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[Bulsajo]

Sony Ships Sneaky DRM Software

Music giant uses spyware and virus writers' techniques to prevent unauthorized music copying.

Robert McMillan, IDG News Service
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
SAN FRANCISCO -- Mark Russinovich couldn't understand how the rootkit had sneaked onto his system. An expert on the internals of the Windows operating system, he was careful when it came to computer security and generally had a pretty good idea of what was running on his PC at any given time. And yet the security tool he was using to check his PC was pretty clear: It had found the rootkit cloaking software typically used by virus and spyware writers.

After a bit of detective work, Russinovich eventually tracked down the source: a Sony BMG Music Entertainment CD titled Get Right with the Man, performed by country music duo Donnie and Johnny Van Zant.

It turns out that Sony is using techniques normally seen only in spyware and computer viruses in order to restrict the unauthorized copying of some of its music CDs. Sony's software, licensed by Sony from a Banbury, UK, company called First 4 Internet, has become the basis of a dispute that once again pits computer advocates against an entertainment company experimenting with new ways to prevent the unauthorized copying of its products.

Sony Says Copy Protection

Sony has been using First 4's XCP (Extended Copy Protection) software since early 2005 as a copy protection mechanism for some of its music CDs, according to Sony spokesperson John McKay. He could not say how many of Sony's CDs currently use the XCP software, but he said it is one of two digital rights management products used by the company. The other is SunnComm's MediaMax software, he said.

The XCP software prevents users from making more than three backup copies of any CD, and Sony puts an XCP notification on the back of CDs that use the mechanism, according to Mathew Gilliat-Smith, First 4's chief executive officer.

Although the Van Zant CD software came with an end user license agreement (EULA) informing him that he would be installing software that would reside on his PC until removed, Russinovich, who works as chief software architect with systems software company Winternals Software, said he never expected to be installing a product that would then prove to be virtually undetectable and extremely difficult to remove.

Sony's McKay believes that the disclosures in the license agreement are adequate. "I think the EULA's pretty clear about what it is," he said. "The reason why consumers have really high acceptance levels of these content-protected discs is because they have the functionality that people want."

The First 4 software does nothing malicious and can be uninstalled, should the user want to remove it, McKay said.

That uninstall process is not exactly straightforward, however, and cannot be done through the Add or Remove Programs utility in the Windows control panel. When asked for instructions on how to uninstall the software, McKay directed the IDG News Service to a section of the Sonybmg.com Web site where users could ask Sony customer support for uninstall directions.

Who Controls Your PC?

Although many computer users may not care much about the finer points of EULAs, people like Russinovich say Sony's software calls a more important issue into question: Who gets to have control over your computer?

"When something like this installs and doesn't advertise itself, you've lost control of your own computer," he said. "And the EULA description that they've presented doesn't let you make an educated decision about whether you'd want this installed or not."

Ironically, the invasiveness of the XCP software punishes users who pay for their music, said Fred von Lohmann, staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights advocacy organization based in San Francisco. "They are installing software in a way that makes it very difficult for you to know what was installed and makes it very difficult to uninstall it. And, worst of all, the software is not very well written," he said. "I think most computer users will find that to be very outrageous."

Lawyers might also be interested in the software, von Lohmann said. The EFF attorney said a lawsuit was conceivable. "Sony is using a piece of your computer in a way that you didn't expect or authorize," he said. "Depending on how clearly this was disclosed, some consumers may be able to make an argument that this is actually an unauthorized intrusion," he said. "It's not beyond the realm of possibility that Sony BMG could be liable for this."

In 2001 the other provider of Sony copy protection software, SunnComm, was involved in a lawsuit that alleged that the company's software, which was then being used by Music City Records, did not adequately notify consumers of its capabilities.

Changes

In the long term, Sony appears to be moving away from the techniques that have incensed Russinovich.

First 4's Mathew Gilliat-Smith said his company has spent the last month developing a new version of the XCP software that does not use the controversial rootkit techniques. "We won't use the same methodology that makes the software hidden in the way that people are concerned about," he said.

Neither Gilliat-Smith nor Sony's McKay could say when this new software would begin appearing in Sony's products or how many existing titles were shipping with the XCP software.

"This is a legitimate technology that we've been charged to produce," Gilliat-Smith said. "People who aren't comfortable with the technology can apply to have the software removed."


http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,123362,00.asp

[Wrench]

don't buy a sony.

[ejmlab]

Intellectual Property Rights Holder + Media Hardware Manufacturer = oil + water

[Gord]

In Japan, Sony started using copy-protected CDs years ago, but stopped last year when the media started asking how people were expected to be able to use their MP3 players with their Sony music CDs.

[Bulsajo]

[Bulsajo]

[mack the knife]

Sony is ass. I bought one of their nifty Atrac3 CD players, which works fine [most of the time], but the software CD bundled with it sucked so incredibly I simply zinged it out the window one day and sliced the bad hairdo off some metrosexual high school dips**t, who will thank me later.

