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This topic comprises 6 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6
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Author
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Topic: Sony puts malware on its music CDs.
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Brian Michael Weidemann
Expert cat molester
Posts: 944
From: Costa Mesa, CA United States
Registered: Feb 2004
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posted 11-11-2005 03:37 AM
Numbers 1, 2, and 5 are the digital ones. 3 is the mix.
It's not a matter of quality loss. Analog rips, with a clean enough line and a decent sound card, will be, for all intents and purposes, the same sounding signal. I, for one, never claimed that there would be a discernable difference. My system, which is not too shabby, didn't lend any help hearing the difference. After monitoring the files at various EQ settings, the only real thing I perceived at all was that the mixed one had subtle changes in the bass that the others didn't. Or maybe I was trying to hard to hear the differences.
I admit, I cheated slightly. ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif) ![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."
Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001
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posted 11-15-2005 09:25 AM
quote: Daryl C. W. O'Shea
Wait till Sony figures out BSD. There are rootkits out there that affect Macs too, such as this one from last year...
Apparently Sony already figured out BSD, or rather, they hired another firm to do it. Here's a nice article that may shock some Mac users:
Sony DRM Mac Rootkit
quote:
Sony's DRM Rootkit Comes in Mac Flavor, Too
By Larry Loeb
November 11, 2005
Opinion: Sony says it will discontinue distribution of its DRM software, which could pose a "rootkit" security threat to users. But does that include the OS X version?
Sony is reportedly pulling its digital rights management "rootkit" from the market. But it isn't reporting everything.
"The Sony copy-protection software does not install itself on Macintosh computers or ordinary CD and DVD players," Reuters reported today. There's just one problem with that statement: it happens to be flat-out wrong. While the XCP version of copy protection is for Windows, there is another Mac-only version of copy protection installed by Sony/BMG CDs.
To establish this point, one simply has to refer to a poster on the popular Macintosh site MacInTouch. The poster notes that Imogen Heap's new CD, "Speak for Yourself," on RCA Victor (a BMG subsidiary), has an extra partition for "enhanced" content. Along with Windows files, there is a Mac file present called "Start.app."
When run, a EULA is first displayed (which does inform the user that software is going to be installed without saying exactly what that software will do).
The user then is prompted by the program for a user name and password. After that information is provided, the program seemingly quits. However, it actually installs two kernel extensions, PhoenixNub1.kext and PhoenixNub12.kext, in the OS X system files.
These turn out to be part of a DRM codebase developed by SunnComm.
According to the SunComm Web site, their MediaMax DRM allows for a limited amount of CD burns from the source material, and then will block further copying. The DRM also can make time-expiring (or number-of-play-expiring) copies of the tracks.
Repeated calls to SunComm for comment were not returned by the time this article was posted.
So, while Sony may be backing down from its acts regarding Windows modification, it is yet to be seen whether the recent firestorms will cause it to pull the DRM installed on Macs.
Apparently no operating system in existence can be considered a sure fire "security blanket."
quote: Daryl C. W. O'Shea
AFAIK, they don't yet modify the cd-rom driver stack.
Here's the passage from PC Magazine's first Security Watch bulletin "Sony CDs Make Your PC Play the Blues."
Linky
quote:
That's not the only problem with the First 4 Internet software. According to Russinovich, the software inserts itself into the CD-ROM driver stack in a way that a naive attempt by a user to remove it could result in making the CD-ROM drive unusable. Furthermore, many of the drivers in the First 4 Internet product are installed to run even when the system boots into safe mode, meaning that if a bug in the drivers interferes with the system or makes it unbootable, it could be very difficult to remove.
Further articles I've read suggest that if you know how to hack around in the registry really well you can fix what the Sony DRM software changes to properly restore all CD or DVD drive functions. But most ordinary users don't know how to do that. I wouldn't even know where to begin for fixing what it might damage on the Mac platform.
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Cory Isemann
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 500
From: White Plains, MD, USA
Registered: Jun 2004
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posted 11-16-2005 07:53 AM
From CNN Money
Sony BMG recalls copy-protected CDs
Computer viruses had emerged that took advantage of security holes in the copy protection software.
November 16, 2005: 5:56 AM EST
AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands (Reuters) - Music publisher Sony BMG, yielding to consumer concern, said Wednesday it was recalling music CDs containing copy-protection software that acts like virus software and hides deep inside a computer.
"We share the concerns of consumers regarding discs with XCP content-protected software, and, for this reason, we are instituting a consumer exchange program and removing all unsold CDs with this software from retail outlets," Sony BMG said in an statement.
The XCP software used by Sony BMG, which was developed by British software developers First4Internet, leaves the back door open for malicious online hackers.
Sony BMG, in a separate statement, also announced it would distribute a program to remove the software from a PC where it jeopardizes security.
"We deeply regret any inconvenience this may cause our customers. Details of this (recall) program will be announced shortly," Sony BMG said.
The withdrawal is set to affect millions of compact discs from artists such as Celine Dion and Sarah McLachlan but Sony did not give exact figures or the names of the artists affected.
Sony reiterated that the copy-protection software only installs itself on personal computers and not on ordinary CD and DVD players.
Microsoft Corp.'s anti-virus team said Tuesday it would add a detection and removal mechanism to rid a personal computer of the Sony's DRM copy-protection software. The software installs itself only on PCs running Microsoft's Windows operating system.
Viruses emerge
The flaws of the copy-protection software became acute last week, when the first computer viruses emerged that took advantage of the security holes left by the program.
Responding to public outcry over the software, the music publishing venture of Japanese electronics conglomerate Sony Corp. (Research) and Germany's Bertelsmann AG had said Friday it would temporarily suspend the manufacture of music CDs containing XCP technology.
It then provided a patch to make the hidden program more visible. At the time it did not recall the CDs or offer a program to remove it from computers. The initial measures still left PCs vulnerable, according to software engineers.
The program will have installed itself on a Windows-operated personal computer when consumers wanted to play certain Sony BMG music CDs. The program forces consumers to use a music player that comes with the program.
Sony BMG has positioned itself as a defender of artists' rights. It re-emphasized Friday that copy-protection software is "an important tool to protect our intellectual property rights and those of our artists."
Sony BMG last week was targeted in a class action lawsuit complaining that it had not disclosed the true nature of its copy-protection software.
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