I Won't Buy A Sony CD Ever Again

[Frank Giaramita]

The following story is taken from PunkNews.org (www.punknews.org): There appears to be more fallout coming in regarding Sony Music's recent copy-protection system. According to the Washington Post, a class-action lawsuit has been filed in California alledging that the copy-protection software falls under the scope of the Consumer Legal Remedies Act and violates the Consumer Protection Against Spyware Act.

Mark Russinovich, who uncovered the original "rootkit," also demonstrated that even the new version software contacts Sony music with identifiable information as well as causing crashes and potential data loss.

Some others have claimed that the software also prevents the "ripping" of even non-copy protected CDs.

One Sony executive attributed all the complaints to ignorance, saying: "Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it? The software is designed to protect our CDs from unauthorized copying, ripping. "

Security experts have responded that the software creates a new vunerability that could be easily exploited by malicious individuals. That argument was given some credence today when a new "trojan" was discovered that takes advantage of the software. Accordingly, anti-virus software from Sophos and McAfee will remove the software, and Microsoft is considering adding support to their upcoming Windows Defender software as well.

The EFF, an digital rights organization, compiled a list of "rootkit" copy-protected albums. Among those are recent releases from The Dead 60s and Acceptance's Phantoms.

The protection placed on the CDs is in reponse to RIAA claims of $4.2 billion in losses per year attributed to file sharing.

[Amplifried]

That's a shame. You being the Coheed guy and all, but I don't blame you.

[leafsacc]

I ripped the acceptance cd and i havn't had any problems. Sony still sucks though.

[fallingapart101]

This war will never end.

[TheAtticusFinch]

yea seriously, i got a Sony Diskman for Christmas 2 years ago and it would never play any of my burned CDs, Sony sucks and this is a fuckin' jip. By the way Frank, how's Rob doing, I haven't heard from him in a while?

[futurebreed]

My brother said his clients have been having a lot of trouble with their computers locking up and he's connected it to this.

[shane hennessey]

sony also gives oral to DJ's for playing their music. Sony BMG are a bunch of prostitutes. they'll give you decent bands but leave you with herpes

[jfb392]

Is the copy protection on the Co&Ca cd?

[Amplifried]

Is the copy protection on the Co&Ca cd?

I don't know, but there's a nice big sony/columbia sticker on the CD sticker. I'll be mad considering I ripped it to mine.

[brutusUbastard]

glad i had downloaded acceptance before i bought it.

[Stubby0918]

If I buy a CD, I should be able to rip it for my own use

[jfb392]

I don't know, but there's a nice big sony/columbia sticker on the CD sticker. I'll be mad considering I ripped it to mine.If I scan fo a rootkit and get something, I'll call them on Monday.
Bastards.

[blankster07]

yeah i got this virus from the new say anything disc... and yeah my cd drive is fucked up... it will suddenly start up and try accessing a cd... it's a total bitch...

[splitsecond]

I wondered how long this suit would take. I am definitely going to join in if I can.

[makebelieve327]

I made a copy of the Acceptance cd for my car, and my computer gets pop ups and spyware every five minutes or so. I'm not sure if it is directly from there, but if it is that is fucked up. Any way to find out if you have this on your computer?

[Stereo Therapy]

ugggghhh.... ill buy the say anything cd but thats the ONLY major label release for a long fucking time. i already have those songs without a fucking rootkit attached.

[BlueSkiesDiner]

I don't know if this will remedy this specific situation (provided you haven't already been infected), but I just wanted to let y'all know that if you turn off Autorun on your computers, it protects you from pretty much all this nonsense. I keep Autorun off and have ripped several CDs, including the new Coheed and Say Anything, and have not had any problems with my comp.

