CD installs virus

[Ally_Kat]

Beastie Boys CD installs virus
By Thomas C Greene
Published Wednesday 23rd June 2004 11:18 GMT
A new Beastie Boys' CD called "To the Five Boroughs" (Capitol Records), is raising hackles around the Web for reputedly infecting computers with a virus.

According to a recent thread at BugTraq, an executable file is automatically and silently installed on the user's machine when the CD is loaded. The file is said to be a driver that prevents users from ripping the CD (and perhaps others), and attacks both Windows boxen and Macs.

The infected CD is being distributed worldwide except in the USA and UK, which prevents us from giving a firsthand report. However, according to hearsay, we gather that the Windows version exploits the 'autorun' option, and that the Mac version affects the auto play option.

On Windows, when a CD is loaded, a text file called autorun.inf is read, and any instructions within it are executed. In this case, the machine is instructed to install some manner of DRM driver that prevents copying. We haven't seen either the .inf file or any of the executables, so we can't say how or at what level it accomplishes this - or if indeed it actually does accomplish this.

But assuming that the unconfirmed reports are accurate, we have here a media company infecting users' machines silently with a file that affects a computer's functionality, without first obtaining informed consent: a likely violation of pretty much every jurisdiction's anti-hacking laws. It's possible to foresee criminal charges being brought at some point: after all, having a good reason for spreading malware has never been much of a defence in court. And a file that alters a computer's functioning without the owner's informed consent is the very definition of malware. Because this malware can be transferred from machine to machine on a removable disk, and requires user interaction to spread, it is, quite simply, a computer virus. (A worm, on the other hand, is distinguished by its ability to spread without user interaction.)

CD virus protection
Let's look at the ways this autorun business can be defeated. It's quite easy to disable autorun in Windows by holding down the Shift key when loading a CD. Unfortunately, this has to be done each time the CD is played. However, it's easy to insert the CD once with the Shift key depressed, and then simply rip the tracks to the hard disk. You can then use the CD in other devices, and listen to your corresponding MP3s or whatever on your computer.

You can also disable the autorun "feature" on your Windows machine permanently so that this and other CDs infected with viruses won't affect you in the future.

To do this, go to the Start menu ==> Run, and type in the command regedit. Your registry editor will launch. Navigate to the following key, and edit as shown:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\CDRom and set Autorun DWORD=0

It might be necessary to create the value, thus: Data Type: DWORD Value Name: Autorun Value: 0

As usual, you must reboot your Windows box for the changes to take effect.

Disinfection
The above procedure assumes that you haven't previously installed the suspected Capitol Records virus, or a similar one from another fine entertainment conglomerate. But if you have, you will need to find and uninstall the malware first. The autorun.inf file on the CD will likely indicate the name of the relevant file(s), the locations where they're installed, and any registry changes made.

Armed with that information, go to the Windows 'uninstall' utility:

Start menu ==> Settings ==> Control Panel ==> Add or Remove Programs ==> Change/Remove.

Look for any program files referenced in the autorun.inf file and uninstall them. If no related programs are listed, you will need to launch the Windows Search Companion and search for any files named in the autorun.inf file and delete them manually. Be sure to activate the options in the "more advanced features" dialog allowing you to search the entire disk (search system folders, search hidden folders, and search subfolders).

Now, a word of caution: if the Capitol Records virus has updated a library file or driver, deleting it might affect your system's functioning, and you might need to re-install Windows to put things right again. (Carefully log the time needed to do this and include it in your criminal complaint.) However, deleting a foreign executable file is safe, so long as it's not one you actually need. So be careful about file name spellings so that you don't accidentally delete an important file that's spelt similar to the one you wish to be rid of. ®

Thomas C Greene is the author of Computer Security for the Home and Small Office, a comprehensive guide to system hardening, malware protection, online anonymity, encryption, and data hygiene for Windows and Linux.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/06..._boy_cd_virus/

[FORD]

Interesting.....

I don't have the Beastie Boys album, but my computer, including my CD burner has been doing some weird shit ever since I played the Velvet Revolver disc on it.

If if have to reformat my entire fucking 120 gigabyte HD because of some RIAA virus, I'm suing those fascist cocksuckers

[BrownSound1]

Yeah, the Velvet Revolver cd has got some kind of shit on it. I was noticing that last week while I was browsing the CD.

I'll say this, there are other ways to stop illegal copying besides loading a virus on someone's computer. Thank God the US won't let them do it legally, but I bet it will still happen in some other form.

[Cathedral]

Wanna beat it?
Use your stereo system to play it, digitally record the music into a program like Cool Edit Pro, then you have it in MP3 format without the virus.
I rarely use my CDROM to play CD's...

[MERRYKISSMASS2U]

sony bmg cd's are doing that now... fucking major controversy.

[Unchainme]

FUCK THE RIAA!!!!!

[MERRYKISSMASS2U]

fuck win32ers.
they are idiots... they say limewire has viruses.... yet the fucking legit cd has rootkits. fuck it all! illogical bastards.

