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Sony Yanks DRM Uninstaller
Because that was a security risk, too
Sony/BMG today acknowledged a security risk found in their controversial DRM's uninstaller, discovered by Ed Felten and J. Alex Halderman. According to the Sony website, they're "working on a new tool to uninstall First4Internet XCP software". DNS expert Dan Kaminsky meanwhile has posted some interesting analysis as to the breadth of the software's reach over at his blog.
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Weasel2
join:2001-12-18
Lombard, IL

Weasel2

Member

All I can say is -

- the fun never seems to stop.

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5

Premium Member

Re: All I can say is -

said by Weasel2:

- the fun never seems to stop.
Just more bad PR for SONY. The decision to use this particular DRM software was a total disaster for them. I'll bet whoever made the decision to use the vendor that supplied them with this DRM software is on the chopping block, if not already fired.
Cyber2lz
join:2001-11-15
Odessa, FL

Cyber2lz

Member

Re: All I can say is -

Not in corpoRATe America !!!
He/She will get a promotion and a big bonus !!!!

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5

Premium Member

Re: All I can say is -

said by Cyber2lz:

Not in corpoRATe America !!!
He/She will get a promotion and a big bonus !!!!
Clearly you don't understand corporate politics. Whoever made the decision is costing SONY millions. And that is the surest way to get thrown out on your ear.

Pirate515
Premium Member
join:2001-01-22
Brooklyn, NY

Pirate515

Premium Member

Re: All I can say is -

said by FFH5:

Clearly you don't understand corporate politics. Whoever made the decision is costing SONY millions. And that is the surest way to get thrown out on your ear.
If this is what happens where you work, then congratulations, as you probably work at one of a few companies where things actually make sense. An employer like that is extremely hard to come by these days.
Plldwnyrpnts
join:2003-04-19
Chicago, IL

Plldwnyrpnts

Member

Re: All I can say is -

Actually, the employee that made that decision may or will get fired but they'll receive a lucrative severence package probably double their salary.

That's how corp America works.

footballdude
Premium Member
join:2002-08-13
Imperial, MO

footballdude to FFH5

Premium Member

to FFH5
said by FFH5:

Whoever made the decision is costing SONY millions. And that is the surest way to get thrown out on your ear.
If a low level or mid level manager can be blamed, say sayonara. If an executive was wrong, they'll just find another way to do the same thing again soon.

I've seen guys that were dumb as a box of rocks promoted to executive control of multi-state operations and when they made a mess of things, no one wanted to admit they were wrong to promote these guys, so they just shifted them around to different states.

bk227
@244.xx.adsl.skynet.b

bk227

Anon

Re: All I can say is -

"If a low level or mid level manager can be blamed, say sayonara. If an executive was wrong, they'll just find another way to do the same thing again soon."

and blame a low or mid level manager anyway.....

BWGX
@alphalink.com

BWGX to FFH5

Anon

to FFH5
Clearly you don't understand sarcasm.

Augustus III
If Only Rome Could See Us Now....
join:2001-01-25
Gainesville, GA

Augustus III to Weasel2

Member

to Weasel2
i just noticed the software had ebonics in it's name.. great.

probably been made by a script kiddie
Stumbles
join:2002-12-17
Port Saint Lucie, FL

Stumbles to Weasel2

Member

to Weasel2
This is more fun than watching Windows issue a patch to fix a patch.
systems2000
What? You Say It's Fixed. Hah
join:2001-11-29
Cyberspace

systems2000

Member

Re: All I can say is -

So much fun, it made it onto the national network news tonight.

Dustyn
Premium Member
join:2003-02-26
Ontario, CAN

Dustyn to Weasel2

Premium Member

to Weasel2
I'm not so sure I trust Sony to remove a stealth root-kit they so deviously put on a users PC. I'd prefer a tool designed by a security software expert to remove it. He/she who holds nothing but the users best security interests in mind.

Morac
Cat god
join:2001-08-30
Riverside, NJ

Morac

Member

Re: Security Software Expert

said by Dustyn:

I'm not so sure I trust Sony to remove a stealth root-kit they so deviously put on a users PC. I'd prefer a tool designed by a security software expert to remove it. He/she who holds nothing but the users best security interests in mind.
Someone like Microsoft?
Stumbles
join:2002-12-17
Port Saint Lucie, FL

Stumbles to Dustyn

Member

to Dustyn
Actually, I would be tempted to just wipe out the drive and start over.... when comes to the matter of Sony being upfront. My impression of them at this point is trying to sweep this under the rug as quietly as possible.

The sad thing is it took a, hee hee pesky blogger to let us all know the shenanigans they were up to. If it were not for that, no telling what other useful to the customer DRM type things they would try.

Shame on them. But that's the sort of thing that can be expected from the music industry.

As others have pointed out before. I'm sure this will end up costing them a lot more than any perceived losses from piracy.

