Offmessage

It’s like shooting fish in a barrel, obviously, but here’s yet another calculation of exactly how far off these RIAA lawsuits really are.

“Litigation is not ‘artist development’. Litigation is a deterrent to creativity and passion and it is hurting the business I love.”

They really don’t know when to stop, do they?

And Sony are rapidly sinking in it. Don’t struggle lads, it’ll only make it worse…

…on the Sony rootkit saga. This time from Bruce Schneier over at Wired. He asks us to consider the real story: How come our AV software didn’t pick this up in the first place?

Who are the security companies really working for? It’s unlikely that this Sony rootkit is the only example of a media company using this technology. Which security company has engineers looking for the others who might be doing it? And what will they do if they find one? What will they do the next time some multinational company decides that owning your computers is a good idea?

I’ll stop posting about the Sony thing soon, really I will. But this latest little episode throws the whole thing into yet sharper focus… first4internet (makers of the XCP software used by Sony) have infringed the LGPL by using DVD Jon’s code without correct attribution. So. There’s one kind of copyright for you, and another for us? Is that how it works?

Oh. And then of course there’s this one too….

Sony DRM uninstaller ‘worse than rootkit’

Sony recalls copy-protected CDs

Oh dear – it goes from bad to worse…

Sony’s controversial anti-piracy CD software has been labelled as spyware by Microsoft.

Virus writers are exploiting Sony’s controversial anti-piracy software to hide their malicious creations.

Oh dear. This is rapidly turning into a PR nightmare. I can’t say I have any sympathy… Quick update on EMI as well… In my first post on the topic I said EMI used the same technology. I stand corrected having spoken to my friend there; they trialed it, but chose another solution.

In response to criticism, Sony BMG said it would provide tools to users and security firms that would reveal the hidden files.