Sony Warned Weeks Ahead of Rootkit Flap 335
pdschmid writes "Business Week has an article describing how Sony BMG had been warned by F-Secure on Oct. 4 about the dangers of their rootkit protection, but failed to do anything until Oct. 31 when computer-systems expert Mark Russinovich revealed the rootkit in his blog." From the article: "Sony BMG officials insist that they acted as quickly as they could, and that they expected to be able to go public and offer a software patch at the same time. However, Russinovich posted his blog item first, forcing Sony BMG to scramble to contain the crisis. It recalled millions of CDs recorded by 52 artists, including Van Zant, Celine Dion, and Neil Diamond. Plus, it offered exchanges to customers."
Still on the Shelves (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Sony made a rootkit? (Score:2, Informative)
Surely you jest...
...and that doesn't even count all the Slashbacks. Maybe you should consider adding a </sarcasm> tag :-) . I must admit, however, that this is one case where I don't mind the repeated updates. I hope Sony isn't allowed to forget what they did. This will make an example of them to anyone considering such tactics in the future.
Don't forget Sony's other nasty DRM (Score:5, Informative)
If you have a device driver named Sbcphid.sys (which shows up as a hidden non-plug-and-play device named Sbcphid when active), you've got MediaMax and should remove it [cdfreaks.com].
Only the EFF [eff.org] has mentioned MediaMax in the various legal claims against Sony, and Sony has remained silent about it in public as well. Obviously they're not sorry about using DRM at all -- they're just sorry they got caught.
Re:Proves public disclosure is the best for securi (Score:4, Informative)
Oh man nothing like sucking up to
Re:recalled? (Score:1, Informative)
If it was discovered that one of Ford's vehicles had faulty seat belts, dealers would certainly not continue selling the affected vehicles before having the problem addressed. Why is it permissible for retailers to continue offering these tainted discs? It makes me wonder if retailers could also be held responsible to some degree in the upcommming lawsuits against Sony.
Always remember to look for this logo [wikimedia.org] before purchasing audio compact discs. It ensures that the disc follows the Red Book [wikipedia.org] standard which does not permit anything but music.
Re:Don't forget Sony's other nasty DRM (Score:5, Informative)
However, yesterday word came out [freedom-to-tinker.com] that in some cases the software can become permanently activated even though the user declined to have it installed.
Re:Another possibility exists... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Don't forget Sony's other nasty DRM (Score:3, Informative)
Re:If this is true... (Score:2, Informative)