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Preliminary Settlement Filed in Sony Suit

By Nate Mook, BetaNews

December 29, 2005, 2:24 AM

Lawyers in a class action lawsuit filed against Sony BMG, First 4 Internet and SunnComm last month have submitted a preliminary settlement, which calls for Sony to stop manufacturing CDs with XCP and MediaMax DRM, provide replacement discs, and make cash payments to affected customers.

Lawsuits were filed on November 14 in New York and other states by Girard Gibs and Kamber & Associates, and class action status was granted December 1. The cases claimed that Sony's digital rights management, which attempts to stop computer users from copying a CD's audio tracks to a hard drive, is invasive and damaging to computer systems.

Sony employed technology from First 4 Internet (F4I) that uses a "rootkit" to hide the DRM and prevent its removal. Shortly thereafter, it was discovered that Sony's other copy protection software, SunnComm MediaMax, also poses a security risk and installs without a user's permission.

The two sides met in early December and began "virtual round-the-clock" negotiations about reaching an agreeable settlement. According to the settlement filing viewed by BetaNews, the goal was to provide prompt relief to affected customers and "limit the risk that these consumers' computers would be vulnerable to malicious software."

The settlement terms include all customers who "came into possession of or otherwise used" at least one CD with MediaMax or XCP software on it since August 1, 2003. Sony BMG resellers and distributors are not included, nor are former and current employees of the company.

Sony will continue its exchange program to replace XCP affected CDs with "clean" DRM-free copies and enable customers to download MP3 versions from its Web site. In addition, the company will offer a choice of two incentive packages to ensure XCP CDs are removed from the market.

"Incentive #1" will provide customers with a cash payment of $7.50 and a free download of one album from a list of more than 200 titles. "Incentive #2" removes the cash payment but allows for downloads of three albums.

The downloads will be handled using a promotion code with three major music download services, of which one will be Apple's iTunes. Promotion codes will be valid for six months. Owners of MediaMax CDs, meanwhile, will be offered MP3 versions of the music and one free album download.

In order to be eligible, an individual must return the XCP laden CD to Sony, or provide the company with a receipt showing the return or exchange of the CD at a retailer after November 14. A claim form will be required, as will verification that XCP was uninstalled or updated.

As part of the settlement Sony will continue to issue the XCP Update software, which removes the rootkit cloaking mechanism, and make available a full uninstaller. An update to correct the MediaMax vulnerability will also be issued, and Sony has agreed to work with security professionals to ensure the software is free of known vulnerabilities.

In addition, the three defendants have agreed not to use the data collected from MediaMax and XCP, and will no longer collect personal information from any copy protected CD without a user's express consent. An independent third party will be hired to verify this requirement for 2006 and 2007, and the results will be posted on Sony's Web site.

The defendants will also waive certain provisions of the XCP and MediaMax license agreements, including the restricted use of audio files and requirement that the DRM be updated.

Until 2008, Sony has agreed not to manufacture or distribute CDs with the XCP software, and will no longer manufacture MediaMax 3.0 or MediaMax 5.0 CDs. Unlike albums with XCP, MediaMax CDs currently in circulation will not be recalled.

If Sony decides to ship CDs with new copy protection software before 2008, it must ensure the DRM will not be installed without proper consent, make an uninstaller readily available to customers, and ensure it will not create known security vulnerabilities.

The company has additionally agreed to collect only limited information, such as IP address and data on the CD itself, and will include "a written disclosure in plain English that the CD contains content protection software and a brief description of the software."

If approved, the class will be notified of the settlement terms through e-mail and advertising, and a hearing will be scheduled for a final approval. The current terms do not include an award of attorneys' fees and reimbursement of costs, which could be in the millions.

As class members will release Sony BMG, F4I and SunnComm of all claims by agreeing to the settlement, they may opt out. If more than 1,000 individuals decide to opt out, Sony could withdraw from the settlement. F4I and SunnComm may also choose to be excluded before January 16, 2006, which would leave the companies open to individual lawsuits.

