Sony BMG copy protection rootkit scandal information
Sony BMG's implementation of copy protection measures
Screenshot of the Sony CD audio player, playing Switchfoot's fifth studio album Nothing Is Sound.
The Sony BMG CD copy protection rootkit scandal was a scandal focused on the implementation of copy protection measures on about 22 million CDs distributed by Sony BMG in 2005. When inserted into a computer, the CDs installed one of two pieces of software that provided a form of digital rights management (DRM) by modifying the operating system to interfere with CD copying. Neither program could easily be uninstalled, and they created vulnerabilities that were exploited by unrelated malware. One of the programs would install and "phone home" with reports on the user's private listening habits, even if the user refused its end-user license agreement (EULA), while the other was not mentioned in the EULA at all. Both programs contained code from several pieces of copylefted free software in an apparent infringement of copyright, and configured the operating system to hide the software's existence, leading to both programs being classified as rootkits.
Sony BMG initially denied that the rootkits were harmful. It then released an uninstaller for one of the programs that merely made the program's files visible while also installing additional software that could not be easily removed, collected an email address from the user and introduced further security vulnerabilities.
Following public outcry, government investigations and class-action lawsuits in 2005 and 2006, Sony BMG partially addressed the scandal with consumer settlements, a recall of about 10% of the affected CDs and the suspension of CD copy-protection efforts in early 2007.
and 26 Related for: Sony BMG copy protection rootkit scandal information
The SonyBMG CD copyprotectionrootkitscandal was a scandal focused on the implementation of copyprotection measures on about 22 million CDs distributed...
existing rootkit on affected systems. One BBC analyst called it a "public relations nightmare." SonyBMG released patches to uninstall the rootkit, but it...
Sony BMG and sparked the 2005 SonyBMG CD copyprotectionscandal; in that context it is also known as the Sonyrootkit. Security researchers, beginning...
SonyBMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's...
songs included in the games. November 15 The SonyBMGcopyprotectionrootkitscandal breaks as SonyBMG announces that it will recall all remaining stock...
He recognized the SonyBMGcopyprotectionrootkitscandal to be a criminal act by Sony. Stallman supports a general boycott of Sony for its legal actions...
(2010-11-01). "SonyBMGrootkitscandal: 5 years later". Network World. Archived from the original on 2018-08-14. Retrieved 2015-02-20. "Sony to Buy Gracenote...
automatically and surreptitiously installed copy-prevention software on computers (see SonyBMGcopyprotectionrootkitscandal). Such discs are not legally allowed...
deployment. In the SonyBMGcopyprotectionrootkitscandal (October 2005), SonyBMG produced a Van Zant music CD that employed a copyprotection scheme that...
the forefront of the SonyBMG CD copy prevention scandal, which eventually led to the recall of all CDs that contained the protection. After the large success...
asked about the SonyBMGCopyprotectionrootkit, Hesse's declaration to Neda Ulaby: "Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should...
Bryce Cogswell and Mark Russinovich, who sparked the 2005 SonyBMG CD copyprotectionscandal in an October 2005 posting to the Sysinternals blog. On July...
the SonyBMGcopyprotectionrootkitscandal began, where it was discovered that SonyBMG surreptitiously and possibly illegally distributed copy protection...
2005 SonyBMG CD copyprotectionscandal started when security researcher Mark Russinovich revealed on October 31, 2005 that Sony's Extended Copy Protection...
Retrieved January 14, 2015. Brown, Bob (November 10, 2010). "SonyBMGrootkitscandal: 5 years later". Network World. Archived from the original on April...
Global Information