Beyond holding back the entry of iTunes Music Store in both Japan and Australia, where Apple decided to eventually open for business without SonyBMG, SonyBMG’s copy-protected faux CDs are causing difficulties for Windows users worldwide.
“The mainstream media took their time in bringing readers attention to SonyBMG’s activities, perhaps faced with withdrawal of advertising revenue, but the story has now grown so large that not even your local newspaper or TV station can ignore it,” Les Posen writes in his CyberPsych blog. “Two security-based websites individually investigated reports from readers about Windows PC difficulties. F-Secure and SysInternals each devoted extensive blogspace to sleuthing so-called ‘rootkit’ problems. These are often the source of malware and spyware on PCs… Investigation revealed that the source was a SonyBMG legally purchased CD of a van Zant music album, complete with content protection software which self-installed after the operator agreed to a EULA in order to play the CD. Now when was the last time you recall putting a CD in your car, or on your Mac and agreeing to an EULA before it could play?”
Posen writes, “In any case, the SonyBMG CD installed what some have come to call its own version of spyware. In any case, once the blogging and security world jumped on it, and it then made mainstream via technology columns and radio broadcasts and podcasts, SonyBMG added a service pack to its support site – yes a service pack for music! Only in the Windows world! The pack ‘uncloaked’ the SonyBMG DRM components but did not remove them. Previous attempts by others to remove it saw CD functionality disabled, re-enabled only with a fresh install of Windows OS… Also, on the SonyBMG website where the patch resides is an FAQ section, with one section devoted to owners of iPods who wish to legally transfer their CD content to listen on the go.”
Posen describes the online patch signup process, “So I entered the details of a Dianna Krall CD I had listened to last night at friends’ which I recalled was on Verve, a SonyBMG-owned label. And included my .mac email address. In a few minutes, a canned response was received. It started this way.”
Thank you for contacting Sony BMG Online. We appreciate your purchase of our CD and apologize for any inconvenience. Please follow the instructions below in order to move your content into iTunes and onto an iPod.
Here’s the advice offered to Mac users:
If you have a Macintosh computer you can copy the songs using your iTunes Player as you would normally do.
Posen writes, “That’s it. One line – stick the CD in, and rip as you ordinarilty would with Apple’s ease of use. Scroll down further in the email and we discover advice to Windows users, who by now will be saying to themselves, having already gone through a patching experience, ‘Oh, no, not more Windows nonsense.'”
Here’s the advice offered to Windows sufferers:
If you have a PC place the CD into your computer and allow the Sony BMG audio player on the CD to automatically start. If the player software does not automatically start, open your Windows Explorer. Locate and select the drive letter for your CD drive. On the disc you will find either a file named LaunchCD.exe or Autorun.exe. Double-click this file to manually start the player. TIP: If your CD does not contain either the LaunchCD.exe or Autorun.exe files, it may not be compatible with this iPod solution. Please reply to this letter for more information. Once the Sony BMG player application has been launched and the End User License Agreement has been accepted, you can click the Copy Songs button on the top menu. Follow the instructions to copy the secure Windows Media Files (WMA) to your PC. Make a note of where you are copying the songs to, you will need to get to these secure Windows Media Files in the next steps. Once the WMA files are on your PC you can open and listen to the songs with Windows Media Player 9.0 or higher (or another fully compatible player that can playback secure WMA files, such as MusicMatch, RealPlayer, and Winamp). You can then burn the songs to a standard Audio CD. Please note that in order to burn the files, you will need to upgrade to, or already have, Windows Media Player 9 or 10. Once the standard Audio CD has been created, place this copied CD back into your computer and open iTunes. iTunes can now rip the songs as you would any normal audio CD.
Posen writes, “After all this, SonyBMG ends up trying to blame Apple for its DRM:”
Please note an easier and more acceptable solution requires cooperation from Apple, who we have already reached out to in hopes of addressing this issue. To help speed this effort, we ask that you use the following link to contact Apple and ask them to provide a solution that would easily allow you to move content from protected CDs into iTunes or onto your iPod rather than having to go through the additional steps above: http://www.apple.com/feedback/ipod.html Thank you for the opportunity to be of assistance.
Posen asks, “So all of this Windows sophistry is Apple’s fault… correct?”
