Why Your Computer Is Broken
XCF, a new computer virus (technically a “trojan”) was found recently. Once encountered, it installs a rootkit on your Windows computer. It makes your computer much more hackable. It is very difficult to remove, and trying to do so can completely break your computer.
Antivirus companies are unconcerned - your antivirus software will not remove XCF. Microsoft, also, is taking no steps to allow people to remove it.
If you or I wrote this piece of software and installed XCF on computers, we'd probably be arrested. But that's not going to happen. Because it's Sony's, and it does exactly what Sony wants it to do.
Sony BMG Music Entertainment distributed a copy-protection scheme with music CDs that secretly installed a rootkit on computers. This software tool is run without your knowledge or consent -- if it's loaded on your computer with a CD, a hacker can gain and maintain access to your system and you wouldn't know it.
A couple of years ago I put an advance copy of Liz Phair's shitty new album in my computer to rip it. A window popped up, telling me to click “OK” to update my computer. As soon as I did, I started kicking myself. Sure enough, not only would it not rip, CDex completely stopped working for any CD. It's one of the reasons I bought a new computer, actually. I think this is what happened to it.
Antivirus companies are unconcerned - your antivirus software will not remove XCF. Microsoft, also, is taking no steps to allow people to remove it.
If you or I wrote this piece of software and installed XCF on computers, we'd probably be arrested. But that's not going to happen. Because it's Sony's, and it does exactly what Sony wants it to do.
Sony BMG Music Entertainment distributed a copy-protection scheme with music CDs that secretly installed a rootkit on computers. This software tool is run without your knowledge or consent -- if it's loaded on your computer with a CD, a hacker can gain and maintain access to your system and you wouldn't know it.
A couple of years ago I put an advance copy of Liz Phair's shitty new album in my computer to rip it. A window popped up, telling me to click “OK” to update my computer. As soon as I did, I started kicking myself. Sure enough, not only would it not rip, CDex completely stopped working for any CD. It's one of the reasons I bought a new computer, actually. I think this is what happened to it.