[Bulsajo]

A critique (okay, it's really a rant, but an important and well-written one) of Sony's position:

"So, if you are dumb enough to buy a Sony CD, and don't want to rootkit your machine, you can't find out beforehand, have to agree to a one sided contract that you can't read before you say yes, and can't get your money back. Wonderful, thank you Sony."

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=27426

"...the blue shirted aisle trolls had no idea what I was talking about..."
excellent description.

(Best Buy and their "Geek Squad" get the rolly-eyes of scorn...
)

[Bulsajo]

The backlash is growing:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/02/AR2005110202362.html

iPod users take note:

"Users of Apple Inc.'s iPod -- the dominant portable media player on the market -- have no way of transferring tracks from protected Sony CDs to their device, since Apple has not yet licensed its own DRM technology for use with copy-protected discs."

"More happy news? These merchants are designing the next generation drives called Blu-Ray with much more DRM built into the hardware. It is bad enough to make me back the views of Bill Gates on the subject with absolute open arms. These are scary times people, and if we let Sony get away with this now, it will only get worse and harder to stop later."

[Bulsajo]

To fully understand the ramifications of this you'll want to look at Sony's music catalogue:

http://www.sonymusic.com/artists/all.html

Here's a(n extremely) partial list to give you an idea:

* AC/DC
* Aerosmith
* Alice In Chains
* The All Time Greatest Movie Songs (Various)
* All-Star Christmas (Various)
* Gregg Allman
* The Allman Brothers Band
* Ally McBeal (Television Soundtrack)
* Amerie
* Tori Amos
* Julie Andrews
* Adam Ant
* Marc Anthony
* Appalachian Journey - Live in Concert (Yo-Yo Ma)
* Fiona Apple
* Armageddon - The Album (Armageddon - The Album)
* Louis Armstrong
* Fred Astaire
* Aswad
* The Ataris
* Chet Atkins
* Audioslave
* Chet Baker
* Josephine Baker
* Bangles
* Count Basie
* Jeff Beck
* Tony Bennett
* Leonard Bernstein
* The Best Of Austin City Limits, II (Various)
* The Best Of Ken Burns Jazz (Various)
* Beyonce
* Big Audio Dynamite
* Big Band instrumentals: 16 Most Requested Songs (Various)
* Big Blues Extravaganza! The Best Of Austin City Limits (Various)
* Big Brother & The Holding Company
* Big Fish - Music from the Motion Picture (Various)
* Bird - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Charlie Parker)
* Elvin Bishop
* The Black Crowes
* Black Sabbath
* Art Blakey
* Blood, Sweat & Tears
* Blue Oyster Cult
* Michael Bolton
* Bone Thugs N Harmony
* The Boomtown Rats
* Bossa Nova - This Is Jazz # 29 (Various)
* Boston
* David Bowie
* The Bridge On The River Kwai (Soundtrack) (Malcolm Arnold)
* Sarah Brightman
* Bring it On (Motion Picture Soundtrack)
* The Dave Brubeck Quartet
* Jeff Buckley
* Budapest String Quartet
* Burning London The Clash Tribute (Various)
* Ken Burns
* Kenny Burrell
* Carter Burwell
* Charlie Byrd & Orchestra
* The Byrds
* CAKE
* John Cale
* Cab Calloway
* Eddie Cantor
* Mariah Carey
* Mary Chapin Carpenter
* Johnny Cash
* Cheap Trick
* Chef Aid: The South Park Album (South Park)
* The Chieftains
* Charlotte Church
* Stanley Clarke
* The Clash
* Jimmy Cliff
* Leonard Cohen
* Ornette Coleman
* Shawn Colvin
* Harry Connick, Jr.
* Alice Cooper
* The Coral
* Chick Corea
* Bing Crosby
* Xavier Cugat
* Cypress Hill
* Billy Ray Cyrus
* Charlie Daniels
* Miles Davis
* Dawson's Creek (Television Soundtrack)
* Doris Day
* John Denver
* Destiny's Child
* Neil Diamond
* Marlene Dietrich
* Celine Dion
* Dixie Chicks
* Placido Domingo
* Donovan
* The Doobie Brothers
* Duran Duran
* Bob Dylan

[SHANE02]

Another reason to not buy cds?

[Bulsajo]

Most of the music I'm buying today isn't readily available off of PtoP: new releases or obscure. Plus I feel the artists I'm buying deserve my money. But certainly now I'll download before buying an album with Sony's rootkit on it.

[hack]

[gaelforce]

Microsoft to remove Sony CD code

Microsoft has designated the Sony XCP copy protection system as spyware and is planning to include detection and removal tools for XCP in its weekly update to its anti-spyware software.

Take that, Sony !!!

Here's the original BBC story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4434852.stm
And this, from the Microsoft Anti-Malware Engineering Team's own blog:
http://blogs.technet.com/antimalware/default.aspx

[blunder1983]

Check out

http://www.userfriendly.org/

Made me chuckle, mondays one is about Sony too but not as funny.