[Merged] Sony Digital Rights Management probs

[SMHarman]

and Sony cease production of the discs
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4434852.stm

[cookie_365]

Originally Posted by SMHarman

and Sony cease production of the discs
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4434852.stm

And MS treat the DRM software as spyware

That's the frustrating thing about Sony - they make fantastic hardware, but then sell it with dismal software with no alternatives .....

[TheBlueRaja]

Some of the infected titles so far apparently...

Foo Fighters - In Your Honour
Van Zant - Get Right with the Man
Ricky Martin - Life
Sarah McLachlan - Bloom Remix Album
Celine Dion - On Ne Change Pas
Neil Diamond - 12 Songs
Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten
Kings of Leon - Aha Shake Heartbreak
Santana - All That I Am
Chris Botti - To Love Again
Switchfoot - Nothing Is Sound
Patty Loveless - Dreamin' My Dreams
Montgomery Gentry - Something To Be Proud Of: The Best of 1999-2005
Mary Mary - Mary Mary
My Morning Jacket - Z
David Gray - Life In Slow Motion
Bob Brookmeyer - Bob Brookmeyer & Friends
Shelly Fairchild - Ride
Kasabian - Kasbian
Pete Seeger - The Essential Pete Seeger
The Bad Plus - Suspicious Activity
Elkland - Golden
Susie Suh - Susie Suh
Buddy Jewel - Times Like These
Chayanne - Cautivo
A Static Lullaby - Faso Latido
Our Lady Peace - Healthy In Paranoid Times
The Coral - The Invisible Invasion
Dexter Gordon - Manhattan Symphonie
Acceptance - Phantoms
Dion - The Essential Dion
The Dead 60s - The Dead 60s
Goapele - Change It All
Los Lonely Boys - TBD
Life of Agony - Broken Valley
George Jones - My Very Special Guests
Horace Silver - Silver's Blue
Amici Forever - Defined
Ahmed Jamal - The Legendary Okeh and Epic Recordings
Anna Nalick - Wreck of the Day
Hitch - Soundtrack
Charlotte Martin - On Your Shore
Vivian Green - Vivian
Raheem DeVaughn - The Love Experience
Amerie - Touch
Nivea - Complicated
Mario - Turning Point

Dunno about you but it would put me off buying any one of them - which is a shame as i was going to buy the David Gray one - ah well - i'll just download it instead.

Incidentally Sony claimed only 20 CD's had the protection and refused to name them. Think of that what you will.

I thought they only put the DRM on their US-issued CDs?

[TheBlueRaja]

Originally Posted by Chris T

I thought they only put the DRM on their US-issued CDs?

Not seen that mentioned - dosent mean its not true though...

Yup - i'll just have to download it instead....

[SMHarman]

Originally Posted by Chris T

I thought they only put the DRM on their US-issued CDs?

From my BBC link

In response Sony BMG suspended use of XCP as a "precautionary measure". The XCP software was only used on CDs sold in the US.

[TheBlueRaja]

According to /. it now looks like sony used unlicenced code for the rootkit..

Originally Posted by Slashdot.com

"According to this Dutch article the Sony DRM software (or rootkit, if you may prefer) contains code from the LAME MP3 encoder project, which is licensed under the LGPL. However, the source code has not also been distrbuted, hence breaching the license. Here is an english translation of the page." So apparently Sony violates your privacy to create a backdoor onto your machine using code that violates an Open Source license. This story just keeps getting stranger.

I hope Sony get Fried like piggy meat!

[basa]

The plot thickens .. and the hole gets deeper !!

Sonyâ₠¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s Web-Based Uninstaller Opens a Big Security Hole; Sony to Recall Discs

Over the weekend a Finish researcher named Muzzy noticed a potential vulnerability in the web-based uninstaller that Sony offers to users who want to remove the First4Internet XCP copy protection software.

...

The consequences of the flaw are severe. It allows any web page you visit to download, install, and run any code it likes on your computer. Any web page can seize control of your computer; then it can do anything it likes. Thatâ₠¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s about as serious as a security flaw can get.

The root of the problem is a serious design flaw in Sonyââ‚ ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s web-based uninstaller. When you first fill out Sonyââ‚ ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s form to request a copy of the uninstaller, the request form downloads and installs a program †“ an ActiveX control created by the DRM vendor, First4Internet †“ called CodeSupport. CodeSupport remains on your system after you leave Sonyââ‚ ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s site, and it is marked as safe for scripting, so any web page can ask CodeSupport to do things. One thing CodeSupport can be told to do is download and install code from an Internet site. Unfortunately, CodeSupport doesnââ‚ƚ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t verify that the downloaded code actually came from Sony or First4Internet. This means any web page can make CodeSupport download and install code from any URL without asking the userââ‚ ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s permission.

Link

Originally Posted by basa

The plot thickens .. and the hole gets deeper !!



Link

It all begs the question, how did a major multinational company like Sony come to hire a bunch of cowboy amateurs to do their software for them in the first place? This is just shocking.

[littld]

I can't see me buying anything with the Sony brand in the future.

OK if it was a mistake, but it's clear that Sony thought they were in the right up to the bitter end.

It's just this sort of thing that destroys a company, and rightly so. Shame on Sony, Shame Shame Shame.

[basa]

Well perhaps not significant but Sony' share price has dropped 20cents (0.69%).

And today's episode: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4441928.stm

Sony BMG is recalling music CDs that use controversial anti-piracy software.

[altis]

Originally Posted by basa

The plot thickens .. and the hole gets deeper !!

PLONKERS!

I'm surprised there has been so little wrath directed towards First4Internet (they're not difficult to find):

http://www.first4internet.co.uk/contact.aspx
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.sr...5352&ay=240315

Originally Posted by altis

PLONKERS!

I'm surprised there has been so little wrath directed towards First4Internet (they're not difficult to find):

http://www.first4internet.co.uk/contact.aspx
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.sr...5352&ay=240315

That looks like a right one-man-and-his-dog outfit. I can't believe their corporate strapline is 'advanced software solutions'.

[Dogster]

Originally Posted by Chris T

It all begs the question, how did a major multinational company like Sony come to hire a bunch of cowboy amateurs to do their software for them in the first place? This is just shocking.

Look who the chairman of First 4 Internet is, Nick Bingham
Who is Nick Bingham I hear you say?

Nicholas Bingham
For twelve years President-International of Sony Television Entertainment, Sony Pictures' division responsible for world-wide programme sales and distribution, new channel development and management and local programme production, Nick Bingam was also chairman of VIVA TV, the German music TV channel, in which Sony Pictures was a major shareholder. He is currently Chairman of First4Internet, a software company specialising in advanced information security technology for the internet and copy control and DRM solutions for the Music and Movie industries; and Director of the On Demand Group, a company specialising in broadcasting and new media development and management, in particular the establishment of PPV, NVOD and VOD services in the UK, Europe and Japan. Nick gained an MBA at INSEAD, has lived and worked in Spain, France, Italy the US and Japan.