Sony CDs mess up PCs

Gentle Giant · November-11th-2005, 01:09 PM

More good things from the minds of Sony:

Computer worm exploits software on Sony's CDs
By Hiawatha Bray, Globe Staff | November 11, 2005

People who bought music CDs from Sony BMG Music Entertainment may have exposed themselves to a dangerous new computer worm.

Symantec Corp., the leading maker of antivirus software, said the worm has infected computers that played Sony BMG recordings. Two other antivirus firms, BitDefender Labs and Sophos PLC, also issued warnings yesterday.

The Sony BMG disks install software that is supposed to prevent the user from making illicit copies of the music and distributing them over the Internet. But the anticopying software conceals itself so that the computer user can't easily remove it.

Now someone has written a ''Trojan horse" program that exploits this feature of the Sony BMG software. The program, which is spread through spam e-mails, uses the Sony BMG code to hide itself. Then the Trojan horse uses the Internet to contact its creators for further instructions.

''By enabling an infected machine to be remotely controlled, this threat opens up the user's identity and computer for potentially malicious purposes," said Vincent Weafer, senior director of Symantec Security Response.

Attackers could, for example, order the Trojan horse to copy and transmit personal information. Or they could make the computer send spam messages to other Internet computers, or launch ''denial of service" attacks that could put major Internet services out of commission. Criminals have launched such attacks against businesses, demanding protection money.

Symantec Corp. said it has received three reports of machines infected by the worm. The company does not expect it to spread rapidly. Sony officials say that only about 20 of the company's CDs contain the software. Sony has also issued a downloadable patch that is supposed to stop the security software from concealing itself, or any other programs.

Symantec and other antivirus companies are preparing software that will clean up both the Sony BMG program and the Trojan horse software that exploits it.

Sony has faced intense criticism from computer security experts and consumers for adding the software to popular music titles in an effort to prevent illegal duplication of copyrighted songs. The company's critics say the anticopying program is also spyware.

Gary Sisco · November-12th-2005, 07:39 AM

If you don't buy majors, you won't have this problem.

Pete C · November-12th-2005, 09:23 AM

It's a damn good thing the Cellar Door set is unavailable.

Gary Sisco · November-12th-2005, 09:44 AM

I don't listen to music on a computer anyway, so it matters not to me.

The majors continue to dig their own grave. Not being able to adjust to life on the planet that everyone else lives on, they'll eventually drive themselves into extinction.

And music -- and musicians -- will be the better for it, when they do.

Jon Abbey · November-12th-2005, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pete C

It's a damn good thing the Cellar Door set is unavailable.

it was only about 20 discs so far, and they've now discontinued the system. it wasn't on the recent Dylan release, and likely wouldn't have been on the Miles one if it actually ever emerged, probably only the biggest sellers to start. moot point now, though...

Gary Sisco · November-12th-2005, 10:59 AM

It's a pretty damned imaginative form of sabotage, though. I have to give whoever credit for that.

Must've cost Sony a bundle, never mind the bad publicity.

Captain Hate · November-12th-2005, 11:10 AM

Sony has always been so ridiculously anal about preventing copying. I guess they had a hard time dealing with the fact that all their prior schemes could be overcome, so now they enable identity theft. You can't make this up.

bluenoter · November-12th-2005, 11:46 AM

http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/004144.php

"If you have one of these CDs, and you have a Windows PC (Macs are totally immune, as usual), you may have caught the XCP bug."

Chris D · November-15th-2005, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon Abbey

it was only about 20 discs so far, and they've now discontinued the system. it wasn't on the recent Dylan release, and likely wouldn't have been on the Miles one if it actually ever emerged, probably only the biggest sellers to start. moot point now, though...

not only the biggest sellers:

Horace Silver Quintet, Silver's Blue (Epic Legacy)
Gerry Mulligan, Jeru (Columbia Legacy)
Dexter Gordon, Manhattan Symphonie (Columbia Legacy)
The Bad Plus, Suspicious Activity (Columbia)

Gary Sisco · November-18th-2005, 09:19 AM

There was a follow up article a day or two ago on the AP wire that said the fix-it software makes the problem even worse, as it creates even more security holes and leaves your machine wide-open to invasion on the web.

Is there anything these guys can't fuck up while refusing to adapt to the already-changed-forever music world?

Boris Badenov · December-8th-2005, 02:16 PM

Well, I sent in my copy of the Dexter CD a couple of weeks ago for the promised replacement disc without copy protection. We'll see when I get it. Then, last night, I happened to reread the list of affected CDs on the Sony-BMG website, which is much longer than the EFF list linked above, and found to my disgust that I have another of the bad discs -- Bob Brookmeyer and Friends. (The friends are the all-star but seemingly incompatible grouping of Stan Getz, Gary Burton, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Elvin Jones (also Tony Bennett on one song!!), but amazingly enough it works: the disc is superb.) So I've got to go through the same rigmarole again. I don't even play CDs on my computer, but I'm hoping Santa will bring me an MP3 player so I have to get religion on the copy-protection issues.

Gary Sisco · December-9th-2005, 09:06 AM

Saw in the local paper that Trey Anastasio's new CD is another one -- released right on the eve of a tour but called back. Not that I'd have any interest in it, and surely Trey has nuff bread now for the rest of his days and his kids' as well, but it must be a drag right at the start of a tour.

Root Doctor · December-9th-2005, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary Sisco

Saw in the local paper that Trey Anastasio's new CD is another one -- released right on the eve of a tour but called back. Not that I'd have any interest in it, and surely Trey has nuff bread now for the rest of his days and his kids' as well, but it must be a drag right at the start of a tour.

That block of Velveeta would have sounded better blank.

Gary Sisco · December-9th-2005, 10:35 AM

Blank is all I've heard from them since the days when they were playing Nectar's, and I didn't get with them then, either. Strangely, at the time, there were two other bands playing Nectar's that were essentially interchangeable with Phish. Phish lasted longer is the only apparent difference.

sonic1 · December-9th-2005, 10:59 AM

Using PCs messes up PCs!

Gary Sisco · December-10th-2005, 07:28 AM

The majors just keep majorly digging their own graves. They simply refuse to deal with reality, that the music world has been changed forever. They'll change with it or disappear like dinosaurs past. I won't mourn them. I get a kick out of watching them self-destruct, actually.

Boris Badenov · January-3rd-2006, 05:54 PM

Still haven't received the promised replacement Dexter CD, though I did get a link to download the (medium-fi) MP3s of the songs. Has anybody else gone through this?

Gary Sisco · January-4th-2006, 10:04 AM

Hey, let's all forward our incoming (unopened) image files to Sony!

Boris Badenov · January-12th-2006, 02:32 PM

Finally got the Dexter replacement CD a couple of days ago. Here's hoping the Brookmeyer comes through soon.

Boris Badenov · January-13th-2006, 03:08 PM

Brookmeyer got here in 8 days from the date I sent it off. Sony seems to have their act together on the recall at least.