At least now Sony and others are on notice. There are people out there watching what you do.
Techie714
join:2005-08-02
Anaheim, CA

Techie714

Member

Nimrods!

WOW that entire deparment at Sony is filled with Nimrods! They need to get some better people in there that KNOW about technology.

asdfghjklzx5
Premium Member
join:2004-05-03

asdfghjklzx5

Premium Member

Who is their CEO?

Homer Simpson?
Joe123456789
join:2003-11-24
Des Plaines, IL

Joe123456789

Member

Re: Who is their CEO?

said by asdfghjklzx5:

Homer Simpson?
They will just move him the Sony power plant

pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium Member
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD

pnh102 to asdfghjklzx5

Premium Member

to asdfghjklzx5

Not quite the Flaming Moe
said by asdfghjklzx5:

Homer Simpson?
Let's hope they do not start selling cars!

Dustyn
Premium Member
join:2003-02-26
Ontario, CAN
·Carry Telecom
·TekSavvy Cable
Asus GT-AX11000
Technicolor TC4400

1 edit

Dustyn to asdfghjklzx5

Premium Member

to asdfghjklzx5
The Simpsons···rnet.zip
286,366 bytes
(The Simpsons - Homer And The Internet.mp3)
Homer Simpson ISP

pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium Member
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD

pnh102

Premium Member

Re: Who is their CEO?

said by Dustyn:

Homer Simpson ISP
Doh! I didn't even think to remember that one till you mentioned it LOL.
Mr Dresden
join:2005-06-25
Ingleside, IL

Mr Dresden

Member

One word.

lawsuit!
tbeckner
join:2004-03-20
Bend, OR

tbeckner

Member

Re: One word.

said by Mr Dresden:

lawsuit!
There where 3 lawsuits filed last week against SONY. There could be more by now.

Doctor Four
My other vehicle is a TARDIS
Premium Member
join:2000-09-05
Dallas, TX

Doctor Four to Mr Dresden

Premium Member

to Mr Dresden
said by Mr Dresden:

lawsuit!
There's an old joke comparing lawyers to sharks (or
why sharks don't attack them: professional courtesy).

Well Sony (maybe Bony was the right name after all - they
seem to be committing one boneheaded move after another)
is acting rather like a wounded fish in a sea full of sharks.

Yowzaaah
Ours Go To Eleven
join:2000-12-14
DamnFlat, OH

Yowzaaah

Member

Cost benefit analysis time

All "losing hundreds of millions to piracy" aside, I'm sure someone at Sony/BMG has an idea of how many lost sales probably occurred due to piracy and how much having DRM adds to their share value in the marketplace. Assuming they're rational, the losses Sony is about to endure from this DRM debacle will DWARF any actual lost sale opportunity, AND unlike those phantom sales lost to piracy, the cost associated with this mess will be easy for shareholders to see.

Time will tell, but in the end it's all about money. Losing a large number of real dollars to settle claims arising from protecting speculative sale dollars of an undetermined amount seems like a great way for management to suddenly find themselves "pursuing other interests outside the company"
systems2000
What? You Say It's Fixed. Hah
join:2001-11-29
Cyberspace

1 edit

systems2000

Member

Re: Cost benefit analysis time

I know I'll try and make a concerted effort not to buy Sony products from now on.

This shure makes the noise about the Piracy issue look tame.

And to think Sony's EULA states it's illegal to remove this "Controlware". HA! HA! HA! Idiots!

Can anyone think of a more stupid move?

Yowzaaah
Ours Go To Eleven
join:2000-12-14
DamnFlat, OH

Yowzaaah

Member

Re: Cost benefit analysis time

Thalidomide comes to mind when thinking harm vs. benefit, but yeah...this is a pretty major screw up and I'm predicting the phrase "DRM" may not be a high priority for Sony/BMG going forward.

Doctor Four
My other vehicle is a TARDIS
Premium Member
join:2000-09-05
Dallas, TX

Doctor Four to Yowzaaah

Premium Member

to Yowzaaah
Their DRM, according to their press releases (if you can
believe them) is not to deter "piracy", as they call it,
but rather is a pissing match between them and Apple. They
don't like the idea that Apple isn't opening their iTunes
store up to competing DRM formats (despite the fact that
it is the only one of the industry-approved music services
making any kind of money).

