Broadband Tech > Security > Security > Microsoft will wipe Sony's 'rootkit' and more

said by jig:

part of the problem is that the contract terms are so horrible that no eu would knowingly agree to them (the eff complaint).

said by Blackbird SR :

Damage to 3rd-party-owned computers and product liability is yet another legal battleground.

said by La Luna:

So what is the dang bottom line here? Can we now buy and play CD's safely on our computers or not? And if not, what's the point of buying them? I guess they'd make nice frisbees....oy.

said by La Luna:

This is great....I just get an awesome new computer with awesome sound/speakers...and I can't buy and play CD's on it. I am not a happy camper.

said by Sam Chennault in "Bah... PC Bug" :

Last month, it was revealed that Sony Music BMG had been covertly installing spyware on their new CDs to combat music piracy. Sony used a program called XCP, created by U.K. firm First 4 Internet, that employed a cloaking system to hide the proprietary media player that consumers were forced to download in order to play Sony Music CDs. Software included with that media player "remains hidden and active" after installation. According to the attorney general of Texas — who, along with the State of California, launched a class action lawsuit against Sony — this anti-piracy scheme makes users vulnerable to security risks and identity theft.

While critics and lawmakers balked, a computer virus pales in comparison to some of the other ideas tossed around by Sony executives to combat music piracy this holiday season. Here is a partial list of the strategies that were, fortunately, rejected.

Ebola. Feeling that the viral approach had been successful though not fully exploited, Sony executives decided to leave traces of the Ebola virus in CDs marketed to "high risk" customers — i.e., indie-rock, hip-hop, and Latin markets. In an internal memo leaked to Internet muckrakers RawStory.com (really!), Sony CEO Andrew Lack remarked to board members that while this audience constitutes only 40 percent of their market, it is responsible for 90 percent of downloads. "Once we weed out a few hundred thousand bad apples," Lack said, "we'll be able to sell directly and without interference to our loyal customers."

The Reintroduction of the 8-Track Format. Realizing that profit margins had been higher before they began to endlessly tinker with their music formats, Sony briefly considered once again tinkering with their music formats. The long-forsaken 8-track was a leading contender for re-introduction since it was a predigital format that held an ironic allure for hipster consumers and a nostalgic appeal for older consumers — both of whom are target markets for Sony's hopeful holiday breakout CD, Neil Diamond's 12 Songs. The idea was nixed when Sony executives concluded that they would personally find it difficult to snort cocaine off 8-track cases.

Continuing Stream of Shit Music. Understanding that piracy is essentially a byproduct of music fandom, Sony decided that the less excited their customers were about the music they were purchasing, the slighter the chance they would want to swap and share files via the Internet. While this move would appear to be self-defeating, Sony Music execs felt that there was a large-enough market for compulsory purchases, sales based on marketing/ packaging, and quickly disposable novelty hits (see aforementioned Neil Diamond album) to sustain a multibillion-dollar market of completely worthless music. And the best thing about this strategy was that neither Sony nor any other major label had to dramatically shift the way it does business. — Sam Chennault