The settlement filing was first posted by Sunbelt Software CEO Alex Eckelberry.

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By thermal.ions

edited Jan 2, 2006 - 5:25 AM

As a minimum, the settlement should provide replacement of the product (without the customer having to jump through hoops, pay for internet bandwidth fees, postage etc), and sufficient cold hard cash for affected customers to have their computer's data professionally backed up, their system professionally re-installed and data restored.

Score: 0

By joolz

posted Jan 3, 2006 - 12:12 AM

The settlement is very light. It is very close to simple reimbursement you would expect if you purchased a faulty product. $7.50 and a replacement CD.

The fact is the product was more than faulty. It was intentionally evasive, invasive and problematic.

With intent, they should pay far more compensation than $7.50 for wasting customers' time and inconvenience.

As an Australian, I was not affected as these CD's were distributed in the United States, but I do believe in the boycott.

I do not understand those who are against the boycott. Would you want to pay for a product knowing that your cash is not going into the quality, but in research and implementation of technology designed to hinder your use of the product? BlueRay, DRM, XCP, Proprietry peripherals, RIAA law suits... The list is getting longer.

BTW, dont forget if you are boycotting, you can also boycott films by SonyPictures too. I know most people boycotting think it won't make much difference, but every little bit will help. So you don't have to just avoid the PSP, PS3, Sony Records, electronics etc, think about SonyPictures too.

Ok thats my 2 cents.

Score: 0

By maniakmx3

posted Jan 3, 2006 - 10:02 AM

"The settlement is very light. It is very close to simple reimbursement you would expect if you purchased a faulty product. $7.50 and a replacement CD."

7.50 and a replacement CD...You don't think that's alot? ok...Lets say 1 Million were affected.
that's $7,500,000, Just in reinburstments. NOW don't forget the $100,000 PER offence!! (I think they're at approx. 42,300,000 for this?) Also, we're talking 14.95 Per replacement CD. there's another $14,950,000.

So in tottal.. The company has lost $65,750,000 With this already? and are loosing more every day? REMEMBER SonyBMG isn't all that BIG.....

Score: 0

By joolz

posted Jan 8, 2006 - 9:36 PM

maniakmx3: thank you for your response.
Yes I would have to agree that that is a lot of money for someone like me, and according to you SonyBMG isnt that big, so ok, maybe it is a lot of money for them as well.

In terms of compensation to an individual customer though, isn't a replacement CD what you would expect as a minimum? Which leaves $7.50 as apology for SonyBMG treating its customer like a criminal, installation of spyware,possible damages, inconvenience in DRM, waste of time fixing it, opening up their computer to viruses, releasing a fix that further opened their computers up to more exploits. And OK so the malicious expoits hackers come up with in using their rootkit was obviously unforeseen by them, but installation without user's knowledge or consent, hiding from the operating system, etc etc... that was intentional, so I would expect the compensation to be higher.

I realise all that is hard to put a price on. But I believe that their actions stem from the culture of the industry and the way it goes about attempting to protect its intellectual property.

And if you can't put a price on it (or boycott), how else can you tell Sony and the Media industry to change their culture?

Thats my opinion. Intellectual property enforcement has gotten out of hand.

Score: 0

By maniakmx3

posted Jan 2, 2006 - 1:28 PM

ok...For all you idiots out there...

Sony is losing Billions because of this. They're investors have been hurt, and the company's name has been damaged! Don't you all think that's enough?

Also all of these comments "Oh, can't buy a PS3 or anything with the sony logo cuz it'll install a rootkit..blah blah..."

Ok, Shut up, You're an idiot, we know :P

Once a company has made a mistake like this, The same mistake won't happen again, all the news thus heard about sony since the first public discovery of the Rootkit, have been news about sony trying to fix the problem. Do you HONESTLY think sony will do this again? If you do you're an idiot. No company has made the same mistake twice, espessially when you've taken as much damage as sony has because of it...

