Crackers Tune In to Windows Media Player 367
jamshedji writes "Crackers are using the newest DRM technology in Microsoft's Windows Media Player to install spyware, adware, dialers and computer viruses on unsuspecting PC users."
"Been through Hell? Whaddya bring back for me?" -- A. Brilliant
Crackers like... (Score:5, Interesting)
This is why I use Linux.. (Score:4, Interesting)
But really, Windows XP does provide a way to keep users from installing just any software, that is by having a seperate administrator user and do you surfing and P2P downloading using a "limited" user account.
I went to visit some relatives a couple of weeks ago and I found 250 dialers, spyware and malware programs on thier computer using Spybot. It was unbelievable!
Not only hackers! (Score:5, Interesting)
Winamp TV had this problem too (Score:5, Interesting)
Please, not every app in the known world needs to launch a freakin' web page, etc.
Please clear this up for me... (Score:3, Interesting)
How could DRM work without inherently 'spying' on the user/victim?
Re:Unsuspecting??? (Score:2, Interesting)
I'll go for one, mplayer. There's been beta builds on mplayers site for a while now, but I don't usually hear about anyone using it. While a lot of the port isn't as nice as in linux, and it seems to choke on most real player content even with the codec pack, it's still fairly nice. I keep it on a usb drive and it really comes in handy every now and again.
Re:No logic (Score:2, Interesting)
Is that a good enough explaination?
As for what they were thinking, probably something along the lines of: "Our target user has little or no in-depth knowledge of computers, so we will automate everything as much as possible with default settings that will work 99% of the time." Considering the market share Windows has, that's obviously pretty sound logic.
Unfortunately it backfires a lot, because this makes the users trust the computer to make the right decisions for them, and trust that the default settings are an adequate balance of function and security. The only fault I can find in MS on this one is doing too good a job at making it easy for Joe Public.
=Smidge=
Re:No logic (Score:4, Interesting)
And it does. Unfortunately, it also makes malicious computer use easier and more transparent. Microsoft has ignored that aspect to their design philosophy, and it's become the source of many highly-publicized security issues.
Re:Unsuspecting??? (Score:3, Interesting)
If you want a decent open source media player, choose VLC [videolan.org]. It works great on Win32, Linux & OS X. Works well supporting CDs, DVDs, AVI, DiVX, MP3, Ogg and just about every other media format known to man - except protected WMA.
So if the exploit relies on dangling a "carrot" in the shape of some free pr0n if you download some licence into WMP, VLC won't protect you from yourself and doesn't offer comparable functionality.
Re:It's like sun on your wedding day? (Score:5, Interesting)
I wonder how long until you're no longer given the choice to opt out of DRM at install, though.
Glad to see DRM is protecting digital rights (Score:3, Interesting)
Instead, it turns out that DRM is simply doing it's job - protecting the digital rights on content providers by punishing those people who attempt to gain access to unathorised media.
Here's my take, I'm pretty sure that I'll be safe wether I run linux or windows (I run both) since I am not
If you engage in pirating, you deserve the cannonball to your vessel; I, for one, feel no pity.
won't work (Score:3, Interesting)
The problem is that Winamp (IIRC) uses DirectShow and standard Windows codecs for playing movies; WMP is also essentially a gui front-end for DirectShow. (It's just like Linux where you have xine-lib with its plugins, and all sorts of guis for it - xine-ui, kaffeine, totem etc). My guess is that the Windows Media DRM is implemented at the codec level or in the DirectShow pipeline, and not in the media player - otherwise, the DRM would be trivial to circumvent. The only real solution is a usable windows port of xine-lib or mplayer (even helixplayer would work, as long as it implements its own video pipeline).
Hastening The Death Of The PC (Score:4, Interesting)
The next generation gaming consoles may be ready to become the easy to use box in the living room that is easy to use and never gets infected by viruses or spyware. If this happens, home PC sales will plummet! Couple these boxes with HDTV and high quality sound systems and it's game over for the PC. Slashdotters may be able to cope with the nonsense, but most people are going to take the easy way out, especially if the price of admission is low. As for me, I'd love to see a really good web browser on Sony's PSP, then I could do my mindless surfing in the living room on a reasonably good display.
I guess that explains that (Score:4, Interesting)
As part of the process I was tasked with fixing the 3 XP laptops that were "not working" or "too slow".
Sure enough, I found that they all had spyware - but one had 52 viruses on it.
The best part was that his wife (it was her laptop) said to me "oh that is odd because my IT person from work JUST scanned that two days ago - so I hardly think that I got 52 viruses in two days."
I tried to be polite but essentially told her that she might want to look into getting a better IT person.
One of the viruses that she had kept spawning instances of the media player and I couldn't figure out why... now I see why I guess.
(technically some of the viruses were trojans/worms/spyware, so I guess I should just say "malware")
Re:WMP-out (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:It's a bit like IE and activeX except.. (Score:4, Interesting)
In other words adware!
WMP IS ADWARE AND SPYWARE BY MS'S OWN DEFINITION AND DESIGN!
How much more obvious does it get?
One could argue for MS products opening their own Web page for some reason, but some other random company's Web page? I could see providing a URL maybe, but actually going to the site without your permission?
Tell me again MS doesn't want to control your machine!
Re:Simple rule of thumb (Score:2, Interesting)
Wanna bet?
In the first release of the MS optical mouse, I bought one. I was fed up with skipping mice.
Things went fine on my new computer install until I installed the mouse driver software..
It was a new homebuilt computer still on the coffee table in the living room..
EULA??? for a mouse.. yea right!!
My mouse can't find my modem or Internet connection? WTF???
I gave the mouse away and bought a Logitech optical instead.
I quit buying any hardware that MS made unless it didn't require software drivers.
/. readers not necessarily swayed by source (Score:1, Interesting)
I'm not so sure that belief would necessarily follow:
Final versions are available of the 100% open source Helix Player & RealPlayer 10 for Linux, with RealAudio & RealVideo 10 and MP3 support. [helixcommunity.org]
Admittedly, this might have more to do with the vocal contingent who hate Real than