[CROMagnon]

I don't know if this will remedy this specific situation (provided you haven't already been infected), but I just wanted to let y'all know that if you turn off Autorun on your computers, it protects you from pretty much all this nonsense. I keep Autorun off and have ripped several CDs, including the new Coheed and Say Anything, and have not had any problems with my comp.
this, plus if you're curious, download spybot

it's free and it gets the job done

www.safer-networking.org/en/download/ (http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/)

[JOJOFACE]

There's a great article with tons of interesting comments over at 'SlashDot'. (http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/05/11/10/0024259.shtml?tid=233&tid=17)

I tried to submit it earlier, but it gave me an error. :P As of now, only about 20 CD's are effected. (http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/004144.php)

Also, the state of California is suing Sony(New York joined in, too). We'll see how that goes. (http://blogs.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/)


This all makes me so pissed at Sony.

[CorporateFish]

This is just going to make me download music even more. I was about to buy the fray, but sony blew that one.

[Ma Jolie BvS]

Oh, and this "rootkit" is also being used by hackers to do thing like create cheats for World of Warcraft and create Trojans because they found that if you have this rootkit, you can change a filename and make file undetectable to anti cheat programs and anti-vrius software, so yeah I really hope Sony gets screwed over for this.

[clevername]

Damn...gay... Well, thankfully I only have the Acceptance Cd. I always wondered why I could never rip the Foo Fighters CDs to my comp, but I guess this explains it.. Fucking Sony. I want that CD on my ipod but I'm not comprimising my new laptop for it.

[justanact]

sucks to be Midtown.

I've come to terms with the fact that Sony has gone fucking mad. Anyone else hear of the patent they just took out? If the patent is used for the PS3, it would mena that when you put in a disk, the PS3 writes something to the disk..marks it somehow...so that the game cd can only be played in THAT particular machine. Which means no lending to friends...or...buying used games...or renting.

Yea it makes no sense, but it's true. That's the patent they took out...and if they actually implement that technology for the PS3, then it's proof they've gone batshit insane.

sorry about the video game talk, I'm just trying to spread the insanity of the company even further.

[justanact]

Oh, and this "rootkit" is also being used by hackers to do thing like create cheats for World of Warcraft and create Trojans because they found that if you have this rootkit, you can change a filename and make file undetectable to anti cheat programs and anti-vrius software, so yeah I really hope Sony gets screwed over for this.

http://myspace-357.vo.llnwd.net/00235/75/31/235101357_m.jpg

kind of like that?

[Seans9]

fuck sony. get a mac.

[clevername]

sucks to be Midtown.

I've come to terms with the fact that Sony has gone fucking mad. Anyone else hear of the patent they just took out? If the patent is used for the PS3, it would mena that when you put in a disk, the PS3 writes something to the disk..marks it somehow...so that the game cd can only be played in THAT particular machine. Which means no lending to friends...or...buying used games...or renting.

Yea it makes no sense, but it's true. That's the patent they took out...and if they actually implement that technology for the PS3, then it's proof they've gone batshit insane.

sorry about the video game talk, I'm just trying to spread the insanity of the company even further.

Actually I think they're only taking it so Microsoft won't take it again. I haven't heard anything official on this. Any links? I work for an Electronics Boutique and my rep definatly hasn't told me this. And she's usually really honest with me, even if she doesn't agree with Sony. I'm curious to see if you have hard evidance or if you like "think you read it on gamespot or something".

[Flags of Dawn]

This is just going to make me download music even more. I was about to buy the fray, but sony blew that one.
took the words right out of my mouth, even the part about the fray.

[arbron_09]

just wondering what sony thought everyone was buying those "Sony" blank cds for...

[steve-0]

so if I bought the Acceptance CD, played it on my computer a couple times, didnt rip it though, do I have this rootkit?

I reformatted since then though, so its probabaly gone anyways, correct?

[Ambulance X]

fuck sony. get a mac.

What the fuck are you talking about? PC's eat macs alive for cheaper, and there are so many ways to have this not affect your PC if you know how to use it, and actually take care of it.

