New Sony CD's install rootkit Options

[*mipadi*]

Well, this isn't kosher:

Mark Russinovich, of SysInternals.com, has discovered a so-called "rootkit" which is installed by Sony's new digital rights management-protected music compact disks (CDs). A rootkit is a common name for malicious software that is used by hackers or criminals to gain access to a computer system and be able to clandestinely run other malicious code. Rootkits frequently contain hidden and hard to remove files and are designed to be difficult for the user to remove.

Russinovich classifies Son'y malware as a rootkit because it introduce several serious security holes, one of which is intended to be exploited to hide files and prevent the user from removing them. In particular, all executable files which begin with '$sys$' are hidden when the software is installed. He points out that these security holes could be exploited by hackers, or other malware producers besides Sony.

Russinovich explains that naively removing the files will result in a crippling of the operating system on the user's computer. He provides an explination of the difficult step required to remove Sony's malware.

Playing the same CDs under Linux or on a non-computer based CD player remains safe. As removing Sony's malware may violate the DMCA, ripping the CDs under Linux may be the best legal option for those who wish to listen to them under Windows.

The software is automatically installed when a Sony CD is played on a computer, and is not mentioned in their EULA. The rootkit appears to have been commercially developed by First 4 Internet and lisenced to Sony.

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[*tweeak*]

I have about 2 gbs of music I got off my cds...but about a third of those I got from James, so they're not exactly legal. A few I paid for the downloads...the rest I got off mp3 blogs. So I'd say about 200 of my 1200 are legal. I mean, I would attempt to pay for it, but it's just ridiculous at this point. They over charge and then skrew up your computer. Yeah, great.