Dear Mr. Hesse,

Guess what? *I* know what a rootkit is, and *I* care.

I care very much that you infected my PC with software that spies on me. I care very much that you left an open invitation on my PC for identity thieves and hackers to exploit. And I care very much that YOU don't seem to give a crap.

In fact, I care so much that I am NEVER EVER going to buy another Sony CD or electronics product.

With the holiday season approaching and many manufacturers wanting my hard-earned dollars, you can be sure that I won't sully my wallet by purchasing anything with the Sony name on it.

Mike
http://www.quicktrivia.com

I work at a D.O.D.
What would you call someone who
uploads and hides a rootkit on a federal government computer
hides that information from the government
makes it impossible to remove the software
possibly damages access to the cd reader of the government computer
uses that software to report information back to itself and
allows viruses to use the backdoor it has opened

I would believe it if you said it was a matter of national
security and the terrorists should be imprisoned

If it were an individual wouldn't the computer equipment be impounded and the hacker jailed?

hmm, no PS3 for me.I think I'll do the unthinkable for me and get an XBOX 360. Normally my dislike of Microsoft woulf keep me from this. This crap just puts sony lower on my list than Microsoft. Never thought that would happen.

Down with Sony. I won't be buying any more of their products, and support HD-DVD instead of Blu-Ray.

This shows you that these over paid idiots have no idea.
thank heavens none of the sutf i buy is on the sony labels.
good to see someone like sony will kill itself with half witts at the top job with comments like that.
Some people may be silly, but the majority of people wont put up with that crap

What a %$*@#!!! noob. Keep treating your customers like that and you'll find out real fast why profits are falling. If there is one thing that I will fight to the death, it is malware/spyware DRM control. Here us now SONY and listen. You have betrayed the consumer's trust. We will not buy any product that contains malware DRM.

If anybody believes Mr. Hesse`s comment that the drm software only shipped on about 20 cd`s, ive got a perpetual motion machine i want to sell you! Ive read comments on 5 or 6 forums, where gurus and techies, took it on themselves to randomly buy cd`s and test them, and found the software on them. One article, dont remember where it was, said that this had been going on since March, of this year. 20 cd`s ?? yeah right. Check out:
http://www.slysoft.com/en/download.html
Slysoft claims, that if you have their Anydvd program installed and running, it will keep the rootkits from being installed. While youre there, check out Sysinternals.com`s article "Sony gone too far". Its pretty interesting, and tells what all you have to do to clean up your system, without damaging anything. Ive never been a big sony fan, i have a few pieces of their equipment, but they just put the icing on the cake! Im just afraid that others will follow suit, and here we go again, another 50-100$ program to protect ourselves, and our privacy! Lets make Sony`s christmas miserable for them. Im going to the link that joeshmoe7 provided, and vent on em a little. Merry christmas Sony.

Umm... I'm pretty sure he meant 20 _different_ CDs - as in 20 different albums; not 20 individual plastic discs.

And an even easier way to prevent the rootkit is to disable auto-run on your CD drive, rather than installing some random program that sounds like it has nothing to do with the issue in question.

you could disable autoplay since windows 95. I have been ever since, the way i figured, better safe then sorry. Oh I've also disabled it for clients explaining that it could potentially be a risk, and got a few complaints, "hey my CD's dont start automatically anymore, omg omg what do i press to install this superm 10-billion fonts CD i just got for $0.99" Unfortunately autoplay has dumbed down many users to the point where they don't really know how to explore a root of a cd to manually click a setup.exe.

Now heres the great part, you can disable autoplay in XP, then open "my computer", double click on the CD drive, and bam autoplay engages instead of opening a root folder view.

So people beware you can still autoplay cd's in xp with autoplay/run disabled. Personally i haven't found a way to stop that, only to just use explore (or right click --> open) or use another file manager utility.

