Play Sony music CD - hidden files installed!

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#1 Post by **GomJabbar** » Fri Nov 04, 2005 11:17 pm

Sony to offer patch to reveal hidden files installed, and uninstall program for Anti-Piracy software installed on your Windows PC when playing one of several Sony music CD's.

Sony Patch Reveals Its Anti-Piracy Files on PCs

I wonder if this is why bhtooefr's sig states: Sony is Evil!

dsvochak · #2 Post by **dsvochak** » Sat Nov 05, 2005 12:43 pm

There's a Bob Dylan song called "Union Sundown" that contains the following:

"They used to grow food in Kansas
Now they want to grow it on the moon and eat it raw.
I can see the day coming when even your home garden
Is gonna be against the law."

Copy-protection does not prevent piracy. (This is not a theory, it's a fact). All something like the Sony scheme accomplishes is to make it difficult for a home user to make a "fair use" copy like many people did when cars had cassette players instead of CD players. If we continue down this path, home gardens probably will be against the law.

#3 Post by **K. Eng** » Sat Nov 05, 2005 3:20 pm

Wow, another great idea from Sony!

That being said, I cannot say I am surprised, given that Sony has over the past few years consistently delivered products that were either a pain in the butt or just uninspiring.

dsvochak · #4 Post by **dsvochak** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 10:25 am

Doing my morning reading I ran across this article

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1882795,00.asp

Sony DRM is now the top threat in PC Mags Security Watch

bhtooefr · #5 Post by **bhtooefr** » Fri Nov 11, 2005 12:35 pm

You do realize that I underlined the Sony and Evil to highlight the fact that they're links, right?

Click on Sony to find out more.

The evil link exists solely for the benefit of Google.

Also, I think this is actually directly CAUSING piracy, because people are so [censored].

#6 Post by **GomJabbar** » Fri Nov 11, 2005 6:22 pm

bhtooefr wrote:You do realize that I underlined the Sony and Evil to highlight the fact that they're links, right?

No. I never moused-over your sig. I didn't occur to me that it might be a link.
But I did correctly intuit the motivation behind your sig.

dsvochak · #7 Post by **dsvochak** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 11:04 am

One day after hackers released malicious software that used controversial Sony copy-protection software to attack computers, Sony has decided to stop shipping the product, the company said today.

The above from an article at:
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,123511,00.asp

dsvochak · #8 Post by **dsvochak** » Wed Nov 16, 2005 3:09 pm

PC World article: "Microsoft Targets Sony "Spyware"
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,123543,00.asp
I guess it doesn't pay to do things without telling the big boys

beeblebrox · #9 Post by **beeblebrox** » Thu Nov 17, 2005 9:37 am

Today, the senior researchers at Computer Associates confirmed new findings about the Sony XCP crap.

Even when you insert a non-XCP protected disc and try to rip it to MP3 or iTunes, the XCP crap will intervene and randomly insert noise to lower the audio quality.

Now, if that is not a fact of computer sabotage, what else? I hope that that the pending class action suits in Italy and California will kick Sony's butt. And quite hard, hopefully!!

#10 Post by **GomJabbar** » Thu Nov 17, 2005 10:32 am

beeblebrox wrote:Even when you insert a non-XCP protected disc and try to rip it to MP3 or iTunes, the XCP crap will intervene and randomly insert noise to lower the audio quality.

It's even worse than I thought

(maybe this should be in the Big Brother thread

)

leoblob · #11 Post by **leoblob** » Thu Nov 17, 2005 4:48 pm

Seems to me that if you put your CD into a "regular" CD player with analog (stereo) output jacks... then connect that output to the analog audio inputs on your computer sound card... then record the audio tracks onto your hard drive... then burn a new CD from those audio tracks... you will have ignored/removed the (digital) spyware/crapware and you can play the audio from your "new" CD on your computer with no problems. (The artist info and track numbers/info will be gone, but...)

I believe that any degradation of the audio signal due to the digital-to-analog conversion at the output of the CD player, and the analog-to-digital conversion in your computer's sound card, would be quite minimal.

I realize this is technically making a copy of the CD, but it's still for your own use, and I can't imagine what types of damages lawyers could ever get their hands on (beyond the cost of the CD).

Nolonemo · #12 Post by **Nolonemo** » Thu Nov 17, 2005 5:00 pm

beeblebrox wrote:Today, the senior researchers at Computer Associates confirmed new findings about the Sony XCP crap.

Even when you insert a non-XCP protected disc and try to rip it to MP3 or iTunes, the XCP crap will intervene and randomly insert noise to lower the audio quality.

Beetlebrox, can you provide a link to more information about this?

dsvochak · #13 Post by **dsvochak** » Fri Nov 18, 2005 11:16 am

Beetlebrox, can you provide a link to more information about this?

See the operation--general section of the following
http://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/pest ... =453096362

Other interesting reading on this issue can be found at:

http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2005/1 ... to_09.html

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Spyware/index.php?p=698

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4424254.stm

eWEEK has a special report on the rise of rootkits which includes additional information on the Sony "Debacle"
http://www.eweek.com/category2/0,1874,1888057,00.asp

leoblob · #14 Post by **leoblob** » Mon Nov 21, 2005 8:29 pm

This link has pictures of what's on the jewel case of these "infected" CDs, so you will know before you even buy one. There's also a list of some specific CDs already known to contain the Sony virus. http://www.eff.org/IP/DRM/Sony-BMG/guide.php

Edit: the link has already changed, to what's now in my post.

dsvochak · #15 Post by **dsvochak** » Tue Nov 22, 2005 1:16 pm

More legal trouble for Sony:

"Sony BMG Music Entertainment's troubles over anti-piracy technology on music CDs deepened Monday as Texas' attorney general and a California-based digital rights group said they were suing the music company under new state anti-spyware laws."

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/ ... ON=MIDWEST

I don't think I'd want to be the guy who suggested Sony use XCP copy protection.

MadeInJapan · #16 Post by **MadeInJapan** » Tue Nov 22, 2005 10:33 pm

I have a friend who used one of these Sony CD's and now can't even listen to CD's made by other companys...the Sony CD's play fine. I'm sure she has the files mentioned above by the first poster on her Thinkpad. Can anyone tell me how to help her remove these files so she can enjoy her CD collection again?

dsvochak · #17 Post by **dsvochak** » Tue Nov 22, 2005 11:35 pm

Can anyone tell me how to help her remove these files so she can enjoy her CD collection again?

Read these links from my post above:
http://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/pest ... =453096362

http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2005/1 ... to_09.html

My reading is it might be easier to wipe the disk and do a clean install (and never put Sony CD's in the machine again)

Play Sony music CD - hidden files installed!

Play Sony music CD - hidden files installed!

XCP things get even uglier

Re: XCP things get even uglier

Re: XCP things get even uglier

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