WOW hackers defeat Warden News

Sony DRM phones home

Apparently it also sends the id of the CD you've bought to request new album art (err hehe).

The big story here is not WoW who sniffs stuff, but the (Sony) rootkit that f*cks with your PC.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/11/01/sony_rootkit_drm/

Let's reward people who actually buy our products by messing up their PC. Way to defeat the pirates Sony.

Nice one Sony BMG. Well fucking done, you cunts.

its not exactly clear what they've 'hidden' tho is it. i know its in the best interests of piracy not to give the game away and help spread the method to the 'not so clued up' crowd but how exactly has sonys DRM malware helped circumvent the protection for WOW.

surely that would make a more interesting read ... no ?

First 4 Internet or Last 4 Common Sense ?? I can understand the desire of Sony for a good DRM tool but a damned rootkit ffs ??

I have no issues with Warden and I hope they can modify it to detect any cheating arsehole in my beloved WoW.

The issue here is beyond WoW, First4Internet put software on a music CD that allows someone to hide files beyond the reach of antivirus scanners etc.

The rootkit does not circumvent WoW's copy-protection, it just makes it possible to run processes that the WoW anti-cheat software Warden cannot detect. A lot of the game is handled client-side so cheaters will be able to tweak the way their client works without Warden knowing.

The Sony rootkit is nast, particularly if you try to remove it manually. A failed uninstall of it will stop your CD drive working or worse stop your machine from booting. It also forces unstable drivers to run in Safe Mode which is very very very very very poor practice.

I think Sony have already admitted it's pants and the developers were forced to release a new version that isn't so aggressive.

but ffs who's machine is it anyway mine or theirs?
and legally, how can they do what they want to my property without telling me?
oh yeah, the EULA i imagine. The one you agree to when you open the box but that you can't read until you've opened the box?

edit: doh! READ the article Jelly, READ it! not SKIM it! Doh!

The Sony rootkit is very useful for hiding files, processes, drivers and registry entries. Basically anything that starts $sys$ is hidden from view by the 'patch' that the DRM applies to the running kernel. If my understanding is correct, the only way of actually detecting something that's running with the $sys$ name is by trawling through the physical memory searching for the running process.

wow ! (no pun intended), really is shit practice for sony.

surely that would have made a better story than the one up top ... its a lot more interesting and informative. thanks, i'd have never got me head round it :)

Not really sure how the rootkit was supposed to stop piracy anyway. If people just download the mp3's then they won't get the rootkit installed.

I love how everyone here just jumps on the oppertunity to slag Sony off though. hey, so what if Blizzard uses Spyware, we all love them. Lets all attack Sony for attempting to crack down on piracy.

Sure, Sony shouldn't be installing stuff on your machine without your knowlede, but neither should Blizzard.

I can't even in the slightest way understand how they (Sony etc) can believe a shitty protection-thingy could lessen the rampant piracy. If you can listen to the CD, you can copy it no matter what. Simple as that.. If they somehow manage to prevent a pure rip on the computer, just plug in the trusty CD-player and sample it.

The only thing this does is punish the people who actually buy the CD....

Soon, the only way of having the freedom of choice how and when you want to listen to music is to revert completely to piracy.... pretty weird..

"Sure, Sony shouldn't be installing stuff on your machine without your knowlede, but neither should Blizzard."

Every time you patch WoW you need to agree to two sets of terms. One for you are to behave and one for how Blizzard are to behave, if they change the content of those agreements between patches then it's up to you to read what's in it.

I skim them myself, but then I trust Blizzard, especially with their stance on online cheaters.

http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/004145.php


Now the Legalese Rootkit: Sony-BMG's EULA
November 09, 2005

If you thought XCP "rootkit" copy-protection on Sony-BMG CDs was bad, perhaps you'd better read the 3,000 word (!) end-user license agreement (aka "EULA") that comes with all these CDs.

First, a baseline. When you buy a regular CD, you own it. You do not "license" it. You own it outright. You're allowed to do anything with it you like, so long as you don't violate one of the exclusive rights reserved to the copyright owner. So you can play the CD at your next dinner party (copyright owners get no rights over private performances), you can loan it to a friend (thanks to the "first sale" doctrine), or make a copy for use on your iPod (thanks to "fair use"). Every use that falls outside the limited exclusive rights of the copyright owner belongs to you, the owner of the CD.

Now compare that baseline with the world according to the Sony-BMG EULA, which applies to any digital copies you make of the music on the CD:

1. If your house gets burgled, you have to delete all your music from your laptop when you get home. That's because the EULA says that your rights to any copies terminate as soon as you no longer possess the original CD.

2. You can't keep your music on any computers at work. The EULA only gives you the right to put copies on a "personal home computer system owned by you."

3. If you move out of the country, you have to delete all your music. The EULA specifically forbids "export" outside the country where you reside.

4. You must install any and all updates, or else lose the music on your computer. The EULA immediately terminates if you fail to install any update. No more holding out on those hobble-ware downgrades masquerading as updates.

5. Sony-BMG can install and use backdoors in the copy protection software or media player to "enforce their rights" against you, at any time, without notice. And Sony-BMG disclaims any liability if this "self help" crashes your computer, exposes you to security risks, or any other harm.

6. The EULA says Sony-BMG will never be liable to you for more than $5.00. That's right, no matter what happens, you can't even get back what you paid for the CD.

7. If you file for bankruptcy, you have to delete all the music on your computer. Seriously.

8. You have no right to transfer the music on your computer, even along with the original CD.

9. Forget about using the music as a soundtrack for your latest family photo slideshow, or mash-ups, or sampling. The EULA forbids changing, altering, or make derivative works from the music on your computer.


So this is what Sony-BMG thinks we should be allowed to do with the music on the CDs that we purchase from them? No word yet about whether Sony-BMG will be offering a "patch" for this legalese rootkit. I'm not holding my breath.