Score: 0

By whateley23

edited Jan 2, 2006 - 8:47 PM

no. it isn't enough. in a perfect world, Sony would go out of business over this - that's the only language that these corporate types really understand. anything less they see as something they can bounce back from.

it's funny that you would use the word "idiot" to describe other people in this thread, though. it's like that guy with the "get a brain morans" sign.

Score: 0

By maniakmx3

posted Jan 3, 2006 - 9:55 AM

Ok, for one Sony isn't a "Company" it's a Corporation! Sony has over 50 branches? The branch that inflicted this was the "BMG" branch. Ohh wait a minute...BMG Sounds familliar doesn't it? Didn't they almost go out of business and Sony saved their hides? lol Sony should have let them be. Now when I describe "Idiots" I mean as in comments like these.

"I can't wait to start watching Sony's Blu-Ray DVDs in my PC! I'm sure those will be nice and clean..."

"hmm odd, i got the 'virus' but i am pretty darn sure i havn't played a sony disc."

Comments like that! (plus a bunch of other long ones that I didn't wanna C&P and take up the whole page...)

"that's the only language that these corporate types really understand."

No...Class Action law suits is the only language that they understand. If it wasn't for the fact that BMG was backed by a conglomerate as big as sony, they WOULD have gone out of business. SonyBMG makes up about 5% of Sony Corp. So for that 5% of the company that made a mistake, you're saying the whole company should go down?? How many people in the world does Sony have employed? 10 Million? more? So you saying BECAUSE this small portion of this corporation made a mistake, the entire stake of the company should be taken down? C'MON! We're talking Millions loosing jobs if Sony went down!!!

I have said this before, you people don't look at the WHOLE picture...

Score: 0

By SecurityGeek

edited Dec 30, 2005 - 8:25 PM

Disappointing. What a joke of a settlement. Any individual who committed the same act that Sony did would be facing at least a billion-dollar damage award. I hope the class all opts out of this crappy settlement and that each and every one of them takes Sony BMG to the cleaners.

I can only hope that Spitzer and Abbott have more teeth than the sleazy class-action lawyers.

Hasse's statement that "most users don't know what a rootkit is..." just goes to show that Sony's culture deems this conduct acceptable, and it's not. Sony's actions are not anywhere near acceptable... and there needs to be a price paid for that. Full compensation award for all related losses + $1bil in punitive damages is an absolute minimum.

Last I checked, my computer still belonged to me. Not whichever massive media conglomerate was fortunate enough to have their CD in it at the time.

Matthew Murphy
Security Researcher

Score: 0

By PC Rat

edited Dec 30, 2005 - 4:04 PM

This represents activist judges out-of-control !

How many people even know what a "rootkit" is ?

The RIAA ought to have the complainers pay large fines for even making an issue about this.

The Computer Rodent

Score: 0

By ogman

edited Dec 30, 2005 - 5:46 AM

Since corporations are always clamoring to be treated as "people," perhaps Sony should have been criminally charged? Here's an article that explores one take on their possible criminal activity:

http://www.mp3newswire.net/stories/5002/doj.html

Note: I still think that a boycott is the best way to handle Sony.

Score: 0

By rijp

posted Dec 30, 2005 - 1:31 PM

You only boycott a company if they continue to be unscrupulous? Were you specifically affected by Sony? What has Sony done to you? jumping on the Anti-Sony bandwagon isn't purposeful at all.

They fixed the problem, ablbeit it took them a couple of tries, but Sony makes a lot more than some CD, are you going to not buy a PS3? you going to quit buying Sony hardware? That's just stupid. There is no reason to boycott them, they got sued, its being fixed, what else do you want?