What im saying is, there should also be a way to disable the double-click action of a cd-drive so it doesnt autoplay by default, because it does even when auto-autoplay is disabled in XP. LOL ok im not good at explaining things so i hope u get what i mean.
And i found this even with the systemwide group policy setting or the registry tweak or tweak UI (Group policy editor for XP pro not HOME).

LOL Well, ok, thats what i meant, cause i figured thats what he meant. I just didnt say " 20 albums." And i dont consider it to be just some random program. Its a good burning program, and I already had it installed, when i read that it would prevent the rootkits from installing. I thought i would share it, and the article on the removal procedure, in case someone was interested in either. And, even though theres a simpler way, if it actually does prevent the rootkits from installing, then it does have something to do with the issue in question.

I agree. I've noticed that too with WinXP. I don't know of a way around the double-click autorun.

I just make sure I remember to right-click and explore each time.

It's very simple folks. When you get tempted to buy that rumor called a PS3, don't forget this. Don't buy that PS3. I know the alternative is Microsoft, but still, Microsoft does at least try to keep its code secure. Sony intentionally is infecting machines. Don't forget that when you make a game console purchase.

Boycott PlayStation.

lol that'll be the day nothing is going to keep me from getting a PS3. boycott it all you want but i'll still get it. (it'll never happen anyway)

I'm usually the first to say "No Microsoft" but Microsoft has never been dishonest like this. Sure, the Windows activation is annoying, but they tell you its there.

Yeah. PS3 sales might be low at first but even that I doubt. The first time one of your friends uses the PS3 this Sony 'boycott' will probably go down the toilet. It's just too hard for PS fans not to buy it. LOL boycott everything else ;)

Really though I hate to say it but once PS3 does come out most people will forget this incident. Why? Because the PS3 will be "frikin awesome" to all those PlayStation fanboys out there. So unfortunately sony is likely going to get away with this in the long run.

The whole notion that the public shouldn't be worried about things they don't fully understand is ludicrous. I suppose we should take an aptitude test to determine if we know enough about government to be allowed to vote as well.... Thinking like this was what brought about the dark ages, I think I'll do myself a favor and just say "NO" to Sony.

It's a good thing XBox 360 is going to rock. :)

"Xbox360 - ROOTKIT FREE GAMING!"

"I suppose we should take an aptitude test to determine if we know enough about government to be allowed to vote as well"

that's not a bad idea actually...

"'Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?' he said."

I'm sure plenty of people don't know or care what viruses and spyware are until their computer becomes unusable or they become identity theft victims.

If your company sets this as a precedent, Mr. Hesse, people will come to know what rootkits are, unfortunately. And they will hate you for it.

Most people didn't know what a MiniDisc was either, and they sure didn't care about that. :)

...and after how many years on the market, most people STILL do not know what a MiniDisc is... thanks to the wonder that is Sony.

Sony should stop bending over for the Record and Movie industries and go back to turning out the uncrippled technologies that their consumers want. Vasoline, Mr. Hesse?

Heh, found the link to sony music feedback, tell the sleaze balls what you think.

http://www.sonymusic.com/about/feedback.cgi

EDIT: the italians kick it off --> http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=27508

Thanks for the link.

I sent them a comment thanking them for helping me with my decision between XBOX 360 and PS3.

"This is purely about restricting the ability to burn MP3 files in an unprotected manner."

Well thank you for thinking of me - that's very kind. But with the best will in the world - I'll burn MP3s as I damn well like!
Apart from the potential damage a virus causes - what's the real difference in principal between a virus and Sony's DRM rootkit anyway? I mean c'mon Sony! tut tut

the only difference i see is, the motive (giving them the benefit of the doubt - that thats all they intend to do with this junk, which is questionable at the least). Sony want's to protect it's DRM, fine. But using what i consider to be nothing less then an "infection" to do it, and one that can cause major OS issues, i hope they get whats comming to them real fast.

