Have you played any new Sony CD's on your computer recently? If so, you may have the "rootkit" files on your computer. And have you played any new Sony CD's at work? If so, you may have infected the network at work? Do you work on a military base or for a government agency and have played any new Sony CD's on your work computer? Well, you get the picture. According to some sources, over 580,000 computers have been infected with Sony's rootkit files.

Quick summary: a "rootkit" is file on your computer that hides itself by changing the operating software so it can't be seen. Once hidden, it can pretty much do whatever it wants, including disabling other software, connecting to the Internet, and receiving instructions from the Internet. Since it's hidden from the operating system, there is no way for a user to remove it... after all, the OS doesn't even know it's there.
In the case of Sony, the anti-virus companies (and Microsoft) are now developing tools to detect and remove Sony's rootkit files.

Anyway, here are some interesting links:

• The original blog by the guy who discovered Sony's "rootkit" files:
  http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2005/10/sony-rootkits-and-digital-rights.html
• Rootkit Remover:
  http://www.sysinternals.com/utilities/rootkitrevealer.html
  Includes a discussion about rootkits and a link for the Rootkit Revealer program. It will only reveal the hidden files, though, and not delete them. If you follow some of the links, there are instructions on to remove the hidden files, but the discussions tend to be very technical and you can easily break Windows if you're not careful. For example, some rootkit files may attach themselves to your CD drive. If you remove the files, your CD drive may not work properly... which is one of the biggest complaints about removing the Sony rootkit files.
• Amzon.com
  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00092ZM02/104-6473795-2524736?v=glance&n=5174&s=music&v=glance
  [DO NOT PURCHASE; EXAMPLE ONLY]
  Go to Amazon.com, search for any CD with the words "[SONY XCP CONTENT/COPY-PROTECTED CD]" and see how people are taking their anger out on the artists on the Sony label. For example, this CD may have some good songs, but people have rated it 1.5 stars (out of 5) due to Sony's "copy protection".
• Sony.com
  There are reports that Sony finally posted a free, no-registration-required uninstaller on their website. But, after reading the above blog (and all the issues with earlier un-installations), I would be wary about trusting Sony to actually uninstall the software. However, the alternative is to either reinstall Windows or wait for a "for-real" uninstaller to be released after the class-action lawsuits have been settled.

P.S. Once again, Mac users are immune to the effects of this Windows-based software.

--John

Even your Department of Homeland Security has wagged a warning finger at Sony over this fiasco...and there are several class action lawsuits taking form. Heck, Micro$haft declared it a virus so it must be serious. It also turns out that the rootkit contains pieces of code that are identical to LAME, an open source mp3-encoder, and thereby breaches that license. http://dewinter.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=215

According to BBC Radio 1 News in the UK if anyone owns a cd with the "[SONY XCP CONTENT/COPY-PROTECTED CD]" on it, they can return the CD for a replacement without the Virus, Question is, has Sony really removed????

I like how AMAZON.com say they are replacing these CD's ie Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield which has the Virus, and i own it. So as im in the uk i pop over to Amazon.co.uk (which is the UK branch of the company) They warn about the copy protection, but unlike the American site say nothing about it being replaced or that it is a virus... I think a stern e-mail to these idiots is in order... so off i go now.... ohh and now i know for definate that SONY has INSTALLED a VIRUS on my MACHINE.... the shits....

Do i have a sony rootkit??? Nahh!!.. like all the other really good stuff... its windows only im on mac OSX ;-)

And I run AnyDVD, which has been shown to block the rootkits attempts to install itself. -Very- nice little applet, AnyDVD is, as it defeats the region code nonsense and lets you view any dvd from anywhere...as well as dealing with the 'bad sector' nonsense...

No, haven't bought any CD's in years...appx 2 years

AnyDVD allows you to rip movie DVD's doesn't it?

Buy a Mac, you won't have any probs. My G5 is virii free and has been since I've owned it.

Seriously, Sony sucks and should be horsewhipped. I feel the pain of our windows bretheren.

