Home » Audio » General » Be Careful When Playing CDs on Computers
Be Careful When Playing CDs on Computers [message #2352] Wed, 02 November 2005 06:24 Go to next message
elektratig is currently offline  elektratig
Messages: 348
Registered: May 2009
Grand Master
I'm not technologically literate, and I even have sympathy for copyright holders trying to protect their products from excessive copying, but it looks like Sony is doing something with their CDs that seems to be taking Digital Rights Management too far. Apparently, when you play certain CD's on a computer, they automatically load a "Rootkit", defined as a "cloaking technolog[y] that hide[s] files, Registry keys, and other system objects from diagnostic and security software, and they are usually employed by malware attempting to keep their implementation hidden."

If I understand the article correctly, it consumes processing power even when you're not playing CDs because it is constantly monitoring your computer:

"I closed the player and expected $sys$DRMServer’s CPU usage to drop to zero, but was dismayed to see that it was still consuming between one and two percent. It appears I was paying an unknown CPU penalty for just having the process active on my system. I launched Filemon and Regmon to see what it might be doing and the Filemon trace showed that it scans the executables corresponding to the running processes on the system every two seconds, querying basic information about the files, including their size, eight times each scan."

The author's conclusion:

"The entire experience was frustrating and irritating. Not only had Sony put software on my system that uses techniques commonly used by malware to mask its presence, the software is poorly written and provides no means for uninstall. Worse, most users that stumble across the cloaked files with a RKR scan will cripple their computer if they attempt the obvious step of deleting the cloaked files.

"While I believe in the media industry’s right to use copy protection mechanisms to prevent illegal copying, I don’t think that we’ve found the right balance of fair use and copy protection, yet. This is a clear case of Sony taking DRM too far."

If there's anyone who's more technologically sophisticate than I am (and that ain't hard), I'd be interested to hear how disturbing or dangerous you think this is.


Re: Be Careful When Playing CDs on Computers [message #2353 is a reply to message #2352] Wed, 02 November 2005 07:09 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Wayne Parham is currently offline  Wayne Parham
Messages: 18786
Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)

My opinion is that 1. Intellectual property in the digital realm should be treated exactly the same as it is in any other field and 2. Developers shouldn't be so zealous about trying to implement copy protection schemes to protect themselves. I applaud a person that is smart enough to cover his own backside, but the methods used for copy protection are sometimes so problematic for the user (who is also the customer, after all) that they tend to alienate people, which is counterproductive for everyone. So if you want to solve this problem, you're probably going to have to see a shift in the way IP in the digital realm is treated.


Re: Be Careful When Playing CDs on Computers [message #2354 is a reply to message #2352] Wed, 02 November 2005 07:24 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Manualblock is currently offline  Manualblock
Messages: 4973
Registered: May 2009
Illuminati (13th Degree)
You can't uninstall Windows Media Player anymore after 2000 and they put tracking programs in the registry to follow your usage habits. This type of thing is why we need a Supreme Court that believes in the privacy right. You know the states won't protect it, they get funding from business.
Perfect example.

Have you tried PHILZONE?

Re: Be Careful When Playing CDs on Computers [message #2355 is a reply to message #2354] Wed, 02 November 2005 11:56 Go to previous messageGo to next message
elektratig is currently offline  elektratig
Messages: 348
Registered: May 2009
Grand Master
MB,

Believe me when I tell you that the legal issues surrounding this have nothing to do with a constitutional right to privacy. And, in fact, state law and state courts are going to be the primary battlefields on which such issues are fought -- unless Congress, using its power under the Interstate Commerce Clause and Copyright Clause choose to occupy the field by enacting a statute that preempts state laws. But absent that, claims will be primarily governed by state law, such as contract law (e.g., does the End User License Agreement constitute a binding contract?) and state consumer protection laws (e.g., are the disclosures in the EULA so vague and opaque as to be misleading or worse?).

Ironically, you may scoff at state law, but in many ways the states have more latitude than and are more pro-consumer activist than Federal courts can be -- in fact, sometimes too much so IMHO (you've heard of "junk science"?). For example, most of the "pro consumer" class actions you hear about, involving claims for defective products (asbestos, cars, drugs, etc.), involve state laws.



