Security threats Toolkit

Story: Sony offers to replace rootkit CDs

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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.

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