[moonlights]

interesting...my cd drive has acted pretty fucked up recently, i'm not sure what cds i have related to sony besides acceptance, however my computer randomly decides not to see my cd drive (namely, when i have a cd in there), won't access it, it tries to access it when there is no cd, it randomly makes awful noises, etc...and it works fine from time to time....but not fine just as much.

i have no idea if it's just my cd drive being generic shit or if it's this, but considering the only cds i have put in my drive since i reformatted in august have been of the musical sort...

[Method Acting]

The following story is taken from PunkNews.org (www.punknews.org): There appears to be more fallout coming in regarding Sony Music's recent copy-protection system. According to the Washington Post, a class-action lawsuit has been filed in California alledging that the copy-protection software falls under the scope of the Consumer Legal Remedies Act and violates the Consumer Protection Against Spyware Act.

Mark Russinovich, who uncovered the original "rootkit," also demonstrated that even the new version software contacts Sony music with identifiable information as well as causing crashes and potential data loss.

Some others have claimed that the software also prevents the "ripping" of even non-copy protected CDs.

One Sony executive attributed all the complaints to ignorance, saying: "Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it? The software is designed to protect our CDs from unauthorized copying, ripping. "

Security experts have responded that the software creates a new vunerability that could be easily exploited by malicious individuals. That argument was given some credence today when a new "trojan" was discovered that takes advantage of the software. Accordingly, anti-virus software from Sophos and McAfee will remove the software, and Microsoft is considering adding support to their upcoming Windows Defender software as well.

The EFF, an digital rights organization, compiled a list of "rootkit" copy-protected albums. Among those are recent releases from The Dead 60s and Acceptance's Phantoms.

The protection placed on the CDs is in reponse to RIAA claims of $4.2 billion in losses per year attributed to file sharing.
The EFF, an digital rights organization, compiled a list of "rootkit" copy-protected albums. Among those are recent releases from The Dead 60s and Acceptance's Phantoms.

where can we find a copy of this list

[youcomebeforeyo]

What the fuck are you talking about? PC's eat macs alive for cheaper, and there are so many ways to have this not affect your PC if you know how to use it, and actually take care of it.

Dude, just no.

MAC = Faster and more intergrated OS with more processing power and less suspect to trojans etc. Much better audio and graphic performance and generally all round mac kicks PC's ass.

I remember reading a nice little story a while ago dating from the 80's. Microsofts official PC magazine had a letter written in asking about how they managed to do their magazine layout on a PC (This is in the early days of the PC remember). Well it was with some embarrasment that the magazine editors had to admit their whole magazine was done on a Mac.

Point mac was better then and it still is now.

And yes fuck Sony, this takes them to such a new low. It gives me little confidence in the company and i'm doubtful on buying a PS3 now, i'll probably go for the new Xbox.

[Reiver]

If i was a band on Sony, i'd be pissed if i found this out... this is another reason for bands not to sign to major labels, its pretty obvious that these people only care about the money.

[Brraaad]

indie indie indie thats all i have to say...stick to it, its cheaper, and usually the music is better!
sssscrew the man...just kidding. but still

[understood]

most of these replies have been fucking dumb. first off. saying that sony's fucking up is just being redundant. they, all the majors in fact, are trying to find some way for them to save their ass. they've lost it up the river from downloading and file sharing and what not. we started this with the whole napster thing. we've all seen how many mergers and shit happened because of it. those aren't nice terms in the music industry....it means that people lost their jobs and had to go do other things. think about that. someone had the dream of running a record label and did what they had to in order to get there and because some punk ass kids decide that they don't have to pay for anything anymore he loses his job and has to reinvent how to sell music or he'll be out of the industry for good. point being that saying fuck the man and all that doesn't make it any better. i remember before the napster thing went down that cd's were like 10 bucks.....11.99 at the most for a new cd. sales were at an all time high and the record companies weren't gouging. now we have indie releases that are peaking over 15.99. that's a huge increase in cost and price. no wonder their doing this. it sucks that it's fucked up some people's computers and i'm sure that they'll try to remedy that. (they'll be forced to even if they don't want to). but picture this. saying that you'll never buy a sony cd again is stupid. sony has a large hand in a lot of indies through red distribution. so you'll never really be free of them so go ahead and get over it. and to just go download the music more to "get them back" is even more dumb. all the kids have decided that it's their right to have music for free. i'll tell you this. if a band tells you that that's ok then they've been hoodwinked beyond belief. it hurts the bands. if a band is supposed to sell some crazy number first week and it doesn't work out that way then that's nuts. people are singing their songs before the record comes out and then they don't go out and get it until 6 months later or so. last thing. yeh, majors fuck up. indies do to. it's not like either's better. they're just better at different things. most indies are looking to get up to the major plateau with funds and things like that. whether it be to better market their bands or provide them more support. either way. a band that is on a major label wins. they have more of a chance of success by having that kind of promotion behind them. granted, this is only for the types of bands that will appeal to a wide range of people. not all bands would indeed "win". if you stop buying cds' then you stop supporting bands and fuck all of you for that. i'm sure coheed or acceptance or lovedrug or a static lullaby or midtown(rip) or vendetta red or augustana or any other band on a sony label would just love to see this thread. indies try to keep people from downloading music too. they just don't have the money to do it.