“I wonder if SonyBMG truly believes one can never underestimate the stupidity of the general public? If it’s true that Windows owns 90% of domestic desktops, then they have reason to believe its truth. But if evidence exists that Apple market share is slowly increasing, along with alternate browsers to Internet Explorer, then there is also evidence that a gullible public may well turn on SonyBMG… If SonyBMG keeps up these efforts, they will be turning a lot of people onto Macs,” Posen writes.
More in the full article here.
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Our advice to Sony: give up the music device and music service markets. You’ve already lost badly and you simply look foolish and full of sour grapes. Concentrate on working WITH Apple and you’ll end up with Sony monitors, cameras, etc. in Apple Stores, Sony Pro products tied to Apple’s pro audio & video applications and systems plus, who knows, maybe even a Mac OS X license for your PCs (okay, that’s pushing it, but you get the idea).
As an aside, have you ever noticed the instructions that accompany a new printer, scanner, or other peripheral that ships with Mac and Windows directions? The Mac directions are a few lines, maybe a paragraph or two, while the Windows directions go on for pages and pages. We wonder, do Windows users notice that difference and, if they do, what do they think about the discrepancy, if anything?
Related articles:
Report: Sony copy-protected CDs may hide Windows rootkit vulnerability – November 01, 2005
Analyst: Sony BMG’s boycott of Apple’s iTunes Music Store Australia won’t last long – October 24, 2005
Apple launches iTunes Music Store Australia – October 24, 2005
How to beat Apple iPod-incompatible Sony BMG and EMI copy-protected CDs – October 04, 2005
Japan music labels look to impose ‘iPod Tax’ while Sony, Warner still not signing with Apple iTunes – October 10, 2005
Why aren’t Sony, BMG, Warner, Victor making their artists’ music available on Apple’s iTunes Japan? – October 06, 2005
Sony and Warner holding out on Apple iTunes Music Store Australia – September 08, 2005
Musicians stage mutiny against Sony, defiantly offer music via Apple’s iTunes Music Store – August 10, 2005
Sony BMG and EMI try to force Apple to ‘open’ iPod with iPod-incompatible CDs – June 20, 2005
New Song BMG copy-protected CDs lock out Apple iPod owners – June 01, 2005
Record company causes Apple to hit ‘pause’ on Australian iTunes Music Store – May 05, 2005
GregO,
Sometimes when a Mac stuffs up it is easier to rebuild from scratch than spend days trying to fix it. Takes me around 4 hours to totaly rebuild my G4 Power Mac, that’s the system and all the software I use.
GregO wrote:
“One day was spent discovering that 10.4.3 breaks support for the Adapted SCSI card I use to run a perfectly good Iomega JAZZ drive, and a way to make it still work. “
We all have to admit Apple’s support of third-party internal hardware is weak, with processor upgrades being especially notorious. Adaptec could have at least updated the drivers.
Then again Mac troubles aren’t even a blip. I recently spent several hours, involving two trips to CompUSA, trying to get my sister’s modem working again. One real gem of PC hardware is the bundled drivers usually don’t work; you have to download the current ones. So how the f do you download drivers to make your modem work so you can get online? Unbelievable.
If Sony is offering advice on how to get around this copy protection then why did they even bother implementing it. It will only cause kaos for those who are unaware of the protection. Does anyone have a list of the CDs with this protection? I have some windows freinds who need switching and this may be the christmas present that convinces them.
It will only cause kaos for those who are unaware of the protection
I’m just waiting now to read about the first exploit to take advantage of the Sony DRM “cloaking feature”. Sure they released a “patch” but there are a lot of people out there who probably have no idea that the “rootkit” is on their computer.
Here’s the advice offered to Windows sufferers:
If you have a PC place the CD into your computer and allow the Sony BMG audio player on the CD to automatically start. If the player software does not automatically start, open your Windows Explorer. Locate and select….
LMFAO!!!!!!!!
Time for an Open Standard DRM…
Maybe with one day this DReaM will come true
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http://www.openmediacommons.org/#projects
Reason #12,496 why I love my Macs and OS X.
Diana Krall has recorded for Verve, Impulse and GRP – all labels belonging to Universal Music Group.
She also did one record with a Canadian indie label called Justin Time, but that doesn’t belong to SonyBMG either.
None of her CDs have any kind of copy protection.