The losses due to physical counterfeiting of music, movies
and software likely exceeds that from p2p by a factor of
1000:1 or more. Yet these organized "pirates" aren't the
ones contending with copy protection. It is the soon-to-be
former customers of the entertainment industry companies
that ironically resort to less than legal methods to get
what they want because of the draconian DRM found on
legally purchased product.

pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium Member
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD

pnh102

Premium Member

Confusing

This is starting to sound like that whole Pesto/Antipasto argument. I am totally lost now.

slimpickinz
join:2003-11-29
Conyers, GA

slimpickinz

Member

Re: Confusing

Wonder how the SONY artists themselves are taking all this?
I realize they don't have actual rights to their music, but they do make a couple bucks off "Album" sales.....

christos
join:2002-01-09
Bridgewater, MA

christos

Member

Sudenly this seems funny:

Click for full size
from their website:

XCP® - Aurora™
XCP (Extended Copy Protection) technology aims to provide effective levels of protection against the unauthorised copying of digital audio and data files without compromising sound quality and playability. XCP helps to protect the rights of Artists and Record Labels while accommodating consumer needs for 'fair use' copying.

Glaice
Brutal Video Vault
Premium Member
join:2002-10-01
North Babylon, NY

Glaice

Premium Member

Re: Sudenly this seems funny:

BS BS BS claims of F4Internet.

Fair use my ass

Digital
As-Salamu Alaykum
Premium Member
join:2000-07-24
Wickliffe, OH

Digital to christos

Premium Member

to christos
said by christos:

from their website:

XCP® - Aurora™
XCP (Extended Copy Protection) technology aims to provide effective levels of protection against the unauthorised copying of digital audio and data files without compromising sound quality and playability. XCP helps to protect the rights of Artists and Record Labels while accommodating consumer needs for 'fair use' copying.
Aurora ... heh ... A Better Internet anyone? Sadly, this DRM method seems no better than the aformentioned trojan.

pokesph
It Is Almost Fast
Premium Member
join:2001-06-25
Sacramento, CA

pokesph

Premium Member

sony bologna

well our local news just picked up on this story (as did the network news) today and is now announcing the 'recall' to the masses..

glad i stopped buying cd / dvd when the **AA's 'ruined' the industry with their overbearing lawsuits and Gestapo tactics.

SSX4life
Hello World
Premium Member
join:2004-02-13

SSX4life

Premium Member

Keep the bad press comin' Sony!

Keep that bad press coming Sony! I think my Icon, signature, and overall feelings towards Sony / BMG can easily be shown. I hope Sony digs themselves a big huge hole and eventually implodes into a bankruptcy chapter 11. Their actions speak louder than words.

--SSX--

go EFF! Go *uck em up good!
SSX4life

SSX4life

Premium Member

Totall bullsh!t

look at this right off xcp's site.

"XCP (Extended Copy Protection) technology aims to provide effective levels of protection against the unauthorised copying of digital audio and data files without compromising sound quality and playability. XCP helps to protect the rights of Artists and Record Labels while accommodating consumer needs for 'fair use' copying."

WHERE THE HELL IS THE FAIR USE OF NOT MESSING WITH MY PC! If I had the money I'd take them and both **AA's to court.

--SSX--

BPLSUCKS
@comcast.net

BPLSUCKS

Anon

I'll still buy electronics

I'll still buy their mp3 players/Minidisc players and such but just use pre 3.x versions of Sonicstage as to not have to mess with DRM...just ATRAC3 and ATRAC3+ which aren't bad formats. They are pretty comparable to AAC and MP3. No noticible difference except in music with a lot of high-freq noise like techno and such. I'll take their VAIO 40 (30?) gig player and fill it with pirated music (Allowable in earlyier versions of sonicstage via the import function )
vinnie97
Premium Member
join:2003-12-05
US

vinnie97

Premium Member

Re: I'll still buy electronics

why even buy their bottom-of-the-barrel electronics? The MD is going the way of the dinosaur, I'm afraid to say. There are better choices for digital media players as well.

ATRAC comparable to AAC/MP3/OGG? I'd like to see your blind tests supporting that claim.
houselog442
join:2005-10-05

houselog442

Member

If Homer Simpson is running Sony...

If Homer Simpson is running Sony and this mess happend, there would be one word to describe it... DOH!!!

Varlik
Without Honor You Will Never Be Free
Premium Member
join:2002-01-06
Anderson, SC

Varlik

Premium Member

Don't Worry Sony Micro$oft will fix your mess.

Almost funny when you think about it. I know that I won't be buying any Joe Satriani CD's anytime soon. And it looks like I might not be getting that PS3 after all.

TScheisskopf
World News Trust
join:2005-02-13
Belvidere, NJ

TScheisskopf

Member

There is a simple answer to all this:

Stop buying their products and the products of any company that does anything similar.

Starve the bastards out.
Methadras
join:2004-05-26
Spring Valley, CA

Methadras

Member

if ever a reasong for...

a class action against sony/bmg and the rootkit author for the crap they have wrought on our computers and not properly compensated users for, this is it...

Sonysucks
@suscom.net

Sonysucks

Anon

Buy Sony! Now makes 33% LESS computers explode!

This is just the kind of thing they need to do to get people to buy CDs instead of downloading songs for free. Computer ruining CDs have gone over SO WELL in the past, why not try it again?