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SonyBMGSonyBMG Signs Up for Nokia "Comes With Music" ServiceAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on April 22, 2008 - 8:09am.
SonyBMG CD Copy-Protection Enables iPod Playback, Infringes Open SourceAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on December 8, 2005 - 6:49am.
San Francisco - The malicious XCP SonyBMG CD copy-protection technology developed by First 4 Internet, which has forced the recall of millions of CDs, also contained code that allows the copy-protected tracks to play on Apple's iPod, according to a post on Freedom to Tinker, a blog run by computer researchers Alex Halderman and Edward Felten. No other previous CD copy-protection schemes have enabled protected tracks to be transferred to the popular portable player, the result of Apple's refusal to license its FairPlay digital rights management technology. What's more, the code that enables iPod playback of XCP copy-protected CD tracks appears to infringe on the copyrights of several open source software products. Wired News on Wednesday profiled 24-year-old Princeton University researcher John "Alex" Halderman, in a story available from a link below.
SonyBMG CD Copy-Protection Enables iPod Playback, Infringes Open SourceAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on December 7, 2005 - 6:55am.
San Francisco - The malicious XCP SonyBMG CD copy-protection technology developed by First 4 Internet, which has forced the recall of millions of CDs, also contained code that allows the copy-protected tracks to play on Apple's iPod, according to a post on Freedom to Tinker, a blog run by computer researchers Alex Halderman and Edward Felten. No other previous CD copy-protection schemes have enabled protected tracks to be transferred to the popular portable player, the result of Apple's refusal to license its FairPlay digital rights management technology. What's more, the code that enables iPod playback of XCP copy-protected CD tracks appears to infringe on the copyrights of several open source software products. Wired News on Wednesday profiled 24-year-old Princeton University researcher John "Alex" Halderman, in a story available from a link below.
Users Still Awaiting Software Fix for SonyBMG CD Copy-ProtectionAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on December 6, 2005 - 8:56am.
New York - Nearly three weeks after announcing it would provide software that would uninstall the malicious code it included on millions of copy-protected music CDs, major label SonyBMG has yet to release such software, USA Today reported. The software fix will patch a security risk that could invite viruses onto PCs if users play certain SonyBMG CDs on their computers. The label argued that "security is more important than speed," Thomas Hesse, president of Sony's Global Digital Business division, told USA Today. "I have the best security experts triple-checking it." The company also said on Nov. 14 that it would recall some 5 million of the CDs still on retailers' shelves, but last week attorneys general in New York and Massachusetts criticized the company for not having removed all discs containing the XCP software from stores in their states.
Destra Signs SonyBMG Songs for Australian Mobile Download ServiceAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on December 5, 2005 - 9:33am.
Richmond, Australia - Australian digital media and Internet services company Destra announced that it has signed an agreement with SonyBMG Australia, to offer tracks from the major record label's artists as full-track downloads to mobile phones. The deal also includes master recording ringtones, wallpapers and mobile video clips. Destra also maintains a Web-based digital music service that offers a library of 550,000 tracks.
SonyBMG Anti-Piracy Software May Infringe Open-Source CopyrightAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 18, 2005 - 3:32am.
Los Angeles - The controversial CD copy-protection software that this week prompted SonyBMG to recall millions of CDs also appears to have lifted elements from open-source software, which could constitute copyright infringement, Reuters reported on Friday. Developed by U.K.-based First 4 Internet, the anti-piracy software included a "rootkit" designed to hide it deep within a computer's operating system; this tool can also be used independently by virus writers to attack PCs, and Microsoft and anti-virus firms are now actively working to remove it from PCs worldwide. The CD copy-protection software also includes a media player, which developers said makes unauthorized use of LAME, an open-source MP3 player application. One principle of free-to-use open-source software is that it if it is utilized for other applications, the derivatives must also be open-source. Failure to heed the rules of open-source software can trigger copyright infringement claims. "That's the flipside of open source: If you don't respect the open-source rules, the old regime of copy protection comes back in full force," Internet law expert Christiaan Alberdingk Thijm told Reuters.
SonyBMG Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over CD Copy-ProtectionAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 10, 2005 - 8:27am.
Los Angeles - California consumers have filed a class-action lawsuit against major record label SonyBMG, claiming their computers have been harmed by the company's recently-uncovered use of a controversial CD copy-protection technology, Reuters reported. The label and its anti-piracy software partner, First 4 Internet, used a hacker method called a "rootkit" to hide their CD copy-protection software deep within a computer's operating system. Antivirus firms have stated that trying to remove the software could impair a PC's ability to play CDs. The lawsuit, filed on Nov. 1, seeks damages, and also asks that SonyBMG stop selling the 20 or so music albums containing the technology. Consumers argue that Sony made no disclosure of what its anti-piracy tool was doing, and that the software also depletes a computer's available resources. A vice president with Computer Associates told CNET News.com that the software also reports back to Sony BMG on which CDs users listen to on their PCs, and potentially can impair ripping any CD, not just the copy-protected SonyBMG releases.
Report: SonyBMG Copy-Protection Reports CDs Played, Hampers All CD RippingAuthored 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.
SonyBMG to Remove Virus Writer Tool From CD Copy-ProtectionAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 2, 2005 - 4:06am.
San Francisco - SonyBMG and First 4 Internet, a company providing CD copy-protection technology to the major record label, are now working with antivirus firms to eliminate the use of a virus writer technique that hid their anti-piracy software deep within a computer's operating system, CNET News.com reported on Wednesday. After a blog posting on Monday revealed that a "rootkit" was being installed when users put SonyBMG CDs in their PCs, several computer security firms noted that virus writers could potentially use the record label's anti-piracy tool to hide a virus on a user's computer. The rootkit was used in First 4 Internet CD copy-protection embedded on SonyBMG albums for artists including Van Zant and My Morning Jacket. A patch that eliminates the rootkit will be included in automatic security updates provided by antivirus companies, and also through SonyBMG's website.
SonyBMG Using Virus Writer Technique to Improve CD Copy-ProtectionAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 1, 2005 - 4:45am.
San Francisco - Major record label SonyBMG has adopted a technique used by virus writers to hide their tracks, in an effort to ramp up its CD copy-protection technology, CNET News.com reported. The "rootkit," used by malware writers to cloak their code deep within an operating system -- making it more difficult for a user to delete -- is part of U.K.-based anti-piracy firm First4Internet's CD copy-protection technology, which
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