Filed under: Security, Windows
Sony DRM Roundup
by Marc Perton Nov 10th 2005 at 5:00PM
It's been a busy couple of days in the never-ending soap opera that is the Sony BMG rootkit saga. Here are some of the latest developments:- Microsoft says it's "concerned" about the issue, saying security is the company's "top priority."
- The first trojan to take advantage of the Sony rootkit has reportedly been found; a new version of the Breblibot Trojan specifically tied to the Sony software is in the wild, though no specific infections have been cited.
- At least one more lawsuit has been filed against Sony, in addition to the one in Italy that was filed earlier this week. The new suit, filed in California, alleges that Sony has violated at least three state laws, including one that specifically prohibits spyware.
- And how is Sony dealing with all of this? The company basically sees the problem as a non-issue: "Most people don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?" Thomas Hesse, the president of Sony BMG's global digital business division, told NPR. In the meantime, however, the company has dropped the DRM in question, though it will continue to use copy protection on future CD releases.
I don't know if this is a labor of love or merely the brainchild of four very gifted games designers, but Level Up is a really weird mash-up of gaming elements that you have probably never seen in a Flash game before.
Let's start with the premise itself: Groundhog Day meets Memento. The game experience revolves around 'days': you explore the world and the clock slowly ticks towards the evening. You bounce around picking up gems and talking to the denizens of 'Level Upland'. Eventually you feel tired and head back to ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
AFD said 11:21PM on 11-10-2005
Sony makes some really nice products, but I'm not buying anything from them until they properly resolve this issue. And by resolve, I mean completely stop releasing DRM-protected CDs and make an uninstall utility available for consumers affected by this. I'm usually against frivolous lawsuits, but Sony deserves whatever they get on this one.
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Dave Newman said 12:40AM on 11-11-2005
I think one aspect of this that hasn't really been addressed is how an executive in a major international corporation can get by with absolutely no idea what PR skills are. This isn't the fifties anymore folks - we will not believe your excuses for wrongdoing without a thorough - believable - explanation. Another question - why hasn't Microsoft taken full advantage of this pr disaster with the 360 launch right around the corner? Have they learned a lesson from the political realm?
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ZIM said 7:11AM on 11-11-2005
Try to remember, this isnt SONY, this is SONY MUSIC, its like a different company, boycotting SONY ELECTRONICS will do nothing.
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tomahawktim said 11:51AM on 11-11-2005
Sony Music is a unit of Sony Corporation. Boycoting Sony Muisc will definately impact Sony Corporation.
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Corporation_shareholders_and_subsidiaries
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