Message edited on: 11/19/2005 00:00

I'm with dlk30341. Haven't purchased real-for-goodness piece of Audio plastic in about two years (or more). And I'm with animajikgraphics. I like my iMac G5. Not only is it Windows-vulnerability-proof, but I can cart it out to the living room/home theater (unlike my three towers) almost as if it were a heavy laptop (wireless here). ;)

Don't be careless on a MAC. Bought the Star Wars III DVD 2 weeks ago and learned that the copy protection hinders to play the DVD on a PC or MAC with WinDVD or PowerDVD. If you have autorun enabled (which I have not, at least due to SONY), a Shockwave Flash Player is started, which shows your DVD, but with only a Play, Pause and Fast Forward/Backward Button. Had to make a copy to be able to have a normal viewing experience on my notebook. So they also targeted on the MAC here.

I think this is the wrong message from the content industry. Buy it and you get a virus or you can't use it. Download it from the internet and it works. Is that what they want?

Message edited on: 11/19/2005 06:46

As I have kept on top of this issue for a couple of weeks now, I figured I would add something to this thread. It was discovered that Sony's "fix" could actually leave your computer more vulnerable than with just the rootkit installed.

Crackers have discovered some bigger issues with the "fix" and at least one exploit has already been released into the wild to take advantage of it. Fortunately, the morons who wrote it (and anyone who writes viral code is a moron, and my word for them is worse, but I won't use it here) did such a poor job that the actual malicious code does not execute. However, given that someone was able to write exploit code in such short fashion, it is just a matter of time before a destructive module is written.

In other news, that 500+k figure may be a low estimate. I read yesterday the number of infected PCs could be in the neighborhood of 13 million, but the only ones who know for sure are Sony. I'll bet they aren't going to be very forthcoming with the actual number.

< rant>
It's really sad, I feel as though I am just sparking trouble by sharing this information, but the truth is, I am angry and disgusted that a company could get away with this. In reality, those who are creating exploits for the rootkit, when and if caught, are sure to face stiffer penalties than Sony ever will. I don't understand this modern thinking by the powers that be that a large corporation is only somewhat responsible for its actions, whereas an average joe or jane is wholly responsible for the same action. It is time governments stepped up and started prosecuting senior management of corporations that target the public. (I cheer every time one of these sick execs gets a nice long sentence for stealing corporate funds to pay for things like private jets and the like. Too bad it doesn't happen unless the story is plastered all over the 6 o'clock news. It's all about the PR.)
< /rant>

Stuff like this is why I have a small C drive with only windows on it. If my computer does or gets anything I don`t like I put the MAX BLAST cd in the slot and write zeros to the drive, Nothing lives through that, and most times I find its easier and less time consuming than trying to track down and remove something manually.

Im glad that destro75 and JHoagland have posted news on the Sonys criminal attitude towards customers, and thank them for informing us, as without Rosity and it's members i would not have known about this, as in the UK there seams to be an air of "who cares" in the country. sadly i don't think Sony or the UK goverment will do anything about it here. So thanx again guys for the heads up. That Natasha Bedingfield Cd wont be going near my PC again. Ohh and i also only run Windows on C:drive for the same reasons as Sekhet, and it makes Windows run a bit smoother... (no need for Defrag... hehehe)

Too bad it doesn't happen unless the story is plastered all over the 6 o'clock news. I was talking about this point with someone... the sad fact is that it's easier for the media to talk about Tom Cruise's latest exploits than it is for them to report on a "rootkit". Will the average user know what a "rookit" is and how it makes their computer vulnerable? Probably not... and it's these "average" users who will be playing the Sony CD's in their computers! If the issue could be compacted into a 5-word snippet, then the media would take notice. The statement "Sony releases a virus" may be a good headline to get people's attention (and sums up the situation), it may be technically libelous... and that's all we need: Sony suing a newspaper for libel over the rootkit issue! Changing the subject back to Sony: I wonder where the "blame trail" ends? After all, someone came up with the idea, then their manager approved it, then their manager approved it, then the IT manager approved it, then the assistant VP approved it, and so on. Did none of these people even think about the consquences? (Obviously not). And will the executives think, "Hmm... that didn't work so well. Let's work on tighter security measures!" Remember, these are the same executives who blame their poor sales on only pirating. They ignore other factors such as poor music, high CD prices (especially when compared to iTunes and the now-legal Napster), etc. --John

