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Blog Entry
Sony DRM Is, Well, Evil
Published on the 13th of November 2005
Late last month, users discovered that Sony's copy-protected CDs would automatically install digital rights management (DRM) software onto your computers, when you played their CDs in your CD-ROM drive. This DRM software is a root kit, a type of Trojan horse. The software creeps itself onto your machine, installs itself, and then compromises the security of your computer.
The root kit could potentially allow other hackers to take complete control of your system. Users have already reported that when they attempted to remove the software it broke their CD-ROM drive. If Sony can do this, then can we even guess what hackers might be able to do?
You can read more on the topic in Molly Wood's column - DRM this, Sony! (external link)
Another scary part of the story is that Sony has been doing this for over a year, and it has just been discovered. On the up side, Sony has agreed to discontinue including the DRM software on their CDs, after thousands of CDs already have the software on them. They have provided an "uninstaller," although no one has reported that it works.
Then they wonder why CD sales are down...
Comments
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Sebastian (13 Nov 2005 16:01)
OK? This is possibly the worst blog entry I have ever read on Lowter. What's the point, and you could at least explain what the DRM is?!
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Ethan Poole (external link) (13 Nov 2005 20:38)
I apologize for the confusion, I thought that it was self-explantory. I apologize.
DRM is Digital Rights Management, which was said in the article. As the name implies it manages digital rights.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_rights_management
What Sony did (although there are obviously still disk being sold with the software) was install this software as a root kit, a type of Trojan horse that allowed Sony, and others, potentially to take control of your computer.
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Sebastian (14 Nov 2005 1:17)
OK! :)
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Matt Oakes (external link) (15 Nov 2005 15:28)
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/004145.php
Just some more tid-bits on sony's DRM and EULA :D God i hate sony most of the time
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