RSSAOL Updates Winamp After DRM Snafu
By Nate Mook | Published February 18, 2005, 5:38 PM
Facing pressure following reports that its Winamp media player enables copying of protected Napster To Go files, AOL has sprung into action.
The company has remotely disabled Windows Media Audio playback on current players, and will issue an updated version of Winamp that prohibits saving the output of WMA files.
Bypassing of Napster's digital rights management technology involves a low-tech scheme: re-recording the music as it plays.
Patient Winamp users were able to utilize an old plug-in to save the music stream directly from the sound card - resulting in a lower-quality, but unprotected song. AOL has since removed the plug-in from its Winamp Web site.
"Immediately upon discovering this flaw, we worked quickly to address it and to ensure that Winamp can continue to provide secure playback of Windows Media content," an AOL spokesperson told BetaNews. "A fix is being implemented in existing players and a new player will be posted for users to download."
Because AOL revoked its Windows Media license currently in use, the updated Winamp will be mandatory for those wishing to play WMA files.
Although the method for bypassing Napster To Go DRM isn't practical nor new, media outlets painted a bleak picture for the recently launched subscription service, citing "cracked" DRM. But several analysts quickly downplayed any significance. "Capturing a stream isn't the same as breaking the DRM," Jupiter Research senior analyst Joe Wilcox told BetaNews.
Releases of iTunes following the launch of Apple's online music store had the same capability with an external plug-in. And saving the output of protected iTunes music to a DRM-free format can still be accomplished using external applications such as Audio Hijack Pro.
"If there is a real piracy concern, consumers could more easily burn a protected song to CD and re-rip to MP3 than capture a stream and turn than that into a playable track," said Wilcox.
Fellow Jupiter analyst Michael Gartenberg blasted the media for its handling of the story. "This illustrates one of the biggest downsides of the Web (and blogging in particular) that all things from all sources are treated as fact and treated equally and get passed around fast," he said.
Winamp isn't needed to take advantage of this. Free trial conversion tools (Virtuosa - 30 days) with the lastest LAME encoder can convert the Napster WMAs to MP3 (or wav without LAME) in seconds. The Winamp method used real time playback, even with multiple instances.
They can play catchup all they want.
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|Anyone know where I can get a DRM "protected" song, for free, to do some experimenting with it?
PS: I will not spend $ on DRM 'protected' stuff, as I am against DRM! No investing from me.
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|Still working here with WMA files... v5.05 aug 27 2004
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|I have a sound card, a CD burner, and a DVD Burner that all came with some pretty good software that I use 99.9 % of the time any way... Win Amp has been obliterated off this computer, to be honest since it's been on my computer it may have had 35 minutes of use anyway. WinAmp/AOL ~ Spyware - is there any connection here???
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|Winamp doesn't have spyware in it otherwise i wouldn't use and code for it. The fixes in the 5.08e build to come out soon were done by one of the few guys left on the Nullsoft team so it's still not directly a AOL coder playing with things.
-daz
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|If you want cheap music at high bitrates WITHOUT DRM, use allofmp3.com - they rock.
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|Yup though the increase in costs at the start of the year was a shame though
-daz
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|Still, 2c per MB is by far the cheapest on the net.
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|That's true, but 1c was a lot nicer to be spending :D
-daz
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|and how long do you think allofmp3 will stay around?? they are already under investigation by the Russian police force - http://news.com.com/MP3s...86034.html?tag=nefd.top
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|I dont like the idea of anyone other than me enabling and disabling stuff on my computer... I hate covert actions... wait.. that sounds like stuff a virus might do... AOL is now viruslike? :)
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|That's how DRM works. Technically, Apple could easily do the same. Your computer must be granted permission to play the files.
To play Napster To Go songs, Winamp must connect to the Internet and verify the license. AOL has revoked the license, so those files will no longer play with current releases of Winamp.
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|It means that the old winamp has a Microsoft DRM key that will not be able to play DRM WMA's anymore. It will do no good to go get an old copy of the player, it still wont play DRM WMA's.
Only the new version(5.08e) and above will.
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|My sentiments exactly. I always thought this puppy phoned home!
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|Stupid company buying good software and ruining it so stupid people using stupid internet service can buy and play stupid, DRM-crippled music. Not since they killed Napster have I felt this bad about a piece of software going down in flames.
I feel like Jerry Van Dyke's character in the "Coach" TV show, Luther Van Dam, when he rants: "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"
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|Now AOL really has taken control over the development of Winamp :( How did they *remotely* disable the feature though? Sounds strange to me.
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|yeah "remotely disabling" the feature ... that sounds like a bunch of crap ... heaven forbid you're not connected to the internet when you do it.
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|Before you play protected WMA files, like those from Napster To Go, Winamp must connect to the Internet and verify the license. AOL has revoked the license, so those files will no longer play with current releases of Winamp.
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|Yeah.....because you can't get that plugin from anywhere else on the web :::Eyes Rolling:::
Hahahhahahah...
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|As if someone with the old plugin won't host it somewhere. Then there's the p2p networks...
Hell, if I used that misbegotten app, I'd host it myself.
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|If this plugin was released prior to Napster 2 Go DRM then I don't see why it should be removed. In that situation the plugin couldn't be perceived as an attack on "cracking" DRM. Merely a means of recording audio from the sound card. Much like relaying music via Shoutcast and ripping it.
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|Give me an email address and I'll send it to you.
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|Mind you, this *is& AOL we're talking about here - the recognized Lords Of Stupidity.
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|Everyone, it's time to switch to Quintessential or Foobar2000... Won't winampheaven.net or oldversion.com host the older Winamp versions anyway?
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|I have 213MB worth of WinAmp versions couresty of WinampHeaven and OldVersion. :)
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|and the point of that is rather mute since if people are trying to play drm files then they still won't work since the key in the older versions isn't valid and so any attempt to play will be rejected as nate has said about in his comments to this article.
if people are dumb enough to use drm then it's their own fault for the whole issue arising and the stupidity of certain other sites which i won't name have not helped things out either for a plugin which was created for a legitimate use well before any of this drm stuff was around. tis sad
-daz
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|Well they should blame the media their the one's who put the bait out their what do you expect hahaha. Nothing on this earth is protectable or without fault or a way around it. If man can build it someone can unbuild it enough said. Besides people want to be able to freely copy to whateva media they want.
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