Sony BMG Sucks! Avoid their DRM
This heartfelt and most sincere message is for the managers, administration and board of directors of Sony BMG Music Entertainment...
YOU
BASTARDS!!!
That just about sums up my feelings for the low life, scum sucking, bottom feeding, sons of bitches (with apologies to bitches everywhere) at Sony that made a conscious decision to infect Windows and Mac machines everywhere with their Digital Rights Management (DRM) virus. Using coding techniques and windows hacks more commonly found in spyware, trojans and viruses their newest music CDs are loaded with DRM software disguised as a media player. Oh by the way, it auto loads when you put the CD in the drive.
If you decide you don't like it there's no easy way to remove it. Simply finding the files and drivers alone is a good trick. Even if you do find them, removing them will disable your CD drive without some careful surgery on the registry. Last I heard the Windows XP registry is big medicine, not for mere mortals to tamper with.
Now here's the kicker: You give them permission to do it when you click okay on the EULA acceptance screen.
I cannot speak intelligently on how it does what it does. Mark Russinovich of sysinternals.com does an outstanding job of explaining in great detail what it does. He also goes into what an incredible pain in the ass it is to locate and remove this rootkit while restoring your system back to normal. Check his blog entries out:
Sony, Rootkits and Digital Rights Management Gone Too Far
More on Sony: Dangerous Decloaking Patch, EULAs and Phoning Home
Sony’s Rootkit: First 4 Internet Responds
Writers for The Electronic Freedom Foundation has a few thoughts on the matter as well:
Uproot Sony-BMG's Invasion of Your Privacy and Your Computer (Nov. 3, 2005)
Are You Infected by Sony-BMG's Rootkit? (Nov. 9, 2005) This article has a partial list of infected CDs
Now the Legalese Rootkit: Sony-BMG's EULA (Nov. 9, 2005)
A very pissed off Molly Wood wrote this piece in CNet: DRM this, Sony!
Last but not least, Reuters just posted this piece, " Microsoft to remove Sony BMG malware," indicating that even Microsoft is uncomfortable with Sony's DRM virus and planning a removal tool.
As for me, I guess it's time to disable the auto-run function on all my CD drives and DVD drives.
But I will not stand by quietly while this abortion of a business practice still remains. To quote my favorite rabbit, "Of course you know, this means war." The United States Supreme Court specifically ruled in Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc. that the fair use provision of the Copyright Act of 1976 (17 U.S.C. § 107) allows me to make copies for my personal use. (Ironic that Sony set the precedent here, isn't it?)
Any publisher that releases encrypted, copy guarded or otherwise crippled media that keeps me from exercising my rights under the fair use provisions of the U.S. Copyright laws has broken their side of the bargain. As far as I'm concerned from that moment on it's in the public domain and it's open season. Those of you that know me know I don't down load music, movies, etc. However, if this continues I swear on all those crippled machines that I will become the biggest pirate the industry has ever known.
I really hate Sony right now. Hey Sony, see if you bastards get anymore of my broadcast equipment business.
Feel free to pass this post along to anyone you think would benefit from it. Perhaps this should be considered a virus warning.
Mrs. Whack, have you got a copy of the latest P2P software you can give me?
YOU
BASTARDS!!!
That just about sums up my feelings for the low life, scum sucking, bottom feeding, sons of bitches (with apologies to bitches everywhere) at Sony that made a conscious decision to infect Windows and Mac machines everywhere with their Digital Rights Management (DRM) virus. Using coding techniques and windows hacks more commonly found in spyware, trojans and viruses their newest music CDs are loaded with DRM software disguised as a media player. Oh by the way, it auto loads when you put the CD in the drive.
If you decide you don't like it there's no easy way to remove it. Simply finding the files and drivers alone is a good trick. Even if you do find them, removing them will disable your CD drive without some careful surgery on the registry. Last I heard the Windows XP registry is big medicine, not for mere mortals to tamper with.
Now here's the kicker: You give them permission to do it when you click okay on the EULA acceptance screen.
I cannot speak intelligently on how it does what it does. Mark Russinovich of sysinternals.com does an outstanding job of explaining in great detail what it does. He also goes into what an incredible pain in the ass it is to locate and remove this rootkit while restoring your system back to normal. Check his blog entries out:
Sony, Rootkits and Digital Rights Management Gone Too Far
More on Sony: Dangerous Decloaking Patch, EULAs and Phoning Home
Sony’s Rootkit: First 4 Internet Responds
Writers for The Electronic Freedom Foundation has a few thoughts on the matter as well:
Uproot Sony-BMG's Invasion of Your Privacy and Your Computer (Nov. 3, 2005)
Are You Infected by Sony-BMG's Rootkit? (Nov. 9, 2005) This article has a partial list of infected CDs
Now the Legalese Rootkit: Sony-BMG's EULA (Nov. 9, 2005)
A very pissed off Molly Wood wrote this piece in CNet: DRM this, Sony!
Last but not least, Reuters just posted this piece, " Microsoft to remove Sony BMG malware," indicating that even Microsoft is uncomfortable with Sony's DRM virus and planning a removal tool.
As for me, I guess it's time to disable the auto-run function on all my CD drives and DVD drives.
But I will not stand by quietly while this abortion of a business practice still remains. To quote my favorite rabbit, "Of course you know, this means war." The United States Supreme Court specifically ruled in Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc. that the fair use provision of the Copyright Act of 1976 (17 U.S.C. § 107) allows me to make copies for my personal use. (Ironic that Sony set the precedent here, isn't it?)
Any publisher that releases encrypted, copy guarded or otherwise crippled media that keeps me from exercising my rights under the fair use provisions of the U.S. Copyright laws has broken their side of the bargain. As far as I'm concerned from that moment on it's in the public domain and it's open season. Those of you that know me know I don't down load music, movies, etc. However, if this continues I swear on all those crippled machines that I will become the biggest pirate the industry has ever known.
I really hate Sony right now. Hey Sony, see if you bastards get anymore of my broadcast equipment business.
Feel free to pass this post along to anyone you think would benefit from it. Perhaps this should be considered a virus warning.
Mrs. Whack, have you got a copy of the latest P2P software you can give me?