A caution about DRM and Sony CD's

[Sundowner]

Its funny watching the mega-multicorps chasing their tales in the face of the unstoppable force called emerging technology.

My favorite quote from this article:

"The biggest mistake the labels are making is, they're letting their lawyers make technical decisions. Lawyers don't have any better understanding of technology than a cow does algebra," Leigh said. "They insist on chasing this white whale."



Full article at:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051119/ap_on_hi_te/music_copy_protection

Regards
Sun

[Skuzzy]

Great analogy!  LOL!

[Waffle]

So say if a person had this "Spyware" installed on their system unknowingly, then found out about it  and removed it....

Then their computer was hijacked or screwed up, and the user lost a lot of valuable data and work due to this, could one sue Sony for time / data lost, especially if say all one's businees / work information was corrupted?


If so, I think I'm gonna go buy me a new CD today

[Skuzzy]

There is already a class-action lawsuit filed against Sony about this.

[Skilless]

Originally posted by Skuzzy
There is already a class-action lawsuit filed against Sony about this.

http://news.yahoo.com/fc/tech/computer_security

Let the games begin!!

P.S.  Here's a really interesting article about how Sony has put one lie on top of another in this case.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20051117/tc_usatoday/andrewkantorcyberspeaksonytherootkitofallevil

[Sundowner]

Hmmm..wonder how many potential violations in Texas?

Regards
Sun

"Texas is seeking civil penalties of $100,000 per violation of the state's Consumer Protection Against Computer Spyware Act, which was enacted earlier this year."...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051121/tc_nm/sony_texas_dc

[Sundowner]

"We have analyzed this software and have determined that in order to help protect our customers, we will add a detection and removal signature for the rootkit component of the XCP software to the Windows AntiSpyware beta, which is currently used by millions of users," Jason Garms, group program manager of the Anti-Malware Technology Team, said on Microsoft's Technet.

Great App..I recommend it.--SD
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

"A representative of the United States government last week warned entertainment publishers against using CD and DVD copy protection software that hides inside computers.

"It's very important to remember that it's your intellectual property; it's not your computer. And in the pursuit of protection of intellectual property, it's important not to defeat or undermine the security measures that people need to adopt in these days," said Stewart Baker, the assistant secretary the Department of Homeland Security, at a conference."
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/ptech/11/15/sonybmg.microsoft.reut/index.html

Regards
Sun

[38ruk]

This is outragous , I hope sony gets more than just a slap on the wrist for this . Talk about crappin on the customer , i cant believe they had the cajones  to do this . Makes you wonder what other companys have got away with stuff like this in the past .    38

[Skuzzy]

You would be surprised how many applications alter the behavior of your computer, without your knowledge.  Roxio's software is about as invasive as it gets and more debilitating than this Sony copy protection scheme, but no one has done anything about it yet.

There are a number of software applications on the market which make a mess of your computer.  Ever use any software from Intuit?  Check to see what happens to your Windows registry when you do.

How about Creative Labs utilities which take control of your desktop away from you and cannot be removed without a re-install of the operating system?

I find it pretty hypocritical of people to be yelling about what Sony did and not about all these other programs which infest your computer.

[Sundowner]

I think there are several reasons we're seeing more visabilty on the Sony debackle than on the other apps that yes indeed crap up your system.

1)It's Sony (The ONE and ONLY)

Its harder to stack up lesser-known names against this media giant icon.
Imagine the brand recognition of Sony in the average home versus names like "Creative Labs" etc etc.  
 
2)It opened a major security hole.
   
I hate the apps that demand I boot them with Windoz by default. "Real Player" and "Quicktime" are a couple names that come to mind. And yes, Creative tends to get a bit bossy with their control panel enabled.
But when an app opens a major security hole that is unremovable short of FDISK people tend to get a lil beechy.

3)A "big name" stepped on the customer and then was very arrogant and cavalier after they finally admitted it.

Perhaps the Sony boondoggle and the press it has gained will set a precedent (especially if a monetary settlement is made with TX) for other companies to see and make them rethink their DRM strategy.
The direction that DRM is taking overall in the media industry is likely unstoppable.
But maybe this will at least slow it down a bit.
Let's hope.

Regards
Sun

[Kermit de frog]

I didn't read the whole thread yet.

But I've needed to disable the auto run many times for years.

To do this I've inserted the cd in the drive.

Then I just hold down the SHIFT key for a few seconds.


Once the computer tried to autorun, it then sees me holding the shift key down and then doesn't run autorun.