My only question here is, if sony gets away with this, then how long before any media used in computer will exploit microsofts bad code and cuase us problems? I know that in some jobs that installing software can get you fired... would this be considered? What if somone made a virus that ran through this rootkit... would sony pay up? and, was or is there anything on the CD or packaging that says by playing this disc your accepting the rootkit? (in other words obviously) Also, will microsoft take the heat for this if they do fix there code, and Sony's copy protection is made useless?!?

Microsofts bad code? No code is perfect, and what Sony used here isnt about Microsofts code. If Linux and or mac were the most used OSs then the rootkit would have been developed for them. No reason to attack microsoft on this, and btw Microsoft is redirecting any and all claims concerning this issue to Sony.

I am upset however at the fact that Microsoft hasnt taken an official stance on this issue. They should stand up and say what their position is because its their OS, and sony is comprimising the security in it. Given that security is Microsofts biggest selling point right now, they need to get to work.

True, Microsoft should be suing Sony for messing up their windows code. If Sony don't payup, Microsoft can develop a pirate-friendly rootkit for the Sony PS3 OS:)

"Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?"

It's grease-ball CEO's like this wanker are the reason I love downloading music and movies everyday. Screw the RIAA, MPAA and now screw Thomas Hesse.

and Sony wants to no why I don't buy Sony products ? LEt me send the CEO of sony a e-mail
with DRM software installed so he can't send to anyone else that he can't remove off his computer...see if he gets upset

"Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?"

That's EXACTLY why they should care!

No wonder he works for Sony...

I understand most peoples concern with the "rootkit", but I really don't care since I run Linux on all my PC's, so the DRM doesn't actually affect me.

If more people would just run their computers in a more secure way (ex: disable auto-run under windows) companies wouldn't even bother trying to build this kind of product.

I feel that if you get hit by this sort of software, it's your own fault for being ignorant of the machine. We lock people in jail if they drive a car without a license.

So... it'd be my fault if I get hit by a virus? My fault if I get hit by spyware activex things that force themselves to install through IE?

The most secure way to use a computer is no internet and no external media. But what's the point in that?

We now know that. But really who would have thought that having Autorun enabled would cause this, when you are simply placing a "LEGIT" CD in your drive.

Wrong, and you are assuming that you know everything. The fact is, that companies should be informing us of such products that are going to be installed. The rootkit in question installs without a prompt and that is the same as adware and spyware. These tactics should be deemed illegal. It is one thing that I intentionally install the software, but this is not the case.

All subsequent problems associated with this type of installation on my PC(money, data damage, etc) should fall back onto both Frist 4 and Sony in the form of money. They claim that due to the illegal swapping and copying is hurting their sales, but the disabling of the cdrom and corrupting files costs the consumers time and money too. One act does not justify the other.

Finally, another attack on those that use LINUX and they are so safe. Your days are numbered my friend. Hiding behind Linux will only last for a while. And truly, that is what you are doing - Hiding behind Linux.

"One act does not justify the other."

Especially when you consider that the people using these CDs actually bought them legally. In this case, only the honest people lose out. That stinks.

I agree with athome about hiding behind Linux. The only reason you guys don't have 10 flavors of anti-virus/spyware software is because not enough people use the OS, but like athome said it's only a matter of time. Don't forget that in the open source world script kiddies have the advantage of being able to look at the code and could write tons of cool things ;)

Sony is wasting more money with these completely worthless miserable failure attempts at anti-piracy then they would ever lose if they just let people keep on pirating stuff. Not to mention all the previously established customers that they are scaring off.

Something of interest

Rootkit is: "A hacker security tool that captures passwords and message traffic to and from a computer. A collection of tools that allows a hacker to provide a backdoor into a system, collect information on other systems on the network, mask the fact that the system is compromised, and much more. Rootkit is a classic example of Trojan Horse software. Rootkit is available for a wide range of operating systems."

Guess this fits sony perfectly.

i always thought panasonic was better anyway. :)

Panasonic, Palsonic, NEC... Anything ^_^

quoted from sysinternals - partst of the Sony protected audio CD EULA i found amusing.