Score: 0

By Jack-O

edited Dec 31, 2005 - 12:19 PM

"They fixed the problem"

Hmm.. ok, so if I rob a bank and get caught, if I return the money and say I'll not do it again for a couple of years I can go free? Perhaps it will give me enough time to think of how to do it the next time without getting caught...

"Are you going to not buy a PS3?"

From what I hear, the games you buy for your PS3 will be bonded to your hardward via DRMish type protection. This means that you won't be able to take the game you bought and play it on a friends hardware - they have to also buy the game. I don't like the road much of this is taking. So much for rentals...

The masses pay the price for the few that break the laws and I don't think a slap on the wrist is a hefty enough punishment for this type of behaviour by any company. If I'm not mistaken, there ARE laws prohibiting this type of activity and yet I guess if you are rich enough, money can buy you freedom...

Score: 0

By maniakmx3

posted Jan 2, 2006 - 1:24 PM

"From what I hear, the games you buy for your PS3 will be bonded to your hardward via DRMish type protection. This means that you won't be able to take the game you bought and play it on a friends hardware - they have to also buy the game. I don't like the road much of this is taking. So much for rentals..."

Bulls***...You heard wrong.

Score: 0

By wincement

edited Dec 30, 2005 - 2:29 PM

I was not personally affected by the Sony rootkit, but I am affected by their attitude toward their customers:

1. This rootkit only affected honest customers that actually bought the CD. Being one of the VERY few people I know who actually buys music, I don't appreciate being treated as a criminal.

2. Sony only stopped because they were caught. They would have continued forever if they could have.

3. A Sony Executive said, "Most people, I think, don’t even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?"

That's why I will continue to boycott Sony. They did far too little, too late.

Score: 0

By Neoprimal

posted Jan 2, 2006 - 11:13 PM

Wince,

It's really hard....really really difficult to boycott Sony. I mean --- how? I'd love to 'hurt' them in some way, make them know they can't pull stuff like this...but it's near impossible. If you really like a song, and it's by a Sony artist, then they'll get the royalties somehow. What are you gonna do, not buy your fave music? That's hurting you, not them - and 1 billion ppl out there buying it pretty much closes the deal that your opting not to, just doesn't matter.

Score: 0

By wincement

posted Dec 29, 2005 - 3:15 PM

I got one of the CDs on the Sony rootkit list for Christmas, and it didn't have the rootkit on it. Looks like the recall is having at least some effect.

That being said, I still boycott Sony just for their reaction and lack of respect for customers.

Score: 0

By rijp

posted Dec 30, 2005 - 1:27 PM

Not all of the CD's were infected, they were able to catch most of them before they were distributed..

Score: 0

By wincement

posted Dec 30, 2005 - 2:22 PM

Ummmm... they were distributing the CDs for 8 months before they were caught.

Score: 0

By soundpad

edited Dec 29, 2005 - 2:24 PM

I can't wait to start watching Sony's Blu-Ray DVDs in my PC! I'm sure those will be nice and clean...

Score: 0

By dailyvault

edited Dec 29, 2005 - 1:46 PM

Sony/BMG infects thousands of computers around the country, and gets what comes out to a slap on the wrist? Not good enough - not only should Sony/BMG be responsible for all costs involved in getting users' computers repaired, but someone high up in that company should be facing prison time. Plus, at least in Illinois, "Content-Protected" CDs are STILL ON THE SHELVES!!! (So much for Sony's "recall".) I've been in touch with the office of the Illinois Attorney General, and have asked them to come down hard on Sony/BMG. Here's hoping Texas and California have the guts to do so as well. As for me... I'll NEVER buy another Sony product again.

Score: 0

By rijp

posted Dec 30, 2005 - 1:34 PM

Umm.. the fact that the State of Illinois didn't do follow-up to enusre that sony's recall was in effect, isn't Sony's responsibility. They alerted the public, and its EVERY vendors job to remove the defective product. What do you expect Sony to do, personally send agents to EVERY store in America to make sure they are removed? Yeah, that's feasible!

