Sony CDs

[surrealist]

Sony BMG Hacking Into CD Buyers' Computers

New digital rights management (search) technology shipping on music CDs by Sony Corp. of America/Bertelsmann AG artists employs stealthy, rootkit-style techniques to hide from users, according to a security expert.

The new technology, which Sony has dubbed "sterile burning," manipulates the Windows core processing center, or "kernel," to make the DRM almost totally undetectable on Windows systems.

These DRM files are almost impossible to remove without fouling Windows systems and could be used by malicious hackers to hide their own programs, according to Mark Russinovich (search), chief software architect at Winternals Software Inc., (search) a company that makes administrative software tools.

Who still wants BluRay?

[McLean78]

Wait, so the music CDs install software onto your PC?

I knew that all the next gen disk formats were looking for ways to use DRM, but I didn't know it was this bad. That sucks.

[surrealist]

Are you not afraid of what Sony will put in BluRay?

Sony is still refusing to remove the said malware, instead offering to reveal the malware files on your PC instead.

Now imagine the kind of stuff Sony will put in BR-ROM discs.. monitoring software to watch what you play and watch.

[Raz]

Well, this is just something what should never, ever happen.

[McLean78]

Originally Posted by surrealist

Are you not afraid of what Sony will put in BluRay?

... monitoring software to watch what you play and watch.

Yeah, and isn't that one of the reasons so many film studios are siding with Blu-ray? I think we're going to end up seeing crap like this in whatever disk format gains mainstream acceptance next.

Is there any avoiding it? I guess at least with current stand-alone CD and DVD players they can't install any of their own software.

[myawela]

I went to pop the new Foo Fighters CD in my laptop the other day and all the stuff about installing software came up so I hit the X in the corner of the window and it ejected my disc. Bastards. What, I can't rip a CD that I've purchased so that I can put it on a MP3 disc that I take on the road with me without having to install crappy software? Pure garbage, if you don't accept the software install it just ejects.

You can, however, hold shift after inserting the disc and that screen never comes up so copying the disc is still possible without any real bother, doesn't really help me with what I'm trying to do though.

[cmptrnrd16]

If they are going to do stuff like that, I will steal the music and send a check in the mail to the artists home. That or just go to their conecerts.