe noctem

Mark0

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Re: Van Zant CD taking a beating for containing this Sony Rootkit thing.
« Reply #15 on: December 03, 2005, 01:00 PM »
Even better:

Sony Caught Using "Fake" Graffiti to Promote PSP

Reports on the interwebs indicate that Sony or its ad agency has paid graffiti artists to spray paint images of little kids playing with PSPs in at least five U.S. cities: Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

Real graffiti artists reacted "fixing" the drawings:



:D :D

Bye!

Mark0

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Re: Van Zant CD taking a beating for containing this Sony Rootkit thing.
« Reply #16 on: December 07, 2005, 05:48 AM »
It seems that Sony appears more stupid every day:

As seen on Digg: CNET News.com - New Sony CD security risk found
The danger is associated with copy-protection software included on some Sony discs created by a company called SunnComm Technologies. The vulnerability could allow malicious programmers to gain control of computers that have run the software, which is typically installed automatically when a disc is put in a computer's CD drive.
Note that this issue affect others CD than those involved in the last stories!

Bye!

f0dder

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Re: Van Zant CD taking a beating for containing this Sony Rootkit thing.
« Reply #17 on: December 07, 2005, 08:32 AM »
:up: for greedy corporations  :-*
- carpe noctem

Carol Haynes

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Re: Van Zant CD taking a beating for containing this Sony Rootkit thing.
« Reply #18 on: December 07, 2005, 11:55 AM »
Even more hilarious - their uninstaller had a security issue too ...

#4.  If I have previously uninstalled the SunnComm MediaMax software from my computer, is my computer at risk?
We have been alerted that the tools provided to uninstall the SunnComm MediaMax content protection software provided prior to October 5th, 2005, can result in a potential security risk. If you have uninstalled your SunnComm MediaMax software prior to that date, we recommend that you run the new uninstaller software available here or follow the instructions below.

(see FAQ page on link quoted above)