Sony CD

Sony Music CD's Played on IBM Computers Install a Program that is Regarded as Spyware-Truth! But Withdrawn!

Summary of the eRumor: This eRumor warns not to play Sony audio CD's on your IBM type computer because a hidden program is installed that many experts believe is spyware. The story says that if you try to play a Sony CD on your PC you are prompted to install a special codec, a file that allows you to play the music. It's not just a file for playing the music, however. It's called the Sony rootkit and it's part of Sony's attempt to deal with illegal copying and sharing of music. The eRumor says, however, that the installation is virtually impossible to remove and has been used by third parties to hide other dangerous programs on your computer.

The Truth: The Sony rootkit is real and after a furor that erupted over the Internet about it as well as threatened a lawsuit, Sony announced in mid-November that it was going to stop using it. The rootkit installed only on Windows-based PC's. It did not affect Macs or any of the music players used to listen to music CD's. Sony calls it their XCP Content Protection Software. Sony said it was a part of it's continuing attempts to protect product from excessive sharing and duplication but critics say the software was installed without the knowledge of the computer owner or full disclosure as to what it was. Critics also said that the presence of the rootkit exposed the computer to exploit by hackers and crooks who could use it to gain access to a person's computer. Microsoft joined the critics by announcing that they regarded the Sony installation to be spyware and offered a tool for removing it. In announcing that it would cease distributing CD's with the XCP Content Protection Software, Sony also offered buyers the opportunity to exchange any CD that contained it with a CD that does not have the software on it. CLICK HERE for details about that. Sony has also posted a list of questions and answers about the software. CLICK HERE for those For a list of the CD's that included the XCP Content Protection Software, CLICK HERE...

A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet:
This is a Chaos Manor Warning. I would be shouting if I were not concerned that it would trigger your spam filters. You may or may not be familiar with the Sony Music CD Root Kit problem. Let me begin with the warning: do not buy or install any Sony Music CD on your PC. The records play just fine on other systems. There's no problem with Mac or Linux or with self contained music players. But if you try to play that record on your CD, it will tell you that you must install the Sony CD player codec (you can't play the record through Microsoft Media Player or any other stuff you have installed on your system). DO NOT INSTALL THAT SOFTWARE. If you do you may never be able to get it off there short of scrubbing your system down to bare iron, reformatting, and reinstalling everything. I wish I were spoofing you, but I am not. This is a serious warning. Moreover, if you have given a Sony Music CD to anyone as a gift, and they have tried to play that music on their PC (not Mac, not a standalone player, not Linux, but Windows PC) then their systems are infected, and it is exceedingly difficult -- exceedingly difficult -- to remove that infection in a way that doesn't blue screen of death the PC. MY ADVICE IS NOT TO BUY ANY SONY MUSIC CD. I have heard nothing about Sony movie DVD's having any such infection, but it's possible. So far all my Sony DVD's have played with Power DVD and I have not been asked or required to install any special Sony software to play a Sony movie DVD; if I am asked to do so I will refuse, and so should you. Understand that the Root Kit on the Sony Music CD is a deliberate installation by Sony as part of a Digital Rights Management scheme. They will now, if you jump through enough hoops, send you a patch that will make their scheme visible -- like all root kits, their original installation so infects your operating system as to hide in a directory your operating system literally cannot see or access -- but it still does not remove it. I'll have more on removal in the column and at another time this being column time. I will also have a DO NOT BUY SONY MUSIC CD warning in my Christmas Shopping List in the column. This is a serious infection: the scheme has actually been used by third parties to hide other malware on systems that have the Sony root kit installed, and others have used the Sony root kit to hide cheat software for World of Warcraft. Even if you think you know what you are doing, you should not fool around with this stuff. It's dangerous, it's very difficult to remove, and there is a very real risk that you will have to reformat your disk and reinstall your OS and everything else. For more information see: <http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/11/01/sony_rootkit_drm/>http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/11/01/sony_rootkit_drm/ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/11/03/sony_rootkit_drm/ The last reference is to the Sysinternals page where an incredulous Mark Russinovich relates how he found the root kit on his system: the root kit has been out for months, and this is the first indication of it's existence. Sony did a splendid job of stealthing this. I will have more in the column and on the web page. If you have bought and installed a Sony Music CD on your PC, you need more help than I can give you. Start with the Sysinternals page, and proceed with extreme caution. And the best of British Luck to you. Best regards, Jerry Pournelle Chaos Manor