Did you bother to mention this to the vendor or the store manager where you saw the product? Probably not, because you are only loooking for attention. and I am sure the AG in Illinois will get right on what you told them..

Sony, will miss your spending of $50.00 every decade on their products.. such a tragic loss..

Score: 0

By dailyvault

posted Dec 30, 2005 - 2:40 PM

I never said the state was responsible for follow-up. But when I go into a store, and both managers (yes, I *did* talk to them) and employees don't even know there is a recall, then it seems as if Sony has done a poor job (if ANY job) of recalling the discs from the stores. That's where my letter to the Attorney General comes into play - also in the hopes that they follow the lead of Texas in filing suit against Sony.

But, hey, you want to defend a company who treats their customers like criminals, be my guest.

Score: 0

By Neoprimal

posted Jan 2, 2006 - 11:07 PM

It's classic of him. I kinda try to ignore his posts now. They're rife with unnecessary sarcasm and only seem hell bent on going against the 'flow' of what each poster's opinion is.
In any case, I agree. The problem is that it's technically impossible to see to it that certain things are removed from the shelf, unless
1. it kills/hurts people in some way or
2. ires parents
So they know exactly what they're doing. Like every other dog bite from a big company, eventually - a month or 2 later, people will forget about it. They'll remove certain CDs, ie: the one with the rootkit software, but most of the other protection software will remain I'm sure.

Score: 0

By drumcat

posted Dec 29, 2005 - 1:01 PM

$7.50 for the time and effort of a disk format? $7.50 for your personal info being vulnerable? $7.50 for installing illegally? I really hope Texas and other governments don't bend over and take it like a prison wh*** as this settlement seems to be going.

Score: 0

By pretzel

edited Dec 29, 2005 - 12:49 PM

Perhaps the settlement should have precluded SonyBMG staff from continuing to sing "Tomorrow Belongs to Me", which should be very familiar to the BMG part of Sony - as they hanker after the traditional way of settling class-action suits in the 'zee old days' of olive-drab shirts and very precise marching.

Nice to see how habits from 'Old' Europe are bedding down in the
'New' world

Score: 0

By rebradley

posted Dec 29, 2005 - 12:00 PM

I see Sony paid the lawyer very well. What a sham and poor resolution. They need to make CD's available that meet the CD standards with none of their enhancements period. Someone at Sony needs to do some time in jail and the company needs to pay a huge fine.

I'm sure the next widow, next grandfather or the next 10 year old they haul to court with their RICO buddies, the RIAA, won't let them get off that easy.

We can only hope that Texas and New York will kick ass. At a minimum, the payoff to the local politicians will cost a lot more than some cheap lawyers.

Score: 0

By rijp

posted Dec 29, 2005 - 11:15 AM

This really didn't require a lawsuit.. A simple request to Sony, which admitted they made a mistake, would have sufficed.

Score: 0

By ogman

posted Dec 30, 2005 - 5:35 AM

You really are a moron, aren't you?

"Most people, I think, don’t even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?" - Thomas Hesse, Sony Executive

Score: 0

By fewt

posted Dec 30, 2005 - 8:19 AM

That comment right there should have come with criminal charges.

He should have been PERSONALLY tried like a hacker / virus writer.

Score: 0

By ogman

posted Dec 30, 2005 - 12:03 PM

Agreed! Corporations want the same rights as people, so they should be punished like people. Since executives represent the company, they should be charged with the crimes that the company commits and they should serve the time in prison.

Score: 0

By Storklerk

edited Dec 29, 2005 - 11:06 AM

> Until 2008, Sony has agreed not to
> manufacture or distribute CDs with the
> XCP software, and will no longer
> manufacture MediaMax 3.0 or MediaMax
> 5.0 CDs.

Ok, F4I will be burned for the rootkit, MediaMax 4.0, 5.1 and ever other version are still OK.