[Nickdfresh]

Originally posted by Cathedral
Wanna beat it?
Use your stereo system to play it, digitally record the music into a program like Cool Edit Pro, then you have it in MP3 format without the virus.
I rarely use my CDROM to play CD's...

Same here, but intentionally infecting a computer is bullshit anyway you slice it.

And sometimes I rip songs from a CD (in lossless) to make a compilation or to copy a CD to stash in the car, or to fill the iPod with MP3/AAC...


I wonder what came of this?

[PHOENIX]

WHY ARE PEOPLE DIGGING UP OLD THREADS?

IS IT TO PISS ME OFF?

[thebuldawg]

Old thread with unfrotunate current relevance.

Originally posted by MERRYKISSMASS2U
sony bmg cd's are doing that now... fucking major controversy.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10101913/from/RSS/

Unsafe Sony CDs swapped for MP3 files, disks
Music publisher tries to win back customers after copy-protection debacle

BARCELONA - In an attempt to make up with consumers whose PCs have been exposed to unsecure copy-protection software which acts like malware, music publisher Sony BMG said on Friday it would swap unsecure CDs for new unprotected disks as well as unprotected MP3 files.

The music publishing venture of Japanese electronics conglomerate Sony Corp. and Germany's Bertelsmann AG had already said last week it would temporarily suspend the manufacture of music CDs containing the controversial copy-protection technology.

The XCP copy-protection program, developed by British software firm First4Internet and used by Sony BMG to restrict copying and sharing of music CDs, acts like virus software and hides deep inside a computer where it leaves the backdoor open for malicious hackers.
Story continues below ↓ advertisement

Sony BMG, after announcing a recall of some 4.7 million CDs with the software on Wednesday, said on Friday consumers could mail their CDs to the company, and they would receive a new unprotected CD in return.

Pending the processing of the exchange program, consumers would also receive an e-mail with details of a Web site where they could download the music tracks as unprotected MP3 files.

Details of the swap program can be found on http://cp.sonybmg.com/xcp/. Music CDs with the copy-protection software can be identified by a web address containing the letters XCP printed on the back of the box.

Last week the music publisher said it would do anything possible make amends with its customers who were outraged when the first viruses were discovered.

Open-source twist
The XCP program will have installed itself on a Windows-operated personal computer when consumers want to play 52 title CDs from Sony BMG. The vast majority of the CDs were sold in the United States.

The copy protection software has become a debacle for Sony BMG. Angry consumers filed a class action lawsuit, and Microsoft said it regarded the copy-protection software as malware and would make a tool available to uninstall the program. Sony BMG also said it will make a new uninstall tool available, after the first uninstall method proved unsecure.

In the latest twist to the story, software engineers found earlier on Friday that the music player which is part of the XCP software contains components from an open source project, an MP3 player called LAME, raising questions about copyright.

First4Internet, which sold the XCP software program used by Sony BMG on its CDs, declined to comment after repeated requests since Monday.

Sony BMG has re-emphasized that copy-protection software is "an important tool to protect our intellectual property rights and those of our artists."

[flappo]

wtf's a virus ?

[Nickdfresh]

Update:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/22/te...gy/22sony.html

Sony BMG Sued Over CD's With Anti-Piracy Software


By TOM ZELLER Jr.
Published: November 22, 2005

In separate legal actions yesterday, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an influential digital rights advocacy group in California, and the Texas attorney general filed lawsuits against the music publisher Sony BMG, contending that the company violated consumers' rights and traded in malicious software.

They are the latest in a series of blows to the company after technology bloggers disclosed this month that in its efforts to curb music piracy, Sony BMG had embedded millions of its music CD's with software designed to take aggressive steps to limit copying, but which also exposed users' computers to potential security risks.

The copy-protection software, called XCP, was bought by Sony BMG from a British company, First 4 Internet, and was installed on 52 recordings, totaling nearly five million discs, according to the music publisher, which is jointly owned by Sony and Bertelsmann.

In response to the concerns, the company posted a public apology on its Web site last week, began recalling the affected CD's from retail and warehouse shelves and offered restriction-free versions of the CD's - as well as MP3 files - to consumers in exchange for purchased CD's carrying the XCP software.

In a telephone call yesterday, Daniel M. Mandil, general counsel with Sony BMG, said that the company was "very keen to open up a dialogue with the Texas attorney general's office." And Thomas Hesse, Sony BMG's president for global digital business, added that "as a company, we are deeply committed to fixing this problem, and we are doing everything we can to get this right."

Cory Shields, a Sony BMG spokesman, also said that in mounting the recall and exchange program, the company had already responded substantially to concerns raised by the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

The class-action suit filed by the foundation in State Superior Court in Los Angeles County yesterday, however, takes aim at a much broader range of Sony BMG titles than those identified in the recall - including 20 million CD's that used copy-protection software from another company, SunnComm International of Phoenix.

Sony BMG contends the SunnComm software has been installed on only 12 million CD's. In a letter to the foundation on Friday the company stated that while it would be "reviewing its use of copy protection on all of its compact discs," it did not believe that the SunnComm discs needed to be removed from the market.