Re: Be Careful When Playing CDs on Computers [message #2356 is a reply to message #2355] Wed, 02 November 2005 12:59 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Manualblock is currently offline  Manualblock
Messages: 4973
Registered: May 2009
Illuminati (13th Degree)
Absolutely but let me ask you about the filing of defective product lawsuits; isn't it true that they are filed in state court due to the notoriously generous juries convened at the state level?
Don't the lawyers love that aspect of state juries?

Say; did you try that site..Philzone.com? They have a lot of info on what you ask and how to treat that larceny.

I'm leaving this model [message #2357 is a reply to message #2352] Wed, 02 November 2005 14:27 Go to previous messageGo to next message
akhilesh is currently offline  akhilesh
Messages: 1275
Registered: May 2009
Illuminati (3rd Degree)
Ther ear etoo many artists, and too much music out there that is LABEL free. I'm sick of feeding the label greed, where artists get a buck or two per CD.
HEre is a site:
www.cdbaby.com

there may be others. Let us know if you find any.
I'd rather buy here. The only label CDs i'm going to buy are used ones on Ebay or in used stores. The ones that sell for 5-6 bucks or less.
akhilesh



Re: Be Careful When Playing CDs on Computers [message #2358 is a reply to message #2356] Wed, 02 November 2005 15:25 Go to previous messageGo to next message
elektratig is currently offline  elektratig
Messages: 348
Registered: May 2009
Grand Master
MB -- I'm going to look at Philzone in the a.m. when I have more time.

As to your question, state-law claims can, at the option of the plaintiff, sometimes be filed in federal court, depending on the citizenship of the parties (generally, if the plaintiff and the defendant are from different states, federal court is available). If he has the option, whether a plaintiff decides to sue in state or federal court depends on a number of tactical factors. I don't want to get to technical, but to give one example, there may be different procedural rules in state and federal court as to when an appeal is available. Or, the lawyer may just be more comfortable in state or federal court.

Jury pools may be a factor too. If a plaintiff can bring a case in state court in The Bronx in NYC, he may choose to go there rather than to the corresponding federal court (which is either in White Plains or Manhattan), on the theory that Bronx juries are notoriously generous. In other situations, the roles may be reversed, and it may be in the plaintiff's interest to sue in federal court. There was, for example, a federal judge in Alton, Illinois about 20 years ago who just hated corporations. Every plaintiff in the area would if possible sue in federal rather than state court because, basically, they couldn't lose.

Finally, just to make it clear, the important role played by state courts and state law is not limited to product liablity. Virtually all states, for example, have various consumer protection laws, often with treble damage remedies, attorneys' fees, etc. Even in employment and housing discrimination, which you probably think of as largely a federal matter, all states that I know of have such laws, and often they are more protective of individual rights than federal statutes, and plaintiffs often choose to sue in state court under state law.

Napster [message #2359 is a reply to message #2357] Wed, 02 November 2005 18:18 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Wayne Parham is currently offline  Wayne Parham
Messages: 18786
Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)

Have you noticed the Napster commercials lately? I'm not sure what they're doing, but it sounds like they may be taking a posture similar to commercial broadcast radio. That's a business model that makes usage "free" to the public by being funded by advertisers. The media that is played gets exposure, and so the authors want it to be broadcast. Program owners don't lose any rights but gain exposure and the broadcasters are able to operate on revenues brought in by advertising. Seems pretty cool, and I wonder if Napster is positioning itself to do something like that now.


Re: Napster [message #2360 is a reply to message #2359] Wed, 02 November 2005 18:30 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Bill Martinelli is currently offline  Bill Martinelli
Messages: 677
Registered: May 2009
Illuminati (1st Degree)
I dont know what Napster is trying to do but if it's want to be like commercial radio I highly doubt that its an effort for the good of the people.

see link what some think commercial radio is all about


Re: Be Careful When Playing CDs on Computers [message #2361 is a reply to message #2358] Wed, 02 November 2005 19:14 Go to previous messageGo to previous message
Manualblock is currently offline  Manualblock
Messages: 4973
Registered: May 2009
Illuminati (13th Degree)
Yep; I agree. I saw that as you describe while working with the Union.

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