> Unlike albums with XCP, MediaMax CDs
> currently in circulation will not be
> recalled.

So these CDs will still install DRM on your PC if you decline the EULA. Great!

> If Sony decides to ship CDs with new
> copy protection software before 2008,

So until 2008 no more rootkis from Sony. But just wait for the 2008 releases...

> it must ensure the DRM will not be
> installed without proper consent, make
> an uninstaller readily available to
> customers,

Should'nt this be a default???

> and ensure it will not create known
> security vulnerabilities.

But unknown vulnerabilities because of bad design are OK?

This settlement is a laught!
The XCP-CD should have already been recalled and they say that they will not release any obvios maleware for the next two years. Great, just great...

Score: 0

By Neoprimal

posted Dec 29, 2005 - 9:50 AM

I think it's hilarious. Not to be a greedy pig or anything, but anyone else think it's even slightly unbalanced?

They tap into your PC and claim that you steal music. Then they slap you with a 2 grand, or more settlement for about $100-$200 worth of mp3s, not to mention the lawyer and court fees.

You go and BUY your music, and they sneak stuff that messes up your software....software on your pc that's a grand, maybe more, and stuff that's possibly priceless to you (pics, documents, accounts, etc.), heck, maybe 1000 songs you purchased from Itunes that are DRM and not on your Ipod yet. Then they settle with you for $7.50 and an album download, OR 3 album downloads.

Score: 0

By ogman

edited Dec 30, 2005 - 6:01 AM

I agree. The best way to handle Sony is with your wallet. Stop buying their products. Of course, the way most companies act these days, you may have to stop buying anything at all.

Score: 0

By athome

posted Dec 29, 2005 - 11:09 AM

The software in question was only desinged to cloak their software that reported information back to them. When removed, it did corrupt specific files with regard to burning disks. It did not effect personal data(documents, songs, etc) that are on the computer. A virus that used the cloaking software could, but that information still can be recovered unless there is severe damage; and I haven't heard of any thing to this extent.

I do agree that they are taking this a bit too lightly though. The act of spying, no knowledge, no uninstaller, allowing for further exploitation by others(virus/adware/spyware), and intentionally destroying peronsal property(reg keys) are at the core.

The claims you are making are a bit of a stretch and only confusing the issue at hand.

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted Dec 29, 2005 - 9:58 AM

You are confusing RIAA and Sony/BMG. The two are not the same.

Score: 0

By Neoprimal

posted Jan 2, 2006 - 10:59 PM

Why don't you go check and see who the 3 biggest companies behind RIAA actions are. Go and check who's music they're sueing people for, then come back and tell me who I'm confusing with what....it's obvious the two are not the same, but the fact still remains that the one responsible for these actions, is in a similar way responsible for messing people's computers up. And once again, for the record....if something messes up a driver in your PC horribly - and you get these fixes and they don't work - what do you do?

1. Get it fixed by a professional
2. Fix it yourself and screw thing worse
3. Reformat. You'll have to backup, risk forgetting some important files, etc...

In all 3 cases, it's much trouble you didn't bargain for. You paid 8-14 for a CD, stuck it in your CD drive and got stuck with dealing with the issues above.

Score: 0

By rijp

posted Dec 29, 2005 - 11:17 AM

I don't think it matters. Its everyone on the Sony bandwagon time! Yee haw!

You know how people are..

Score: 0

By Neoprimal

posted Jan 2, 2006 - 11:00 PM

That's totally it. dumba**.

Score: 0

By 2k3john

edited Dec 29, 2005 - 9:33 AM

Class Action Lawsuits belong in the same category of abhorrent behavior as Sony's DRM debacle. How any lawyer could possibly think that $7.50 and a album download (Like I would *ever* download anything from a Sony-sponsored site) represents a resonable remedy for damages inflicted by Sony's unconscionable actions is beyond me. The only people served by this type of class action lawsuit are the attorneys for the plaintiff. I would sincerely hope that anybody affected by this rootkit chooses to opt out of the settlement. As for Sony passing on their losses to the consumer via increased prices - How is that going to happen if nobody buys them? Will you ever buy another Sony BMG audio cd? I won't. I hope this is just the beginning of the end for Sony BMG.

