There’s a very interesting story that has been circulating on the web for the last few days regarding some software that is being installed on people’s computers by a copy-protected music CD from Sony BMG music.
This particular music CD uses copy-protection technology to limit the number of copies that can be made of the CD in an effort to make it more difficult for people to copy the music and distribute it to others.
That in itself is not a bad thing. I believe content producers have every right to protect their content from illegal distribution. I also believe ‘ just as strongly ‘ that the methods used to protect content must be reasonable and not intrusive or harmful to a customer’s personal property.
This, unfortunately, is where Sony crossed the line.
First, I would like to make it known that Sony has always been my manufacturer of choice for consumer electronics. I have owned numerous Sony consumer electronic products through the years and can’t think of a single product I have not been happy with. Currently, I own a Sony VCR, CD player and digital camera and I am very satisfied with all three products.
I can also remember my Dad owning Sony products going back many years, starting with a reel-to-reel tape deck that he purchased when I was a kid. If memory serves, it was a model TC-630 and it gave my Dad many years of good service. As you can see, being a Sony fan runs in my family!
I’m never happy to hear about incidents of bad behavior on the part of companies or organizations I have always held in high regard. As a result, I am quite disappointed to hear this news regarding Sony.
It all started when a gentleman by the name of Mark Russinovich was testing some of his software. You need to understand that Mark is what you might call a computer expert. He’s the kind of guy that is able to dig deeply down into the dark recesses of a computer operating system like Windows XP and actually make sense out of it!
Utilizing his extensive knowledge, he dedicates a lot of his time to creating useful programs that are freely available for download by just about anyone who would like to use them. In other words, he’s one of the good guys (***).
Recently, Mark has been working on a program called RookKitRevealer or RKR for short. It was during his testing of RKR that Mark discovered a little problem that had invaded his computer, courtesy of Sony BMG music.
Before we go any further, you may want to read the article I posted just previous to this one. It will help you understand what a ‘root kit’ actually is.
Using root kit techniques to hide the presence of software that is installed for the purposes of protecting music on a CD is stepping way over the line on Sony’s part.
Also consider the fact that the presence of this software could also make it easier for creators of other malicious software to hide their programs from the computer’s owner by using names for their programs that will automatically be hidden as a result of the root kit-style modifications made simply by using this copy-protected music CD from Sony BMG.
As Mark pointed out, nowhere in the EULA (‘End User License Agreement’) does it reveal their use of this sneaky technique. They are making potentially harmful modifications to customer’s computers and then taking extraordinary lengths to hide these modifications from the customer!
What Sony, or their foolhardy partner who actually created the sneaky technique in question do not seem to realize is that there are people like Mark Russinovich out there who have the ability to uncover their dirty work and shine the harsh light of daylight on it for all to see.
From what I understand, news of this dirty little trick perpetrated by Sony BMG and their partner in crime is circulating on the Internet like wildfire, and it sure isn’t going to do much good for Sony’s image.
I sincerely hope they learn a valuable lesson from this incident and that Sony BMG decides to fire whatever idiot it was that decided that using rotten tricks like this was a good idea.
How they imagined they would get away with this is beyond me. With literally millions of copies of Microsoft Windows in the world and no shortage of people who really understand how these systems work, it was just a matter of time before some clever techie uncovered this.
Sony is surely sporting a well-earned black eye as a result of this incident, and it certainly has taken my opinion of them down a few notches. It’s clearly time for them to do the right thing by apologizing for this, disassociating themselves with the company that actually came up with this scheme, and promising to never use these tactics again.
Apparently Sony has already made a program available to remove these root kit-style modifications from computers that have been infected (yes, I am using that term quite intentionally!). This is a good first step, but I think more needs to be done.
Allowing purchasers of CDs using these root kit techniques to return them for a refund or exchange would also not be a bad idea. I hope Sony has the sense to do the right thing.
If you care to read Mark’s full account of this incident and how he discovered this you can click here. Be warned however, that much of the language is very technical and may be a hard read for those that are not technically inclined.
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