Anybody could have checked that. The author certainly should have done. How can we trust any of the other details in this story when something so simple has been overlooked?
If it’s a SONY enhanced protection (or whatever) CD, pull your pants down, bend over, try to touch your toes, relax your sphincter, and if you don’t feel any exquisite pain shortly … open your Windows Exploder.
LMFAO2!!!!!!
What does LMFAO mean?
Secondly, Sony are soooo stupid and arrogant not to give up the online music business (except maybe in Japan where they do better), as we all know Apple gives the largest percentage of profit to the music companies and does all the work for them.
Third, by not participating in iTunes, they are again just being stupid and arrogant. They are foregoing profit just to spite Apple, and the ONLY losers are the musicians they represent, who want to be in iTunes.
Fourth, regarding the Sony CD malware issue, this goes to the heart of the total lack of security or even control home users have over their Windows PC’s. The only solution is to get a Mac. This is one the major reasons why I switched to Mac in 2000. Totally over viruses and totally over these programming issues that were a constant bugbare(?).
Since switching I have witnessed friends have total harddrive meltdowns, and lose total control of their PC’s to malware and trojans and hijackers on NUMEROUS occasions. They are all high end users and so I show no sympathy, ever. They KNOW the solution.
MDN “Told” you so!
Hackers a gonna love what SONY have come up with. A way of making virus’s invisible.
Brad T,
LMFAO – Laughing My Fu**ing Ass Off.
MaWo, ‘since’. As in, ‘Since you asked…’
Poxymusic is correct. Diana Krall is on Verve, as stated, but this label is part of Universal. What is interesting is that SonyBMG still took the details and sent a canned response.
I stand by the accuracy of the rest of the blog entry. Suggest readers also pursue the original sites mentioned, such as F-secure and Sysinternals for complete coverage, as well as the Washington Post which has done sone good backgrounding.
ZDNet UK:
Kaspersky Lab has classed Sony’s DRM software as spyware because, among other things, it can cause crashes and loss of data, and it can compromise system integrity and security…. Sophos…is calling the software “ineptware.”
Use of techniques that are usually the preserve of criminals by companies such as Sony….
Meanwhile, the Van Zant cd seems to be selling well despite the embedded malware, or should I say because of the embedded malware. Hackers are eager to study if Sony’s rootkit contains anything new and exploitable, particularly since it might have been vetted by Microcorpse. On the other hand, F-Secure’s researchers told the Washington Post that the SonyBMG software “breaks the operating syste (Vista) spectacularly”.
“Emporer Gates, we have succeeded. The Windows empire rules the galaxy.”
“Exxxceellennnt. Now go forth and destroy Sony so that we may buy them for a much much lower price. My plan is coming together nicely. When I finish with them I won’t need DRM, I’LL OWN HOLLYWOOD ha ha ha ha ha ha”.
“but Emporer Gates, what of the Apple Jedi? They’re eating into our ability to gain media market share. The rebellion seems to be gaining strength”.
“BURY THEM! I COMMAND YOU! (chair magically flies across the room)
Their Oh Ess ten with its puny little market share will be no match for the power of the dark side, release the Windows Clones. Show them what a real denial of service attack feels like”
“Yes my lord, it shall be done”
To bad George Lucas can’t write a decent script like that!
hey, i wrote on this back some 6 months ago….a friend bought one of those encrypted cd’s and wanted to put the music on his iPod…this guy writes music, so he doesn’t like to bootleg anyones music…well he was really upset, so i told him about how easy he could use a Mac and get his songs to his iPod….anyway, i took the cd and made him an audio cd that he could use with his peecee….long story short,,,,he bought a Mac Mini….he can’t get over the Mac….loves it…I also wrote sony, dave mathews band, van zant, and a couple of others, telling them i wouldn’t purchase their encrypted cd’s….never heard back….i guess they don’t care….go figure…has to do with the brainwashing from redmond…or something…
5 Easy Steps for Use of SonyBMG Content Protected CD’s.
1. Buy said SonyBMG content protected CD at your local retailer.
2. Exit said retailer only to re-enter said retailer.
3. Locate customer service area.
4. Return said SonyBMG content protected CD.
5. If you are asked for a reason for the return reply that it installs spyware on your PC.
6. Repeat steps 1-5 in every store you visit that sells SonyBMG content protected CD’s.