Sony shipping malware on their music CD's

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Sunner

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
11,641
0
76
Did a search, so I hope it's not a repost.
Since there's a lot of Sony love in this forum, and with all the recent debates about DRM, I figured people might find this interesting.
Mark's blog on Sysinternals.

Not that Sony publishes any music that I actually care about, but if they did I sure wouldn't buy a single CD from them again, ever, legal or not.
 
A

aidanjm

Lifer
Aug 9, 2004
12,411
2
0
it was posted on p&n, but I don't think it is a repost for OT. :)

I for one am disgusted by this development.
 
S

Sunner

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
11,641
0
76
Originally posted by: aidanjm
it was posted on p&n, but I don't think it is a repost for OT. :)

I for one am disgusted by this development.
Click to expand...

Heh, didn't think to look in that $hithole, I didn't think anyone ever posted anything worthwhile in there...

Haha, looking over the thread in P&N, I was indeed right, a flamewar about politics and who hates who rather than the topic at hand.
Guess this isn't really a repost then :D
 
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CalvinHobbes

Diamond Member
Feb 27, 2004
3,524
0
0
I'm sure there will be a ton of press and then Sony with reverse their decision and fire whoever came up with it. I'd love to be in the meetings where they come up with this stuff.
 
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ryan256

Platinum Member
Jul 22, 2005
2,514
0
71
DAMN! This sucks big time. However I'm really interested in the programs he has listed in the article he used to discover all of this. I'm gonna check em out!

Edit: Apparently Sony has gotten wind of all the articles written and people getting pissed off and have posted the following: Link. Apparently this is supposed to be a way to remove this rootkit from your system. However when you click the link it takes you to a web site that loads an acvite X control and hence is useless in Firefox. Am I the only one that would distrust giving permission to an active X control to run from a company that has already pulled this type of crap??
 
mugs

mugs

Lifer
Apr 29, 2003
48,920
46
91
To call it malware implies that it does something bad to your system... I don't see this doing anything bad to your system, unless you consider installing itself in the first place to be bad for your system. They are installing software without permission, and that is wrong - but calling it malware is a misnomer.
 
her209

her209

No Lifer
Oct 11, 2000
56,336
11
0
Originally posted by: mugs
To call it malware implies that it does something bad to your system... I don't see this doing anything bad to your system, unless you consider installing itself in the first place to be bad for your system. They are installing software without permission, and that is wrong - but calling it malware is a misnomer.
Click to expand...
Well, what's the purpose of this "software"?
 
C

Codewiz

Diamond Member
Jan 23, 2002
5,758
0
76
Originally posted by: mugs
To call it malware implies that it does something bad to your system... I don't see this doing anything bad to your system, unless you consider installing itself in the first place to be bad for your system. They are installing software without permission, and that is wrong - but calling it malware is a misnomer.
Click to expand...

it is malware because it will allow a virus or anything other process to run undetected. Just wait til some virus writters get a hold of it.

Your virus detection will be useless. Same goes for spyware.....
 
D

DragonMasterAlex

Banned
Feb 3, 2001
5,156
0
0
How can anyone *possibly* be surprised by this? Sony are bastards and they always have been. They lie and distort the truth worse than any company I've *ever* seen just to sell products. They make Microsoft look like a pinnacle of virtue, for Chrissakes.

There's a simple solution here, folks: Don't buy Sony products. Don't buy their music, their movies, their players, their games--don't give them your dollars. Make Sony pay for their crimes by taking away your monetary support. It will do more good than any government action will, and more importantly, it is within your power to *ensure* that Sony doesn't get your dollars. All you have to do is make a choice and then follow through on it.

Jason
 
mugs

mugs

Lifer
Apr 29, 2003
48,920
46
91
Originally posted by: DragonMasterAlex
How can anyone *possibly* be surprised by this? Sony are bastards and they always have been. They lie and distort the truth worse than any company I've *ever* seen just to sell products. They make Microsoft look like a pinnacle of virtue, for Chrissakes.

There's a simple solution here, folks: Don't buy Sony products. Don't buy their music, their movies, their players, their games--don't give them your dollars. Make Sony pay for their crimes by taking away your monetary support. It will do more good than any government action will, and more importantly, it is within your power to *ensure* that Sony doesn't get your dollars. All you have to do is make a choice and then follow through on it.