[looram12]

ah the beauty of a free market, its a bitch ain't it, if the music industry was making too much money this thread would be all about putting a windfall profit tax on them

[Flags of Dawn]

Dude, just no.

MAC = Faster and more intergrated OS with more processing power and less suspect to trojans etc. Much better audio and graphic performance and generally all round mac kicks PC's ass.

I remember reading a nice little story a while ago dating from the 80's. Microsofts official PC magazine had a letter written in asking about how they managed to do their magazine layout on a PC (This is in the early days of the PC remember). Well it was with some embarrasment that the magazine editors had to admit their whole magazine was done on a Mac.

Point mac was better then and it still is now.

And yes fuck Sony, this takes them to such a new low. It gives me little confidence in the company and i'm doubtful on buying a PS3 now, i'll probably go for the new Xbox.
macs are better for graphic design, photo editing and things on those lines

PCs are better for everything else.

the end.

[shane hennessey]

macs are better for graphic design, photo editing and things on those lines

PCs are better for everything else.

the end.
you forgot that macs dont get virusus, are 100x better for music playing and recording, video creating/editing. the only thing pc's have got is a better version of AIM, winamp and if you like videogames, then that too.

[shane hennessey]

most of these replies have been fucking dumb. first off. saying that sony's fucking up is just being redundant. they, all the majors in fact, are trying to find some way for them to save their ass. they've lost it up the river from downloading and file sharing and what not. we started this with the whole napster thing. we've all seen how many mergers and shit happened because of it. those aren't nice terms in the music industry....it means that people lost their jobs and had to go do other things. think about that. someone had the dream of running a record label and did what they had to in order to get there and because some punk ass kids decide that they don't have to pay for anything anymore he loses his job and has to reinvent how to sell music or he'll be out of the industry for good. point being that saying fuck the man and all that doesn't make it any better. i remember before the napster thing went down that cd's were like 10 bucks.....11.99 at the most for a new cd. sales were at an all time high and the record companies weren't gouging. now we have indie releases that are peaking over 15.99. that's a huge increase in cost and price. no wonder their doing this. it sucks that it's fucked up some people's computers and i'm sure that they'll try to remedy that. (they'll be forced to even if they don't want to). but picture this. saying that you'll never buy a sony cd again is stupid. sony has a large hand in a lot of indies through red distribution. so you'll never really be free of them so go ahead and get over it. and to just go download the music more to "get them back" is even more dumb. all the kids have decided that it's their right to have music for free. i'll tell you this. if a band tells you that that's ok then they've been hoodwinked beyond belief. it hurts the bands. if a band is supposed to sell some crazy number first week and it doesn't work out that way then that's nuts. people are singing their songs before the record comes out and then they don't go out and get it until 6 months later or so. last thing. yeh, majors fuck up. indies do to. it's not like either's better. they're just better at different things. most indies are looking to get up to the major plateau with funds and things like that. whether it be to better market their bands or provide them more support. either way. a band that is on a major label wins. they have more of a chance of success by having that kind of promotion behind them. granted, this is only for the types of bands that will appeal to a wide range of people. not all bands would indeed "win". if you stop buying cds' then you stop supporting bands and fuck all of you for that. i'm sure coheed or acceptance or lovedrug or a static lullaby or midtown(rip) or vendetta red or augustana or any other band on a sony label would just love to see this thread. indies try to keep people from downloading music too. they just don't have the money to do it.
sony is a fuck up major. first they go off and pay to play. they are giving threats to disc jokeys if they dont play their music, they are giving away trips if they do play music, then eliot spitzer owned them in the court rooms, and sony still didnt learn from their mistakes. now they are putting things into their cd to crash their customers computers. first off, this is incredibly illegal. secondly, once this gets out to the mass public, this is going to bring their cd sales to an all time low. its pathetic and its hurting sony. this shit is going to hurt their ass more than downloading, thats for sure. fuck sony

