Another reason to play vinyl (CDR)
DOR
Two Ron Toe 9,905 Posts
I know I know.. "Use something other than M$..." Which I do, but prefer M$.
Anyways.. Make sure you disable autoplay on ur puter.
Just the fact that this is Sony and where it could head is kinda scary.
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2005/11/01/sony_hidden_malware/
Sony installs hidden malware on your machine
An enterprising tech writer has discovered a bundle of info about the DRM that Sony installs on your PC with the new Van Zant CD.
The information is disassembled, literally, here .
The nutshell is this: Sony releases the new Van Zant CD. On the computer, it only plays within its own executable, not via Windows Media Player or any other software. You are allowed to burn three copies of the CD, and then it's done with.
Well, it appears that, to enforce this DRM, Sony are installing device drivers, DLLs and registry hacks, then running a Rootkit process to mask their installation. If you attempt to uninstall the playing software, the device drivers are left installed, and are left active. Trying to delete the drivers manually - providing you can even find them - can leave your PC crippled. The code is programmed so badly, you can be losing 1-2% of your CPU time even when the CD isn't in the drive, as the DRM software is searching your machine to check nothing is going on that it should know about.
This technique of masking files and folders to prevent detection is commonly used by malware and spyware to prevent uninstallation. Only by using a RKT detector can you see the processes running and from there, it's an incredibly complicated process to break down the inbuilt protections in the software. The author of the article linked spends a lot of time disassembling hex entries and C code to try and get to the bottom of what on earth the Sony code is doing. It's an enlightening read in to how this stuff gets cracked. Here's a quick quote:
"I deleted the entry, but got an access-denied error. Those keys have security permissions that only allow the Local System account to modify them, so I relaunched Regedit in the Local System account using PsExec: psexec ???s ???i ???d regedit.exe. I retried the delete, succeeded, and searched for $sys$ again. Next I found an entry configuring another one of the drivers, Cor.sys (internally named Corvus), as an upper filter for the IDE channel device and also deleted it. I rebooted and my CD was back."
All in all, if you care about digital rights mis-management, this article is a great read. Go take a look, then tell us what you think about the whole shenanigans in this thread in the News Forum.
Anyways.. Make sure you disable autoplay on ur puter.
Just the fact that this is Sony and where it could head is kinda scary.
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2005/11/01/sony_hidden_malware/
Sony installs hidden malware on your machine
An enterprising tech writer has discovered a bundle of info about the DRM that Sony installs on your PC with the new Van Zant CD.
The information is disassembled, literally, here .
The nutshell is this: Sony releases the new Van Zant CD. On the computer, it only plays within its own executable, not via Windows Media Player or any other software. You are allowed to burn three copies of the CD, and then it's done with.
Well, it appears that, to enforce this DRM, Sony are installing device drivers, DLLs and registry hacks, then running a Rootkit process to mask their installation. If you attempt to uninstall the playing software, the device drivers are left installed, and are left active. Trying to delete the drivers manually - providing you can even find them - can leave your PC crippled. The code is programmed so badly, you can be losing 1-2% of your CPU time even when the CD isn't in the drive, as the DRM software is searching your machine to check nothing is going on that it should know about.
This technique of masking files and folders to prevent detection is commonly used by malware and spyware to prevent uninstallation. Only by using a RKT detector can you see the processes running and from there, it's an incredibly complicated process to break down the inbuilt protections in the software. The author of the article linked spends a lot of time disassembling hex entries and C code to try and get to the bottom of what on earth the Sony code is doing. It's an enlightening read in to how this stuff gets cracked. Here's a quick quote:
"I deleted the entry, but got an access-denied error. Those keys have security permissions that only allow the Local System account to modify them, so I relaunched Regedit in the Local System account using PsExec: psexec ???s ???i ???d regedit.exe. I retried the delete, succeeded, and searched for $sys$ again. Next I found an entry configuring another one of the drivers, Cor.sys (internally named Corvus), as an upper filter for the IDE channel device and also deleted it. I rebooted and my CD was back."
All in all, if you care about digital rights mis-management, this article is a great read. Go take a look, then tell us what you think about the whole shenanigans in this thread in the News Forum.
Comments
I (apprehensively) allowed the Amerie CD to install this shit on my work PC last week
I can't remember what happened after but I didn't even end up being able to listen to the CD anyway
So there's no way to remove this shit without intensive programming skills???
There's a bunch of little notes next to the FBI warning on the back of the case
It directs you here for details
It brings up this menu when you put the disc in your PC and will ask you to let it install this software
I don't think it asks if you have autoplay on. And no where does it tell you any of the stuff it really does...
another reason to get a mac
This is the logo you should see on a cd without copy protection, If a audio cd is tampered with in any way that you can't play it on your pc or in your car it doesn't get this logo.
So if you just look at the cover and you don't see this baby just don't buy it.
Correct me if I'm wrong
more info
here
Like I said, the one I have has plenty of warnings on the outside of the case...
I'm VERY uncomfortable having this shit on my work PC (apparantly it even makes you vulnerable to attack by trojans etc) and the fix above was too involved for my puny brain...
http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2005/10/sony-rootkits-and-digital-rights.html
http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2005/10/drm_crippled_cd.html
Consider this the perfect oppurtunity to switch to Linux and join the family of open source comrades who work in solidarity. You can use your command prompt to get that shit out of your run folder through Registry Edit:
Command Prompt: Start/Run/ [type] "regedit"
-- go to --
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun
KILL
THAT
SHIT
[/b]
(If it doesn't work. Just give it a few months. Someone will write a hack.)
If your not interested in learning new platforms, buy a Class A (aka, "Professional Studio") CD Burner/Player -- the HHB Burn-It, for example -- and it's damn near as simple as hitting the "Ignore Copyright" button. (Money talks.) This thing is like $800. But, I've bought one burner and 3 computers, so that should tell you which lasts longer. (Bullshit walks.) It's just a computer. It's just a CD.
They keep making protections
And we keep hacking them
FUCK YOU SONY
TRY AGAIN[/b]
I'm reminded of a few moments in this nation's great history, and the power structure's reaction to those moments:
* Sheet Music: The rich said, "Now peasants will know how to play!"
* The phonograph: The wealthy said, "No one will go to the opera."
* The cassette tape: The business monopoly said, "People will stop paying for music!"
I back up all my CDs on punchcard anyway...
Thanks loads Bam, I was hoping you'd help me out here...
I wonder if I can still use a stereo-system double burner to dub this thing? (Some of what I read indicates that its designed to be recognized as a CD-ROM so maybe not...)
They still have left some crap in there.. Read the other link.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sony says sorry... Well not really. But they give you a fix!
http://cp.sonybmg.com/xcp/english/updates.html
Some more info here
http://www.boingboing.net/2005/11/03/sony_releases_deroot.html