Article 10,2: "YOU HEREBY WAIVE ALL RIGHTS AND/OR ENTITLEMENT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN CONNECTION WITH ANY DISPUTE THAT ARISES OUT OF OR RELATES IN ANY WAY TO THIS EULA OR THE SOFTWARE"

"10 (Governing Law and Waiver of Trial By Jury), and 11 (General) shall survive and remain in full force and effect following the expiration or termination of this EULA"

ALL YOUR RIGHTS ARE BELONG TO US!

Can I get a link to the sysinternals artical?

http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/sony-eula.htm

that may be, but as it was said, it does not talk about a rootkit specifically by merely calling it software, it also says nothing of it contacting and looking for updates. This thing is possible to deem malicious and spyware or malware is possible or actually deemed illegal in court and therefore the EULA is no good.

I still friggen want to sue them, but i haven't bought a cd in months.

Nobody in the history of man-kind has dared try to take a EULA to court. It would never hold up.

EULA is like a Pandora Box. No company has dared put their EULA on the line in a court room. The risk is too big.

These shrink wrap licenses, are ridiculous and I am confident when this one in particular is challenged in court, it will crumble.

SOMEBODY SET UP US THE ROOKIT!

It would be interesting to see an EULA go to court one day. I would like to see if clicking on an I Agree button counts as an actual contractual agreement in court.

SOOO if you dont accept the eula can you return the cd and get your money back since its not on the front packaging telling me I am waiving all my rights?

Supposedly it does.

But... recent legislation against spyware companies says they can't bury blatantly ridiculous agreements in the EULA (i.e. "I hereby forfeit all my personal information including bank numbers, credit cards, and financial records to the above mentioned company to use as it pleases, etc.") ...in a nutshell.

Sony needs to get burned for this. Why hasn't anyone filed suit yet?

from my experience in retail, probably not get a refund, depends on the store return policy. YOu could most likely exchange it at least, for a non SONY title.

Oh, one more thing. Most people don't know about terrorists, so why should they care? Because they can kill. Most people don't know about Rootkit, so why should they care? Cause spyware can kill your computer.

The arrogance of SONY is boundless.

Christmas to come (and many more) should be a "No SONY Christmas". I am satisfied that the stealth-software installed by Sony is facilitating further stealth attacks from hackers by hiding other malware from AV software, that the stealth-software communicates with a Sony site, which allows for future intrusions by Sony, even if this appears currently not to be the case. To make a clear statement about the undesirability of worldwide brands intruding the private sphere of computer users and exposing them to risks, it is necessary that the public react strongly. Though I welcome attempts to protect IP, as long as it doesn't lead to excessive prices, the methods should be certainly not of an endangering nature. Sony clearly has failed to inform the customers of the nature of their protection kit, and the fact that Sony is unwilling to accept that their technicians have failed to observe careful programming must be told in no uncertain terms. Their arrogant attitude about the scandal they have created and their undiscerning approach must be exposed by the means available.

The above combined with all kind of other monopoly attempts by Sony make action absolutely necessary. We have already one monopolist in the world of computers that grossly abuses its position - because the legislators have failed to protect consumers, not because of the monopolist’s actions alone. Further monopoly creation must absolutely be fought with all the means of the public, namely with their purchasing habits, since there seem to be no other impediments built into our legislation that effectively prevents it. It’s actually perverse that in an apparently otherwise well functioning democracy the public has to take action because their representatives are unable or unwilling to protect them.

"Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?" he said.

By that comment i would guess Sony has no intention to stop using this rootkit so who wants to guess how long before something pops up in the wild using this exploit if it already isn't.

This is just for music disks i hate to think what they have planned to do with Blu-Ray.

Another Dilbert management type. Why should the users care?! Sony is sneaking behind the backs of people and installing cloaked software on their machines. And these are people who are buying their CDs, who has a legitimite case for creating digital copies for their own use.

