Don't Play Sony CD's On Your Computers!

[Janie DP]

This is NOT a HOAX. Please be very careful what CD's you listen to or upload onto your computers because Sony BMG has stealthily incorporated a rootkit type device that unknown to you installs malicious type malware or spyware onto your hard drive. This was an attempt by them to prevent people from copying their music onto their hard drives. This is so completely out of order and apparently totally illegal! Sony are in major shit with this! [img]mad.gif[/img] I hope they are made bankrupt! Thanks to Maggz for this information.

Ignore these articles are your own peril:
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&l...71866%26GRP%3DD

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&l...39236971,00.htm

Known CD's which have this software so far:
http://slashdot.org/~xtracto/journal/121088

List of the cd's known to have it on:

http://magic-city-news.com/article_4918.shtml

Sony are refusing to release the names of the titles of the albums with this software on but things to look out for are apprently on this site:

http://www.eff.org/IP/DRM/Sony-BMG/

And an article on finding if you are infected with it:

http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/004144.php

http://www.alcei.org/index.php/archi...egory/english/

[twizzle]

WTF! That's so wrong! [img]mad.gif[/img]

I remember Microsoft pulling the same kind of stunt once and they got into a shit load of trouble about it. Let's hope that Sony does too! What a horrible thing to do!

Ta for the heads up. [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]

*edits to add*

Holy shit! I've just clicked on one of those links and I see that Contraband by Velvet Revolver is listed! I hope that your PC wasn't compromised when you played/copied it hun? [img]eek.gif[/img]

btw, I'm gonna post this article up on a few other sites that I frequent b/c I think that it needs to be seen (to be believed!) by Sony consumers!

<font color="#000000" size="1">[ November 14, 2005 06:39 AM: Message edited by: Twizzle ]</font>

[Lainbrain]

Thanks Janie

I posted this on DH when it first came out and I was fully expecting it to get removed but alas it didn't [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

The thing won't do anything to your computer yet. but even MS are covering there bottoms now and making things to remove it so don't worry as long as you haven't tried to take it off. Sony and MS both such!@ They are constently screwing with the consumers.

http://blogs.technet.com/antimalware...12/414299.aspx

<font color="#000000" size="1">[ November 14, 2005 10:28 AM: Message edited by: LainBrain ]</font>

[Janie DP]

Originally posted by Twizzle:
WTF! That's so wrong! [img]mad.gif[/img]

I remember Microsoft pulling the same kind of stunt once and they got into a shit load of trouble about it. Let's hope that Sony does too! What a horrible thing to do!

Ta for the heads up. [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]

*edits to add*

Holy shit! I've just clicked on one of those links and I see that Contraband by Velvet Revolver is listed! I hope that your PC wasn't compromised when you played/copied it hun? [img]eek.gif[/img]

btw, I'm gonna post this article up on a few other sites that I frequent b/c I think that it needs to be seen (to be believed!) by Sony consumers!

<font color="#000000"><font size="1">[ November 14, 2005 06:39 AM: Message edited by: Twizzle ]</font></font>

<font size="3" face="Tempus sans ITC, Papyrus,Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Nothing untoward happened to my computer with the Velvet Revolver cd but it's an imported tour edition so maybe that's why? I checked the case for those markings and couldn't see anything suspicious so it must be OK [img]smile.gif[/img] I've got the TMC album today and it also looks alright but fucking hell what a disgraceful stunt to pull on their poor unsuspecting customers!

Please, anybody, feel free to share this information with anyone as it is of extreme importance to anyone with a computer and who likes playing their cds on it or uploading them to play on WMP or itunes. Thanks for the info Lain, it puts my mind a little bit at rest but I am still going to be very careful from now on until Sony sort this out.

[Lainbrain]

I think the point that most people are really upset about it the double standard Sony are using They are putting what is essentially a virus on your computer (which is very illeagal)and without peoples knowledge just to stop people from sharing music. Sony broke lots of rules even using the program that they did. Sony used part of a program in there program that is free ware and it has a bunch of rules that were suppose to be followed in using it too. Sony just took it and disregared the rules of use.

"This software is licensed under the so called Lesser Gnu Public License (LGPL). According to this license Sony must comply with a couple of demands. Amongst others, they have to indicate in a copyright notice that they make use of the software. The company must also deliver the source code to the open-source libraries or otherwise make these available. And finally, they must deliver or otherwise make available the in between form between source code and executable code, the so called objectfiles, with which others can make comparable software."

And you know all this trouble we have been having to get our songs simply from the cd to our ipods is all cause of this too.

Boycott Sony, I'm afraid what effect this kind of thinking will have on Darrens new Album.
http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0...tml?tw=rss.TOP

[Donna_32]

Thanks for the alert Janie.

That is bang out of order, luckily I very rarely out a CD into my comp but will certainly watch what I'm doing if I should do in the future.

Does this mean that if you get a CD and just try and copy it, then you get all the unwelcome shit on your comp?

[Lainbrain]

I think this apology is about 2 weeks too late. Not good enough. [img]graemlins/thumbs_down.gif[/img]

Sony's Official Apology

<font color="#000000" size="1">[ November 16, 2005 06:41 PM: Message edited by: LainBrain ]</font>

[Janie DP]

Thanks to Elaine for this latest update on the saga with Sony [img]smile.gif[/img]

From the CNN website:

+++++

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands (Reuters) -- Music publisher Sony BMG, yielding to consumer concern, said on Wednesday it was recalling music CDs containing copy-protection software that acts like virus software and hides deep inside a computer.

"We share the concerns of consumers regarding discs with XCP content-protected software, and, for this reason, we are instituting a consumer exchange program and removing all unsold CDs with this software from retail outlets," Sony BMG said in an statement.

The XCP software used by Sony BMG, which was developed by British software developers First4Internet, leaves the back door open for malicious online hackers.

Sony BMG, in a separate statement, also announced it would distribute a program to remove the software from a PC where it jeopardizes security.

"We deeply regret any inconvenience this may cause our customers. Details of this (recall) program will be announced shortly," Sony BMG said.

The withdrawal is set to affect millions of compact discs from artists such as Celine Dion and Sarah McLachlan but Sony did not give exact figures or the names of the artists affected.

Sony reiterated that the copy-protection software only installs itself on personal computers and not on ordinary CD and DVD players.

Microsoft's anti-virus team said on Tuesday it would add a detection and removal mechanism to rid a personal computer of the Sony's DRM copy-protection software.

The software installs itself only on PCs running Microsoft's Windows operating system.

The flaws of the copy-protection software became acute last week, when the first computer viruses emerged that took advantage of the security holes left by the program.

Responding to public outcry over the software, the music publishing venture of Japanese electronics conglomerate Sony Corporation and Germany's Bertelsmann AG had said on Friday it would temporarily suspend the manufacture of music CDs containing XCP technology.

It then provided a patch to make the hidden program more visible. At the time it did not recall the CDs or offer a program to remove it from computers.

The initial measures still left PCs vulnerable, according to software engineers.

The program will have installed itself on a Windows-operated personal computer when consumers wanted to play certain Sony BMG music CDs. The program forces consumers to use a music player that comes with the program.

Sony BMG has positioned itself as a defender of artists' rights. It re-emphasized on Friday that copy-protection software is "an important tool to protect our intellectual property rights and those of our artists."

Sony BMG last week was targeted in a class action lawsuit complaining that it had not disclosed the true nature of its copy-protection software.

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So they bloody well should!