Overprotective Sony BMG
How does DRM works?
The DRM toolkit found on the CD’s of Sony, it turned out, surreptitiously installed software in your PC that prevented it from copying CD’s. You don't have to be ripping the CD, either--just playing it from your CD-ROM drive triggers the installation. If that wasn’t bad enough, it opened a backdoor that potentially allowed viruses in an even introduced incompatibility issues with computer CD players, DVD players and even car stereos.
PC World include Sony BMG as one of the Winner and Loser of 2005 list twice,
LOSER: Sony BMG Entertainment
Adding copy protection to CDs is onerous enough, but Sony BMG Entertainment and its tech partner First 4 Internet went completely beyond the pale. Insert certain Sony BMG CDs into your PC's disc drive and they would secretly install First 4 Internet's XCP software, which not only limited the number of copies you could make, but also made your system vulnerable to hack attacks. Sony BMG then posted a "fix" that made matters worse, before issuing a recall of the music CDs, offering refunds and promising to discontinue using XCP. It turns out the record company knew about the vulnerability for at least two weeks before blogger Mark Russinovich made the news public last Halloween. Thanks for sharing, Sony.
EXTREME LOSER: Sony BMG Entertainment
Researchers at Information Security Partners recently identified a security flaws with SunnComm's MediaMax, an alternative copy-protection scheme found on other Sony BMG CDs. The flaw could allow a remote attacker to hijack a user's PC. This time, Sony responded with a patch almost immediately--which was quickly found to have the exact same flaws. Can you say "consumer boycott?"
Not only Sony BMG is into copy control issues, EMI Music's Copy Control is a Macrovision based technology that effectively makes ripping a CD digitally a hassle. But according EMI, their Copy Control technology doesn’t install or have “rootkit.”
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