I hate the music studios who are acting like Sony is, are we being pushed to consider getting our music the "easier way", bypassing the CDs altogether?

Why should Sony care? They are just protecting their rights, regardless of anyone elses.

Yeah, but if protecting their rights means they gotta frag your personal stuff is that still cool? "This is what happens when you **** a stranger in the ass!"

"Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?"

One of the most idiotic statements I heard from a high position personnel.

quoted from another site:

"Computer Associates now calls Sony's CD-protection scheme “spyware,” and its anti-malware software will begin destroying it when found. Meanwhile, it warns Windows users to, “disable Autorun on your PC".

Maybe someone else can confirm this. Whether true or not i hope the other ANTI-spyware vendors follow.

Why should anyone care about it?

Because, cloaking files from the OS on an owner's computer, without their knowledge, is a violation of their administrative rights. It's the owner's computer, not Sony's. And it's their file system and they have the right to see what files are on it without having to use some rootkit revealing software. And not to mention how many have lost their cd-drive when trying to unistall. And now they give us this attitude? Nice work Sony, never will you see another cent from me. (unless they make a real big public apology to their customers, and it better be genuine, and complete) Oh and i know which new gaming console i will be buying next :) and it doesnt start with PS.

"i know which new gaming console i will be buying next :) and it doesnt start with PS."

Yeah... there's no way I'm buying a "PoS" now. =p

Which planet does Thomas Hesse live on? Judging by his facile comments, planet Sony. He is completely and utterly out of touch with what's going on in the real world. Screwing around with the CD-playing computers of its customers is obscene.

What else do we expect from a company whose video game console's slogan is, "Live in your world, play in ours"? They're obviously living in their world too.

lol!

"Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?"

So if most people didn't know about terrorism, they shouldn't care about it?

If most people didn't think their rights were being taken from them, they shouldn't care about them?

I hope he dies a slow, painful, terrible, strangling, clawing, begging for mercy, blood pouring from his ears and eyes kind of death.

It'd only be fitting.

I will not buy a single sony product until this man no longer recieves any kind of income from them, be it salary, severance, retirement or pension.

He needs to hit the streets. Hard. From about 46 stories.

He should be classified as an f-ing terrorist and sent to a black hole with the rest of them and forgotten about for a few years.

2 words:

Not.

Enough.

Right.. rootkits are great! Pres Hesse, how do you think hackers have been reading your email for all these years??

rootkits are good thing silly

Oh come on people. It's just a little thing. It doesn't hurt you and you can hardly tell that it's there. You don't need to cry about it.

Step in line now for your injection.

lol

I am just sitting here with my Jaw in my lap totally not beleiving he said that.....

"Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?"

That is like a Dr saying: "Most people, I think, don't even know what the Bird Flu is, so why should they care about it?"

I hope somoeone above him kicks him into place and fires his butt.... Just because people might not know what something is doesn't mean you can abuse your knowledge...

That guy is a freaking tool.

What a great way to show your ignorance.
"Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?"

Most people, I think, don't even know what an EGR valve on a car is for, so why should they care about it?

What a total moron!!!

Never buying from Sony again. Hahahahahaha.

What's an EGR Valve?

Exhaust Gas Recirculation valve. It routes the warmer exhaust gas back into the combustion chamber.

Man this guy needs to be taken out back and shot. That is the dumbest couple of comments Ive seen spat out of anyones mouth.

Anyhow, If anyone has visited Marks Blog at sysinternals (were it all started) you will see him ripping apart every single statement made by First4Internet and by Sony, with solid evidence. Hell even a First4 employee went on and tried to refutee Marks blog and he was totally discredited with solid proof.