Jason
Click to expand...

:) People aren't willing to do that. They all say the same about EA, but when there's a hot new game they still come back for that EA lovin'.

I'm not a fan of Sony myself - I sure as heck won't be buying any of their electronics due to the problems I've had. But who distributes the movies I want to see has no bearing on whether I see them.
 
DivideBYZero

DivideBYZero

Lifer
May 18, 2001
24,117
2
0
Originally posted by: mugs
To call it malware implies that it does something bad to your system... I don't see this doing anything bad to your system, unless you consider installing itself in the first place to be bad for your system. They are installing software without permission, and that is wrong - but calling it malware is a misnomer.
Click to expand...

If you muck up the convoluted manual uninstall you'll cheese up your system.

Malware.
 
P

poopaskoopa

Diamond Member
Sep 12, 2000
4,836
1
81
Originally posted by: mugs
To call it malware implies that it does something bad to your system... I don't see this doing anything bad to your system, unless you consider installing itself in the first place to be bad for your system. They are installing software without permission, and that is wrong - but calling it malware is a misnomer.
Click to expand...
I guess it all hinges on whether or not you're OK with this software doing this:

When I logged in again I discovered that the CD drive was missing from Explorer. Deleting the drivers had disabled the CD.

 
A

Armitage

Banned
Feb 23, 2001
8,086
0
0
Our IT guys were just discussing this - seems corporate wants to ban all music CDs in PCs. Actually, the Air Force did that about 10 years ago with exactly this kind of threat in mind.
 
mugs

mugs

Lifer
Apr 29, 2003
48,920
46
91
Originally posted by: poopaskoopa
Originally posted by: mugs
To call it malware implies that it does something bad to your system... I don't see this doing anything bad to your system, unless you consider installing itself in the first place to be bad for your system. They are installing software without permission, and that is wrong - but calling it malware is a misnomer.
Click to expand...
I guess it all hinges on whether or not you're OK with this software doing this:

When I logged in again I discovered that the CD drive was missing from Explorer. Deleting the drivers had disabled the CD.
Click to expand...

The software didn't do that, he did. He even stated in the article that it's because of the way Windows works. It could have been perfectly legitimate software and it would have done the same thing if he did what he did.
 
D

dexvx

Diamond Member
Feb 2, 2000
3,899
0
0
Originally posted by: mugs
To call it malware implies that it does something bad to your system... I don't see this doing anything bad to your system, unless you consider installing itself in the first place to be bad for your system. They are installing software without permission, and that is wrong - but calling it malware is a misnomer.
Click to expand...

It eats up my CPU time, which is my resource. Unauthorized use of my property is what... stealing?

Originally posted by: mugs
The software didn't do that, he did. He even stated in the article that it's because of the way Windows works. It could have been perfectly legitimate software and it would have done the same thing if he did what he did.
Click to expand...

The software is written so that it is explicitly tied to a device driver so that if you disable it, the device will be disabled, aka hostage situation.
 
M

mercanucaribe

Banned
Oct 20, 2004
9,763
1
0
Originally posted by: DragonMasterAlex
How can anyone *possibly* be surprised by this? Sony are bastards and they always have been. They lie and distort the truth worse than any company I've *ever* seen just to sell products. They make Microsoft look like a pinnacle of virtue, for Chrissakes.

There's a simple solution here, folks: Don't buy Sony products. Don't buy their music, their movies, their players, their games--don't give them your dollars. Make Sony pay for their crimes by taking away your monetary support. It will do more good than any government action will, and more importantly, it is within your power to *ensure* that Sony doesn't get your dollars. All you have to do is make a choice and then follow through on it.

Jason
Click to expand...

Umm, no it won't do more good than government action. What makes you think Sony gives a damn about losing a few hundred sales a year?
 
Y

YoshiSato

Banned
Jul 31, 2005
1,012
0
0
Originally posted by: Armitage
Our IT guys were just discussing this - seems corporate wants to ban all music CDs in PCs. Actually, the Air Force did that about 10 years ago with exactly this kind of threat in mind.
Click to expand...

I'm sure Apple would just love that. Ipod sales would go up if companys ban all music CDs from company computers.
 
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