[justanact]

Actually I think they're only taking it so Microsoft won't take it again. I haven't heard anything official on this. Any links? I work for an Electronics Boutique and my rep definatly hasn't told me this. And she's usually really honest with me, even if she doesn't agree with Sony. I'm curious to see if you have hard evidance or if you like "think you read it on gamespot or something".

I heard it from a friend who read it in the Something Awful forums.

It may very well be so Microsoft won't take it again.

But here's what I found.

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=27568

http://www.joystiq.com/entry/1234000420067137/

http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/12652

http://slashdot.org/search.pl?tid=233

there are more. Yes people are calling it a rumor, but it's because of patent sites they found.

heres one

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=1&p=1&f=G&l=50&d=ptxt&S1=%28Kutaragi.INZZ.+AND+Sony.ASNM. %29&OS=in/Kutaragi+AND+an/Sony&RS=%28IN/Kutaragi+AND+AN/Sony

maybe they won't use it for the PS3. I didn't say they would. But the ps2 was built like a piece of crap. But it's looking pretty bleak for that company...they've had quite a few mess-ups in the past little while that are rightfully making people question the company's decision-making skills.

[moonlights]

most of these replies have been fucking dumb. first off. saying that sony's fucking up is just being redundant. they, all the majors in fact, are trying to find some way for them to save their ass. they've lost it up the river from downloading and file sharing and what not. we started this with the whole napster thing. we've all seen how many mergers and shit happened because of it. those aren't nice terms in the music industry....it means that people lost their jobs and had to go do other things. think about that. someone had the dream of running a record label and did what they had to in order to get there and because some punk ass kids decide that they don't have to pay for anything anymore he loses his job and has to reinvent how to sell music or he'll be out of the industry for good. point being that saying fuck the man and all that doesn't make it any better. i remember before the napster thing went down that cd's were like 10 bucks.....11.99 at the most for a new cd. sales were at an all time high and the record companies weren't gouging. now we have indie releases that are peaking over 15.99. that's a huge increase in cost and price. no wonder their doing this. it sucks that it's fucked up some people's computers and i'm sure that they'll try to remedy that. (they'll be forced to even if they don't want to). but picture this. saying that you'll never buy a sony cd again is stupid. sony has a large hand in a lot of indies through red distribution. so you'll never really be free of them so go ahead and get over it. and to just go download the music more to "get them back" is even more dumb. all the kids have decided that it's their right to have music for free. i'll tell you this. if a band tells you that that's ok then they've been hoodwinked beyond belief. it hurts the bands. if a band is supposed to sell some crazy number first week and it doesn't work out that way then that's nuts. people are singing their songs before the record comes out and then they don't go out and get it until 6 months later or so. last thing. yeh, majors fuck up. indies do to. it's not like either's better. they're just better at different things. most indies are looking to get up to the major plateau with funds and things like that. whether it be to better market their bands or provide them more support. either way. a band that is on a major label wins. they have more of a chance of success by having that kind of promotion behind them. granted, this is only for the types of bands that will appeal to a wide range of people. not all bands would indeed "win". if you stop buying cds' then you stop supporting bands and fuck all of you for that. i'm sure coheed or acceptance or lovedrug or a static lullaby or midtown(rip) or vendetta red or augustana or any other band on a sony label would just love to see this thread. indies try to keep people from downloading music too. they just don't have the money to do it.
wow, another person who believes that the entire drop in cd sales for majors is attributed to downloading. wrongggg.