Facts:
1. Its cloaked software
2. The EULA does not mention it anywere
3. There is no prompt when it is installed.
4. It phones home.
5. No removal software has been made available as of yet to Mark, who emailed them last week.
6. The patch to uncloak it, updates the software and installs a JamPack DLL, when you try to remove JamPack from Add/Remove programs you get an error.
7. When trying to uninstall IT CAN crash your system. thanks to the crappy coding, and lack of multithreading knowledge.
8. 90% of what Sony has said about this topic is total and complete BS.

"Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?"

uhhhh...is this guy REALLY that stupid, or did he smoke too much crack before the interview?

Hah...imagine that, slim PS2's can fly. Mine did...right over the car and into the trash bin where it awaited 5 more slams with my bat, as I walked in and bought an Xbox...something I NEVER thought I'd do.

"Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?"

That has to be the stupidest thing I have ever heard an executive say.

Most people don't know what annihilation by an atomic bomb looks like either. I suppose that would pose no threat to their well-being if it happened to them either?

"This is purely about restricting the ability to burn MP3 files in an unprotected manner."

It doesn't matter what the purpose is. The tactics are extremely questionable AT BEST. This qualifies under every definition of spyware/malware I have ever heard.

No, the stupidest thing I've ever heard was a kid here at my school protesting the abuse of power by campus police saying, "I was busted for drug possession, but all I had was 'roofies'." (Roofies, for those not in the know are a date-rape drug)

That being said, yeah, I have to agree that this man doesn't have a clue if he's trying to say that rootkits aren't a valid concern. I like your analogy of the atomic bomb.

So that kid was an executive? He must have gotten up in the world really fast. =p

And yeah... I had no idea what roofies were. I've been educated lol.

LOL... not an exec... I didn't quite read that part of your statement the first time for some reason.

If this attitude continues to run down the corporation lobbies, and the governments grant them obeying laws, as they usually did and do - then, one day, nobody will even open the mouth to say what is said - truely - in these comments. Then they will sue everybody who openly talks about these things for business damage.

Because: "it's not your business to care about . . ." - "nothing of your concern . . ."

Typical Sony bulls*** spin.

The backlash has only begun - this is going to be the DRYEST holiday season in the company's***ory. Add to that the damage that XBox360 will do to their console business (read: cripple it) and this company is in for one hell of a rude awakening.

People are fed up:

- the con job that was SACD
- the effort to lock down users with their nextgen DVD solution
- the high prices with no commensurate increase in quality
- the Draconian and unnecessary copy protection
- the attitude that all customers are criminals
- the proprietary garbage such as ATRAC and products that lag behind the competitoj in features

...and above all else:

THE ARROGANCE.

Just look at the new Sony mp3 player, the Bean. A fast charge battery - and no way to replace it when it dies. This thing will sell at a premium - and when the battery dies, you'll have to throw it away. You need crappy Sony software to transfer music to it - they refuse to support Universal Mass Storage. It will only interface with Sony's online music store for protected DRM content - nice proprietary lock-in.

I haven't bought a Sony product in well over a decade. Their TVs and audio gear were the lightbulb for me - badly overpriced products with no really special features other than a well-known logo. It's amusing to watch the rest of the planet finally wake up and smell the coffee.

Buy smart, people.

DON'T buy Sony.

Big deal, Apple have been doing iTunes iPod exclusive tie-ins for years, the batteries also fail, and are not supposed to be replaced.

the iPod is the number 1 selling music player. Shows that if the product looks right, and the marketting is there, consumers don't care about things like tie-ins and technical limitations.

I just won't buy any Sony products anymore. They are not what they used to be anyway. This new mentality of treating your customers like a thief is not good and soon Sony will find out when they see their profits go down.

This guy is an idiot, and it's exactly this kind of behavior that is turning everyone into a law breaker and pirate. I won't be buying any music from Sony/BMG, or any other of their affiliates. I really hope there's a class action lawsuit filed against Sony. I can't see any way that they (Sony) could prevail. In the meantime, Sony's President might not know what a good kick to the testículos is either, so hell, he might like it!