Cindy Cohn, the legal director for the foundation, however, said that both the First 4 Internet and SunnComm copy-protection systems, at the very least, violated consumers' rights by failing to disclose properly what sort of software would be installed when they listened to the CD's on their computers, and what exactly that software would do.

Users do have to accept "license agreements" that appear on their computer screens before playing CD's protected by the First 4 Internet and SunnComm software, but the foundation called the terms of those agreements "outrageous" and "anti-consumer."

Only consumers playing the discs on Windows-based PC's are known to be affected by the copy-protection programs. Studies have shown that about 36 percent of CD buyers listen to the discs on a computer.

At least six other class actions have been filed against the company.

Meanwhile, the Texas suit against Sony BMG, which refers only to the copy-protection software developed by First 4 Internet, seeks $100,000 per violation of the state's Consumer Protection Against Computer Spyware Act, which was passed by the Texas Legislature last spring and went into effect on Sept. 1.

It is the first such state action against Sony BMG.

"What's wrong about all this is that in an effort to protect against illegal copying, it was Sony BMG that engaged in illegal conduct," said the Texas attorney general, Greg Abbott. He added that Sony's desire to protect its intellectual property, however well intentioned, did not entitle it to violate Texas anti-spyware statutes.

[MERRYKISSMASS2U]

another update:
"As reported by InformationWeek, Sony BMG Music's controversial copy-protection scheme can be defeated with a small piece of tape. According to thinktank Gartner analysts Martin Reynolds and Mike McGuire, Sony's XCP technology is stymied by sticking a fingernail-size piece of opaque tape on the outer edge of the CD. 'After more than five years of trying, the recording industry has not yet demonstrated a workable DRM scheme for music CDs. Gartner believes that it will never achieve this goal as long as CDs must be playable by stand-alone CD players.'"

http://informationweek.com/story/sho...leID=174400748
http://www.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?doc_cd=136331

[MERRYKISSMASS2U]

Originally posted by flappo
wtf's a virus ?

ive been using linux so long its hard to remember.

[Nickdfresh]

Sony attack intrusive, arrogant
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Legitimate property protection does not permit invasive electronic tricks

12/12/2005
For those who thought the scandals at Enron, WorldCom and Adelphia dampened a culture of corporate arrogance, we give you Sony BMG. The giant media company's offense wasn't in the sphere of corrupt finance or accounting, like the others. This company committed a kind of digital breaking and entering into the personal affairs of its own customers.

In an effort to limit mass copying of compact discs, several recent releases of popular artists came with built-in software that automatically - meaning, without permission - loaded onto computers using Windows. Not only did the software restrict copying, it complicated transfers to iPods, opened a security hole that hackers could exploit and, perhaps worst of all, secretly transmitted details about what the PC played.

And it got worse. Manual efforts to remove the software could damage a computer. Under intense criticism, Sony BMG offered a program to uninstall the software, but getting it was complicated and, once used, widened the security hole.



Question: What gives anyone, an individual or a corporation, the idea that it can tamper with someone's private property without permission, and then spy on that person? Don't they build prisons for that kind of intrusion?

Texas actually sued Sony BMG over this, contending the company violated the state's new anti-spyware laws. "People buy these CDs to listen to music," said Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. "What they don't bargain for is the computer invasion that is unleashed by Sony BMG." Exactly right.

Copying compact discs is a real issue of importance to recording companies, their employees and the artists. The ease of mass file sharing created a legitimate problem; those affected by it have a right to respond. But they were wrong to intrude or invade. The company needs to find another way to protect its legitimate interests. Sony BMG and anyone else who thinks it's fun to surreptitiously monitor private behavior needs to be made painfully aware that their customers and the law won't stand for it. New York, by the way, has no law similar to the one in Texas. It needs one.

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial...12/1053749.asp

Uninstall Software/Infected CD List

[Alex Mogilny]

Originally posted by Nickdfresh
Sony attack intrusive, arrogant
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Legitimate property protection does not permit invasive electronic tricks


http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial...12/1053749.asp

Uninstall Software/Infected CD List

LOL protecting a Bette Midler sings the Peggy Lee song book CD?

Yeah the kids will be sharing that like crazy!

[Nickdfresh]

Originally posted by Alex Mogilny
LOL protecting a Bette Midler sings the Peggy Lee song book CD?

Yeah the kids will be sharing that like crazy!

You know, I noticed that. I think this list is intentionally incomplete, leaving out the CD's mostly likely copied out. SONY's probably trying to milk this for what it's worth until they have too finally come clean withthe full list when they "update" it.

[Hardrock69]

Well regardless of their "intent" they broke the law.

This constitutes "hacking" and is illegal under International Law....

[fuckhowardstern]

I might try to go after them using a Federal Trade Commission (15 U.S.C. 45, et seq.) and state unfair and deceptive trade practices legislation. Yet although the Act provides for a cease and desist order and many state laws mandate triple actual damages and attorney's fees, I am not sure in monetary terms how big the damages would be.....thus the class action. Perhaps a claim for relief for fraud would lead to an imposition of punitive damages?