Sony installing rootkits in the name of copy protection!!

[Neomega]

http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/

So is sony installing rootkit viruses? No, but a virus write could easily exploit their rootkit, to install and hide their own viruses or adware.

This is bad news for us in the AV industry... and frankly, Sony has just really pissed me off with their irresponisbility...

 

[Nixnutz]

Neomega has a great catch on that sysinternals blog. Give it a read and understand how significant this is and how much of a pain these things are.
The folks at sysinternals are some of the best and they had trouble with it.

Then check out the comments that follow it. Some real interesting reading once you get beyond the kudos and the Mac folks (yes, we can be obnoxious......)

Another take, slightly less technical can be found at the F-Secure blogsite

http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/

 

[jimkirk]

apparently the sony software always reports abck to sonys servers about what music you listen to so basicly they are violating their own eulas when they the exact opposite they promise in the eula regarding your privacy

 

[Neomega]

Even worse, they supposedly have a patch...

But these things are on cds!!! So many people will have no idea! 3 years from now som epoor schmuck will buy a used cd, pop it in his cd drive, rip the songs for his mp3 player, and bam.... lose his cd drive. Alot of good that is going to do for some kid who never even heard of a rootkit. (which is about 98% of the Amerian population, and probably 99.5% of pop music listeners).

Sony, really, really, really messed up, big time. And they know it. They are not answering calls. they are in BIG BIG trouble.

I am not happy about this, quite the opposite, I am FURIOUS someone could be so irresponsible. I would have much rather Sony never did this.

 

[CruddyLeper]

Whoops, another big player just stepped into the ring;-

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4434852.stm

Big Bad Bill isn't happy, it seems.

 

[Speedo]

There is already at least one virus exploiting the rootkit. Class action lawsuits lined up against Sony in at least New York and California.

This is good. We need a company to go down in flames for this crap, to set an example

 

[jimkirk]

the only way for it to get it into sonys head is if the lawyers sued em for a trillion dollars or more

also us consumers need to keep the pressure up and boycott them and maybe send letters and links to the articles to the established newspapers

 

[MarineCorps]

Sony has suspended it and M$ is creating a tool to remove them from computers

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/0,39020381,39236911,00.htm

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39236971,00.htm

 

[Naked Paladin]

What is funny is that Sony created this to stop losing money from people making illegal copies and now they stand to lose millions from the lawsuits they created.

 

[Comraddict]

they are not loosing money. just as greedy as before and now people just want to buy some songs, not all of them from album.

 

[damunzy]

I really hope that Sony gets burnt like toast for this.

 

[CruddyLeper]

Hmm... wonder if the CDs will become collectable? Or possibly labelled as hazardous waste.

* Cruddy heads down to HMV

Damn. I forgot. US only. Hang on a minute, how about that dodgy import shop?

 

[Maniacal]

Try e-bay.
I hope Sony gets horriably burnt, but not destroyed as they can't stop producing Playstaions, X-box cannot be allowed to win (no one wins, they jsut keep each other in check).

 

[AndyLloyd]

Sony has released a list of those cds infected with their DRM virus. Luckily most of them aren't main stream artists.

Get collecting!!!!

Andy.

 

[jimkirk]

Try e-bay.
I hope Sony gets horriably burnt, but not destroyed as they can't stop producing Playstaions, X-box cannot be allowed to win (no one wins, they jsut keep each other in check).

sony music and sony consumer electronics are different entities
different budgets and cheif executives sony eelctronics might make a nice
video camera or digital camera but not nice software on their music cd's

 

[Maniacal]

Oh, ok. That's good.