**** off Sony. I'm NEVER buying anything from you again. I was thinking of buying a PS3. Now I won't I'll get the Xbox 360 instead. I'll buy that new CD Drive I want from your competitors. I'll buy everything from other people.

I just won't buy anything Sony anymore then if they don't care...

Wow Sony. Maybe you should read the 150+comments on the other betanews article about this. You are losing business because of this. Sure you still have a huge foothold on the game console market and such, but I've seen many Sony supporters say they will never buy your products again. FOR YOUR OWN GOOD, reconsider your recent comments.

"Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?"

I seriously care when garbage like this is installed on my machine without my permission.

Plus you don't know what other $%#@t they have installed in your system.

Hmmm... All of a sudden I just don't care about Sony. I will look for their label on things though...and avoid them.

I just hope there's enough folks upset about this to ruin some big launches they have coming up, like some game console I've heard rumors about ;)

Yup. I've been trying to decide between XBOX 360 and the PS3 as my next gaming console. I think I've made up my mind now. This kind of thing really makes me mad, and the best (legal) way I can get back at Sony is with my buying decisions.

Damn straight. I think Sony just tanked their PS3 sales big time.

Tanked the sales for people like ourselves who know and keep up on this stuff, imagine what would happen if this whole thing goes international? They do sell CD's all over the world, people are gonna be pissed.

"Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?"

Wow... just wow....

Most people, I think, don't even know what the ebola virus is, so should they care if we give it to them?

Just cause someone doesn't know about something doesn't give you the right to force it on them...

I got news for you, its worse than that. Most people are aware of Aids, how much concern do people place on that? Very little. People settle down when its on the news, but people go right back to what they like, unprotected sex, sleeping around..

Its a frightening statistic, so yeah, ebola, who cares? The point of the article was, most people don't care about technical issues. People are only concerned about 2 things, does it work, and how does this affect me? Yes, and it doesn't is ALL they want to hear. People move on.

People could care less about computer terminology, if they can surf, their bank account is fine, and their software performs, everything is copasetic.

I work closely with many security firms in my business, and 75% of people don't give a flip about anti-virus or spyware applications or if they are up to date. That's what the help desk and technical staff is for, FIX IT!!!

Its amazing how hands off people are, we on this group are a very, very small percentage, and if you visit Betanews, you are semi-technical, so this cross section doesn't even apply, but the average person doesn't need nor do they want to know how stuff works or what happens when you get a virus, just fix it, and move it.

so he is right, they don't know what a rootkit so he's right "why should they care about it?"

People care about virus'... Rootkit is a virus shield.

On this I agree. Which is why things often go the way they do. Funny thing the American public is....big hooplah about something for a week or a month and afterwards, it's on to something else. It's also why people can buy alcohol and cigarettes but can't use their favorite file sharing program. I agree that sony needs to protect it's interests, but not in this underminded, underhanded, shady way. The way this program operates is reminiscent of a rootkit....I don't know if it IS technically one, but if it looks like and does the same thing, then? In any case - "Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?", now you know exactly why they approved it. The president of sony takes the avg. comp. user as a complete idiot, granted many people don't know much about computers, but to exploit them on such a blatant level is ruthless. So, some clueless person inserts the CD to play on their PC and boom, rootkit. All of a sudden strange things are happening with their XP, can't play that cd from 3 years ago anymore, can't copy a track from that one 5 year old CD to put on their mp3 player - what's going on???? Who knows what other problems this thing does to a system. Any program that messes with drivers and XP core components should be considered risky. And all because? The only competent people complaining about it are considered thieves to Sony....it's really high-end BS.
"This is purely about restricting the ability to burn MP3 files in an unprotected manner."
No it's not. I don't steal music, I don't steal movies. I don't steal software - but I own a mp3 player, I have a legal music download service and I have a perfectly setup XP system....now you put me at risk of losing all of this to play your CD? That's criminal, and THAT'S what this is about. Two wrongs don't make a right. Because some people steal your music, doesn't mean you need to punish everyone else. And hell, if I want to copy a cd to put on my MP3 player, I bought it - I may not be supposed to share it, but I sure as hell should be able to do what I want with the songs on the CD for my own use. How DARE you tell me I can't copy music from MY cd that I purchased for 13 dollars.
I won't boycott sony movies (cinema)...and I won't boycott their DVDs (unless they do the same shi^ with them too), but as of now I'm definately boycotting their CDs. I don't care if 20 or 20,000 CDs had it on them. Until they REMOVE it, I'm not buying another sony CD.