Score: 0

By Reap_r

posted Dec 29, 2005 - 11:42 AM

I agree that the class action lawsuite really benefits only the attorneys here. At the end of the day these vultures are rewarded with millions simply by virtue of being high tech ambulance chasers with no scruples. The real power to promote change lies in the wallets of the customer. Unfortunately most customers are ignorant and lazy when it comes to issues like DRM. They do not make their buying decisions with any thought toward what bad behavior they are rewarding. I do hope that this issue serves at the very least to educate some consumers to a very basic level about what rights they give up by purchasing DRM infected products. Even more unfortunate is the parallel that this has in other areas, like privacy and your right not to be subject to unreasonable search. I would be willing to bet that at least one person reading this has had a conversation or digital communication spied on by the US govt. That is really what keeps me up at night...it won't be long until critisizing the government becomes tantamount to plotting insurgency...then we are all criminals waiting to be caught. Sorry to go off topic but I see a common thread in the arrogance of Sony and the US government. They don't trust us. They consider each and every person a possible criminal. It is their job to stop us and the rules don't apply to them because their cause is just (in their eyes).

Score: 0

By pritchet1

edited Dec 29, 2005 - 9:31 AM

We discussed this issue at great length in the "Letter From the CEO" in the December issue of macCompanion because the MediaMax DRM software affects Macs directly:

http://www.maccompanion....ns/LetterfromtheCEO.htm

Score: 0

By athome

posted Dec 29, 2005 - 8:50 AM

Wow!

Score: 0

By BIL

posted Dec 29, 2005 - 8:38 AM

I'm sick and tired of these weasels getting away with all this stuff. $7.50 or three albums for infecting your computer? If one of us infected thier computer it would cost us big money. I'm sure some of the computers infected were used for small businesses or even a large business. They simply didn't care how much damage they did, or the fact that they were invading our privacy. I say prosecute them to the limit. Make an example of Sony/BMG for all the recording industry to see. I don't even care if the lawyers take most of the settlement as long as these people get hit hard in the pocketbook.

Score: 0

By Chip1035

posted Dec 29, 2005 - 8:59 AM

I totally agree. Although, I believe Sony would bring it upon the costumers by raising prices on their products.

Score: 0

By itanshi

posted Dec 29, 2005 - 8:49 AM

well it's still a victory for us if their reputation suffers, others will avoid the drm with fear of similar results and it may even make them look better than sony in the market place

Score: 0

By itanshi

posted Dec 29, 2005 - 8:25 AM

hmm odd, i got the 'virus' but i am pretty darn sure i havn't played a sony disc.

Score: 0

By athome

posted Dec 29, 2005 - 8:54 AM

Well, I hope you are just playing with semantics here and not believing that it is a 'virus'. The root kit was only designed to hide their content, but virus/adware/spyware were using the cloaking device to prevent detection. If you have a virus, it could be the result of other software.

Not meaning to insult your intelligence!

Score: 0

By rijp

posted Dec 29, 2005 - 11:18 AM

.... you make a grand assumption there...

There would FIRST have to be something to insult!

Score: 0

By Trgiaol

posted Dec 29, 2005 - 12:49 PM

oh! snap!

Score: 0

By morbidqw

edited Dec 31, 2005 - 3:53 PM

i guess sony has hired couple of guys to go abt spreading the good news abt SONY & 2 of 'em really found their place .. [probably payin 'em with the so called prototype CDs that "will not create known security vulnerabilities"]

Happy New Year to everyone except the SONY worshippers ..

Score: 0

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