Music Copyright: Sony Music uses Spyware to monitor customer

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Johnny
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Music Copyright: Sony Music uses Spyware to monitor customer

Post by Johnny »

I found this on another forum.

http://www.sysinternals.com/Blog/


Summarized: It seems that Sony Music has their latest CDs composed so that the Software Rootkit/Spyware XCP is installed when the CD is inserted into the Computer (Windows that is, no sign or proof that this is for other OS as well). The user notices nothing about this, all is done in the background without any notification.

From the moment of installation the program runs as background task, masking itself to remayn hidden. It's hard to detect (and was detected only by accident) and poses a major security issue, as it opens hackers a giant barn door to the computer 'infected'. The purpose seems to be that Sony can monitor the use of music, and monitor possible copyright violations.

The software is developed by a company named "First4Internet", and that pretty badly. PCs that are infected tend to crash MUCH more often. The license on the CD mentions nothing about this, so this is a clear violation of the users privacy. Should computers come to harm by this software, the author of the blog suspects that Sony might be forced to pay for damage done.

The software was found on the CD "Get Right With The Man" by Van Zant. How many CDs apart from that bear the Spyware is not known so far.



Sony = bitches. :mad:
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Post by faninor »

I told Nikki her audio recording on her computer got messed up from the Healthy in Paranoid Times CD. :sadyes:
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Post by bovine »

I heard that the new Bad Plus CD has this spyware, but I haven't experienced any problems from it so far.

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Post by faninor »

I think it's a pretty crappy thing for them to be doing. Maybe I'll mention it in my ethics in computer science class this afternoon. :happytears:
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SaturdayNightz
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Post by SaturdayNightz »

Buying a cd from them and then they think they have a right to spy into my computer...that's like me going on one date with a girl and thinking it's okay to peek thru her bedroom window as she's changing..
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Post by afealicious »

^:lol:

and god, sony is absolutely rotten :no:
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Post by Axtech »

SaturdayNightz wrote:Buying a cd from them and then they think they have a right to spy into my computer...that's like me going on one date with a girl and thinking it's okay to peek thru her bedroom window as she's changing..


It ... it isn't?
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Post by faninor »

Axtech wrote:
SaturdayNightz wrote:Buying a cd from them and then they think they have a right to spy into my computer...that's like me going on one date with a girl and thinking it's okay to peek thru her bedroom window as she's changing..


It ... it isn't?

Don't worry, I'm pretty sure it is. The only tricky part is figuring out if it's okay for her to catch you doing it. ;) 8-)
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Post by pit_girl1 »

Um how can we get rid of this spyware thing?
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SaturdayNightz
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Post by SaturdayNightz »

faninor wrote:
Axtech wrote:
SaturdayNightz wrote:Buying a cd from them and then they think they have a right to spy into my computer...that's like me going on one date with a girl and thinking it's okay to peek thru her bedroom window as she's changing..


It ... it isn't?

Don't worry, I'm pretty sure it is. The only tricky part is figuring out if it's okay for her to catch you doing it. ;) 8-)


that always helps the situation.
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Post by nikki4982 »

Sony sucks.
<table><tr><td>~ Nikki Edwards
Queen of the Harpies <img src="../phpBB2/files/queen_of_harpies.gif" align="texttop"></td><td><font color="orange">President of the Pookie Brigade</font>
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above us only sky, imagine all the people, <font color="#FFFFFF">living</font> for today...</font>

<font color="#50B4B3">Imagine there's no countries, it isn't hard to do, nothing to kill or die
for, no religion too, imagine all the people, living <font color="#FFFFFF">life</font> in peace...</font>

<font color="#89CDCC">Imagine no possesions, I wonder if you can, no need for greed or <font color="#FFFFFF">hunger</font>,
a brotherhood of man, imagine all the people, sharing all the <font color="#FFFFFF">world</font>...</font>

<font color="#B1DFDE">You may say I'm a <font color="#FFFFFF">dreamer</font>, but I'm not the only one, I hope
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tasha
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Post by tasha »

yeah how can you get rid of it?

because my computer crashes a hell of a lot.
you have to, you just have to trust me
whoever i was then i can't ever be again
the faith you've found i've never felt
the terror held in wedding bells
the comfort in "there's no one else"
the truth be told, i'm never going to know
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Post by happening fish »

That.. It.. that's fucking... THAT'S GOTTA BE ILLEGAL?
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Post by faninor »

I like how, if anything, this kind of shit encourages people to just download pirated copies of stuff instead of buying it. Because that way, we aren't going to get random spyware installed on our computers. :happytears:
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Post by Johnny »

Yeah for sure dude.

+piracy encouragment.
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happening fish
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Post by happening fish »

I'm totally gonna ask my friend about this. Her dad is an intellectual property lawyer.
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Post by quietorloud »

faninor wrote:I like how, if anything, this kind of shit encourages people to just download pirated copies of stuff instead of buying it. Because that way, we aren't going to get random spyware installed on our computers. :happytears:

Yay for Sony self-pwning themselves!
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Post by Axtech »

Unless it's stated or somehow implied that this software is being installed, it's a complete privacy violation.
- -
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Henrietta

Post by Henrietta »

That's crap man.

*thanks stars I haven't put the cd in Harry*

He's really feel violated.
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Post by brandon333 »

IVE NEVER BEEN SO UPSET.

I just got a confermation email about olp, and it says right at the bottom, you MUST be atleast 18 years of age to attend the concert..... SOOOO MAD. NOOOO
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