I said a long time ago that I was boycotting CDs, and for all intensive purposes, I have. I buy my very favourite artists, or if I like enough songs on a CD, I'll buy it. But no more buying a cd with a song or 3 that I like - and no more CDs from Sony, period.

My point was not that people with or without knowledge don't care about things they should... My point was simply that just because someone doesn't know about something, doesn't make it any more right to give it to them.

No kidding! That line made me want to rip every Sony/BMG Album I have, burn 1,000 copies of each and give them out on the street corner!

It's sad, but you really are hitting this one on the nose. The majority of people that this actually affects will most likely not take any action against it. And in the end, it will be some poor tech who has to "fix it" after some barely computer-literate mid-40's brings in his PC because his kid just played Van Zant on it and then tried to manually uninstall the malware it came with and it killed his CD/DVD drive. Failing to learn about the technology you use = perpetuating the cycle of ignorance and setting yourself up to be pwned by 'The Man'.

did you just say that? I mean, really, please refine that statement. Rootkit is a 'virus shield'???????? Before I falsely flame a potential genius, please explain your statement.

Rootkit hides any file with a certain prefix in it's name ($sys$ I beleive, but it's been a while since I read up on it).

This gives the ability for pretty much anyone to write a virus and naming it $sys$myvirus.exe and have it execute without you ever knowing or being able to detect it without some very clever detective work.

I believe what he was trying to say was that a rootkit shields a user from being able to detect certain files (potentially viruses). Not Virus Shield as in McAfee, Avast, Norton, etc

Or he could be referring to Rootkit Revealer, a utility for finding the little buggers...perhaps he doesn't quite understand the subject of this article :-P

At the same time if these people had in black and white someone explain to them what we know about this issue they would still be pissed. So if you really think about it, would be like a double insult. He says all of his customers are morons anyway and why would they care? Because they don't know what they are doing, they just want it to work.

squirm....

Face it Sony, you got caught with your trousers down on this one.

yeah sony has been going down a long hill for a while now...
to anyone that has a ps2 I am sure you have heard of the disk read error problem? if not basically sony used parts and knew they would not hold out long a class action suit was going to be brought up against them only they promised anyone that called in and received the disk read error they would fix it provided you did not mod it...now this sounds great but you ll be lucky if you get an agent who says they will help you out (I was able to get it) but my friends could not they told them it would be a $50 charge plus shipping and handling...they dont own up to any of their mistakes...then on par with the ps2 some of them could not play the blue back cds (there was only a few for ps2 but besides the point) sony did not help with this either someone figured out if you tweak the laser it would fix it and play almost all ps1 games as well depending how much you tweaked it...
I dont know if it was sony or not but I think the bands name was switchfoot? and it had copy protection on their cds and it wouldnt even play in a pc so the band told customers how to get around it nice!

Now I have heard if you have autorun disabled or hold s*** down (same thing as disabling autorun) it wont load the software on your pc (this is only what I read I have no proof of it)

the problem with the rootkit is that it hides itself and it disrupts other programs (you can use it for being undetected cheating on world of warcraft) there also been reports that it screwed up apples itunes as well plus it has the potential to blue screen your pc and upon even trying to remove this software it can disable you cd rom drive...sounds like sony did not think any of this through and to be honest I believe they have no clue and f4i is telling them what they want to hear...