Hi, I'm glad you're reading this post. Please take a moment to read though it, because this matter is very important and it's likely to be tossed aside by the powers that be because of it's obscurity. If you find the following just as shocking as I, please pass this on though email or your own blog. Besides getting the word out, you can also boycott Sony-BMG and
write your congressman. I know it may seem an archaic thought, but you can send an email to your congressmen - even if you don't think it will have an effect it will only take a few minutes, so what's the harm?
Why? Sony is releasing new CDs with a Copy Protection system on the CD. You cannot play these CDs with your favorite media player on a PC, you must play them with the software the CD installs. That's annoying enough right there I'm not going to buy a Sony CD, but that's not what I'm calling a boycott for. The CD,
without your permission or knowledge installs what is called a "rootkit." For the non-hacker geeks out there, this is a piece of software, normally written by deviant 13 year olds and other computer criminals, that prevents the user and computer from knowing that some software is running on the system. After installing the rookit, Sony installs a program that watches what you are doing with your PC.
To put it in simple, non-geek terms: By
playing a Sony CD in your computer, Sony installs a
wire tap to monitor what you use your computer for.
There is no uninstall for the rootkit, and worse, if you find the program and just delete it, you will crash your system and will need an alpha geek to get it back. Mark Russinovich gives the
tech breakdown on what is going on. The EFF
explains what the legal take on the matter is, which sadly isn't clear. Basically, since you click the little "I agree" button Sony has rights to invade your privacy and anyone who uses the computer after you. (Oh yea, if you read the agreement, they forgot to point out what software they were installing and what it would do).
We need to send a message to Sony that this kind of practice is not acceptable. They claim it's because we do not respect their intellectual property rights, but as the EFF notes, they do not show any respect for our right to privacy. We also need to send a message to congress requesting laws be passed preventing this type of behavior. If this is allowed to stand it won't be long before every company follows Sony's lead. Every web page visited, every email written, every purchase made, every password typed in... all logged and sent to who ever wants the information.
Posted By Mike On Friday, November 04, 2005
Filed under politics sony |
Comments (3)
SCH
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Saturday, November 05, 2005
12:24:00 AM
I figured I should let you know that I stole a comment you made on someones blog. I can't find that particular blog though. The comment was "When I'm having a dream without sexual activity, I change the channel." I Loved it so I stole it. I hope you don't mind.
J
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Saturday, November 05, 2005
4:12:00 PM
can i post this on my blog giving you credit
Mike
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Saturday, November 05, 2005
4:49:00 PM
By all means do! (I'm not really concerned with the credit so long as more people know what's going on).
An update; Sony released a tool that will let you unhide the rootkit to see if you have it, but not uninstall it.