Changing the subject back to Sony:
I wonder where the "blame trail" ends? After all, someone came up with the idea, then their manager approved it, then their manager approved it, then the IT manager approved it, then the assistant VP approved it, and so on. Did none of these people even think about the consquences? (Obviously not).
And will the executives think, "Hmm... that didn't work so well. Let's work on tighter security measures!"

Remember, these are the same executives who blame their poor sales on only pirating. They ignore other factors such as poor music, high CD prices (especially when compared to iTunes and the now-legal Napster), etc.

Good points. I personally feel that whole chain should be held accountable. Perhaps not jail time, but something. More than a simple "Tsk tsk, bad boys and girls." I mean, if it was me that released a viral code module into the wild, I would be imprisoned for at leasta year, perhaps 3, and I would be banned from using a computer for at least 10 years after release. (This was an actual punishment handed out once.)

The fact that most music is crap is the number one complaint of practically everyone these days. The record companies want to point the finger everywhere else to cover the fact that they are signing people with no talent.

Personally, I don't DL music. Whatever I listen to is on the radio, streams via Launchcast, or I buy it on CD. But I never buy a disk unless I have heard at least 3 songs that I truly can say I like. At that point, I feel I will get the best music for my money. Almost every time I am satisfied, but of course there are still exceptions.

Who knows? Maybe this will turn out to be a wakeup call. It is the perfect opportunity for governments to get some good PR. Obviously, MS sees the potential. They jumped on the "beat Sony down" bandwagon. Could that have anything to do with the release of a new XBox fast approaching, ahead of the new PlayStation? Hmmmm...

No destro75, MS MUST jump on the "beat Sony down" bandwagon. Their strategy is to use the PC as home entertainment center of the future, and if people have the feeling it is not save to play content on their HiFi-PC, then this strategy is dead. With Windows Vista, they present a tight DRM system and any other system just flaws their plans, especially when it's going to change the OS itself. It's all about business...

'I wonder where the "blame trail" ends?' The blame trail may not be the issue here. A more pertinent question, (as far as sony are concerned) is 'Where does the profit trail end?' The answer to that is simple. It should end this christmas in stores all over the world when consumers avoid sony products like the plague. Sony top management couldn't give a hoot about prosecution, at least, if it happens at the lower levels, (and you can be sure that's where it would happen). All they care about is profit. No profit = no jobs. Simple. And it's up to every one of us, as consumers, to do our bit to send sony a message from now on. 'Try to screw me and I'll hit you where it hurts!'. BTW, I'm not against profit. I'm a good upstanding capitalist. But the music industry has plundered and raped consumers for decades now. They whine and moan about file sharing, but I didn't hear them whining when they were re-selling us their back-catalog on audio cassette and cd in the 80s and 90s. The record industry made enormous profits out of that little stunt, and consumers ended up buying everything 2 or 3 times. I'll be going home to scotland at christmas for my usual music/book shopping spree, but I will NOT be buying any disc that's on a sony label or sub-label. mac

Good point Singular3D. I didn't look at the POV.

i dont think Sony etc are too worried about CD sales over downloading, after all if you look at new technology like the Xbox360 ripping music can only be done by CD, as it will not allow MP3's etc from anywhere, apparently this is because of Microsofts anti piracy commitment, which also dissallows ripping any form of movie (DVIX AVI etc) to the xbox360 apart from the new Microsoft xbox movie format... Will all new gadgets be going down this road????? Personally i buy my music on cds as i had a few issues with transfering my downloaded music to other devices because of some anti-piracy thingee not allowing it on my mp3 player....