what hasn't occured to most people is that a lot of that sales has gone to indies. indies are selling more, majors are selling less...hmmm. why do you think all the majors are, instead of looking for new bands, scrambling to sign bands already doing well on indies? because they don't want indies taking their record sales...which is just what is happening. majors are caving in on themselves because of their bad business practices and indies are picking up the slack, which is the very last thing majors want to happen. however, to the public, they say the drop is solely downloading because "our record sales dropped due to independent labels" just isn't really good publicity. instead, they need to make it sound like it's entirely not their fault, and downloading is the perfect thing to blame.

now, i'm NOT saying downloading is harmless, it isn't to majors. however, it's not the only thing hurting them and it certainly doesn't hurt them as much as they make it out to. and downloading...well i would say it's definitely helped indies, and most of them i've seen honestly don't really try to stop it outside of stopping pre-release unauthorized leaks [which makes lots of sense]. the bands ask people to go out and buy the cd...but most of them still seem to honor that they wouldn't be anywhere without mp3s, the internet, and soulseek. personally, i would have never, ever gotten involved in this scene (by 'this scene' i mean pretty much any band ever posted about on this site) if it wasn't for downloading. that's how i hear probably 80% of the bands i listen to, and 15% of that missing percent i hear about because they're opening for a band i heard about by downloading. and i'm pretty sure that's how it goes for most people that listen to music that isn't played on the radio or tv (and let me note, it's not played on the radio/tv because majors pay these media forms to play songs [which is technically illegal], and indies with the exception of some bigger ones, do not).

what indies can you think of that have suddenly exploded since napster hit the scene, and still with little radio/tv advertisement or play? saddle creek, drive-thru, fueled by ramen...i could go on for a while.
it's not a coincidence that indepedent labels blew up when downloading blew up.

there will always be the kids who will download whole albums and don't buy it, but honestly...most people i know who download don't do that. they'll download a couple songs from an album and if they like them, they'll go buy the album eventually.

[leafsacc]

sony has practically ruined Vendetta Red by holding up the release dates of both thier cd's and then not promoting them. They don't promote acceptance either.

[clevername]

I heard it from a friend who read it in the Something Awful forums.

It may very well be so Microsoft won't take it again.

But here's what I found.

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=27568

http://www.joystiq.com/entry/1234000420067137/

http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/12652

http://slashdot.org/search.pl?tid=233

there are more. Yes people are calling it a rumor, but it's because of patent sites they found.

heres one

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=1&p=1&f=G&l=50&d=ptxt&S1=%28Kutaragi.INZZ.+AND+Sony.ASNM. %29&OS=in/Kutaragi+AND+an/Sony&RS=%28IN/Kutaragi+AND+AN/Sony

maybe they won't use it for the PS3. I didn't say they would. But the ps2 was built like a piece of crap. But it's looking pretty bleak for that company...they've had quite a few mess-ups in the past little while that are rightfully making people question the company's decision-making skills.

Oh dude, I never meant to say that it was true. I was merely saying that I was getting closer to the source and haven't heard a damned thing about it. Thus why I asked for info. Unfortunately a lot of those sites aren't that credible if you ask me. I dunno, I was looking more for actual quotes and that sort of thing. And not to be an asshole, and don't take this the wrong way. But Something Awful? Yeah, I wouldn't believe much that I read on there.

And I agree that Sony is the one major that has screwed up the most. I do however like how most of the artists are reacting. I mean telling fans how to get the music and that sort of thing? That's great to see. I mean, that sort of thing doesn't pop up very often on majors.