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A Collection of Random Thoughts
Monday, October 31, 2005
 
SysInternals uncovers Sony DRM Rootkit
That doesn't sound good...did I read that right?  A Rootkit?  Don't you usually associate Rootkits with hackers and malware attempting to cover their tracks?  Don't know about you, but I sure do.
 
Mark Russinovich of SysInternals recently found that Sony's DRM protection scheme employs a rootkit in order to hide itself.  Read his blog here.  Not only that, but it places hooks deep into the OS that make it near impossible for anyone but the most advanced users to get rid of it afterwards.  How did this rootkit get installed?  Simply by playing a CD that had protected content on it on his computer.
 
First off, I'm not a fan of DRM to begin with.  If I purchase something (song, cd, whatever), no one should be telling me what I can and can't do with that, or what devices I can and can't play it on.  Secondly, for a large music corporation like Sony to resort to something like this is absolutely pitiful.  It makes me lose any and all respect for them.  It also stinks of a lawsuit.  It will be interesting to see how this pans out. I'm betting that they (Sony) didn't count on anyone finding this out.
 
Make sure to read Mark's blog to get entire coverage of how he went about discovering what Sony did and how he finally got rid of it.

- posted by Ben Winzenz @ 4:25 PM
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