Report: SonyBMG Copy-Protection Reports CDs Played, Hampers All CD Ripping

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 9, 2005 - 9:34am.

San Francisco - CNET News.com reported on Wednesday that antivirus firms are preparing to offer tools designed to identify and remove CD copy-protection software installed on PCs when users play certain SonyBMG music CDs. Several antivirus firms have deemed the "rootkit," a tool often used by virus writers to cloak their malicious software deep within a computer's operating system, to be a threat because virus writers can use SonyBMG's antipiracy tool to hide their own malicious software on users' PCs. Antivirus firm Computer Associates told News.com it found further cause for concern with the controversial SonyBMG "rootkit." In addition to making it more difficult to rip SonyBMG CD tracks into unprotected digital files, the software makes itself a default media player, reports back a user's Internet address -- and which CDs are played on the computer -- and also inhibits the ripping of non-copy-protected CDs. "It will effectively insert pseudo-random noise into a file so that it becomes less listenable," Computer Associates vice president Sam Curry told News.com. "What's disturbing about this is the lack of notice, the lack of consent, and the lack of an easy removal tool." Both SonyBMG and the creator of the antipiracy tool, First 4 Internet, have posted patches that identify the software, but uninstalling the software currently requires a user to contact the label's customer service department for instructions.
http://tinyurl.com/8ce43 (CNET)
http://www.first4internet.co.uk