[nmglug] Sony RootKit

[Lee]

It installs driver filters which prevent you from making more than one 
copy of the CD. The ugly part is that it also installs a root kit which 
hides the driver filters in a very stupid way. The rootkit conceals any 
directory, file or application with a name which begins with $SYS$, not 
limited to the driver filters, so once you are rooted, you are wide open 
to the world for malware.

You can remove the rootkit, but once you do, your CDROM drive will be 
inoperative until you also remove the driver filters. Or so I have 
read.  I guess Sony has a website which will remove the rootkit and 
filters, but how much trust should you place in a corporation that roots 
its customers in the first place?

Sony should be sued!

Lee

Ravi Kumar wrote:

>Actually what does the rootkit do ? Does it scan the harddisk for
>information and send it back to sony or something? I am a linux user
>and so I couldn't know.
>
>Ravi
>--
>http://linuxhelp.blogspot.com
>
>On 11/5/05, Ken Long <KenGLong at comcast.net> wrote:
>  
>
>>I've been checking into this and it seems that Sony is now
>>offering a tool to remove the rootkit and all software that was
>>installed after inserting a protected audio CD in a Windows PC.
>>You have to fill out a web-based form with your email info and
>>the reason you want to remove the software from your PC. I said
>>something to the effect that I no longer trust Sony Music and I
>>don't want their software on my PC for any reason.
>>
>>This tool is only available online and uses Active X controls so
>>you need Internet Explorer to use it. I don't actually have the
>>software on my PC and the tool gave me an error message when I
>>tried to use it. I was hoping to download a utility that could
>>be run multiple times on different PCs but it seems they're
>>rather paranoid and want to maintain some measure of control
>>over the uninstall (my opinion.)
>>
>>Ken Long
>>Albuquerque
>>
>>
>>On 3 Nov 2005 at 9:39, Andres Paglayan wrote:
>>
>>    
>>
>>>good reading on why to use Linux instead,
>>>
>>>http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=27426
>>>      
>>>
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>>
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