Customers who have bought a Sony CD that contains rootkit-like copy-restriction technolgies that leaves their PCs vulnerable to attack will be offered an exchange, Sony said on Tuesday.
Sony is also withdrawing the affected CDs from its stores, after a major public backlash over its use of technology that hides digital rights management (DRM) software from the user.
In a statement, Sony said it was sorry for any problems the withdrawal of CDs had caused. "Sony BMG deeply regrets any inconvenience to our customers and remains committed to providing an enjoyable and safe music experience," the company said.
Sony says more than 20 titles have been released with the XCP copy-restriction software, and of those CDs, over 4 million have been manufactured, and 2.1 million sold.
One blogger, though, has put the number of affected titles at 47.
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More information about Sony's CD exchange programme will be made available later in the week. Customers who have already run the CDs on their computers may have to turn to try and remove XCP manually. Over the weekend, Microsoft said its security tools would soon detect and remove it.
Country rockers Van Zant's "Get Right with the Man" kicked off the firestorm when a blogger traced a hidden, spyware-type file on his computer to the CD.
Other XCP copy-protected CDs include new releases by Neil Diamond, Celine Dion, Natasha Bedingfield and The Coral, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Sony also issues copy-restricted CDs using software from digital rights management company SunnComm. But this technology hasn't come under the same kind of attack as XCP, made by UK firm First 4 Internet.
Many ZDNet UK readers have vowed never to buy another Sony product. Last week, the first Trojan horses to use XCP to hide from detection were discovered.
Talkback
How disgusting!
So are they going to offer a free service to remove the unwanted resident from our computers. And please tell us what the Titles are so that we can take care not to play them in our computers. Did the artist know that this was happening too? If so, why would I want to listen to them again!
Concerning this Sony fiasco with the CD rootkits. I'm in the process of buying
a large flat-panel TV. I was looking at a Sony,
as most of what I have now are Sony. But after this underhanded fiasco, I'm choosing
a Sharp flat panel instead. This is my protest. I will buy the unit tomorrow.
This is the last sony product that i bought ,what they did is unethical at best ,no more $$ from me ..bye bye sony.
I have to say that as a formally loyal Sony customer I am deeply disappointed that Sony has resorted to such a low blow. And their totally arrogant attitude almost Draconian, about this whole incedent demonstrates to me that deep down Sony dislikes its customers. And when I think back I remember their refusal to support the MP3 format among other things. So their hardware arm is in it with their media arm. This is a sad day because almost every electronic device I own is a Sony product. From my car stereo to home theatre system to computer monitor and a VAIO among several other commercial products. and I recommend Sony to everyone I know and all our customers.. I want Sony to know that I am not a criminal and have personally spent over $100,000us on Sony products in my lifetime. And I have been responsible for many people purchasing Sony products. I want Sony to know that I wil never ever recommend another Sony product to anyone nor will I purchase another Sony product as long as I breath air on planet earth.
Why doesn't Sony have a website on which a customer can complain about being sold a CD which contains a Rootkit/Virus? I have several of the cdz and I wish to return them for a full refund. I will not be buying any Sony products in the future as a result of this outrageous invasion into my computer by Sony. Shame on me for actually buying these Van Zant CD rather than just downloading them from the Internet. I think Fines and Criminal action is warranted against any executive involved in putting this Virus/Rootkit on the market.
Sony has permanently lost my trust and patronage.
Not ever again will i buy or recommend any Sony product of any kind.
This is not their first abuse of the public trust, but I intend to see that they've had their last opportunity to infringe upon MY rights.
DBS = Don't Buy SONY
Sony is sufficiently fragmented an entity that I am not going to cease purchase of any Sony product whatsoever, but they HAVE earned themselves their last CD purchase from me. And this is despite the fact that I am a Mac user - Although someone has found a Mac app on one of the infected discs, there does not seem to be indication that this rootkit affects anyone except Windows users. What both the initial installation and the subsequent response from Sony BMG has indicated, though, is that they believe that ANY tactic whatsoever is valid in order to "protect" their artists' music and hence their profits. In this instance, along with many others, they have only targeted that portion of people who are legitimate customers - The people who are actively engaged in uploading music to p2p networks are acknowledged to be more tech-savvy and will simply circumvent the software. In this instance, it is being advertised that simply holding down the "Shift" key to prevent autorun will prevent the boot of the rootkit infestation software and the disc is then capable of being used (played, ripped) in the same manner as any normal music CD. Lunacy.
Blu-ray concerns - It really worries me that Sony is at the front of the next gen DVD format race with Blu-ray. How sure can we be that they won't be incorporating such features? Maybe Microsoft really does have good reasons for supporting the Toshiba HD-DVD camp.
Just another example how DRM hurts everyone. They are so desperate to force customers into buying their product that they will trample any rights or violate any law to get their profit. Don't buy DRM cd's ever! It's your right to tell them what YOU want to buy, not the other way around. Boycott Sony in all of its branches and maybe they will all get a clue. Supply and demand does not work in reverse....
Absolute shocker by SONY I don't care how much they want to protect their contents & stuff but to sneakily put a software/spyware inside customers computer that will compromise the computer is absolute disgrace..as if there isn't enuff problem alredy with virus/trojans now this crap..
I wouldn't trust what SONY says..if anyone do go for replacement I would triple check again that there isn't some other spyware stuff inside..
Not surprise ppl hav boycott SONY products...I may do the same Was going to get a Playstation 3 when its out BUT not anymore.. XBOX 360 here I come
Absolute shocker by SONY I don't care how much they want to protect their contents & stuff but to sneakily put a software/spyware inside customers computer that will compromise the computer is absolute disgrace..as if there isn't enuff problem alredy with virus/trojans now this crap..
I wouldn't trust what SONY says..if anyone do go for replacement I would triple check again that there isn't some other spyware stuff inside..
Not surprise ppl hav boycott SONY products...I may do the same Was going to get a Playstation 3 when its out BUT not anymore.. XBOX 360 here I come
That's why you should never buy cd's. I preffer magnetic tapes and you should too.
Sony has got a rootkit... I have 2 or 3 recent SONY audio CDs.... I'va played ALL on my PC...
I'm not infected by the SONY RootKit because I'm not a Windows user.. :D
This and other with Linux :D