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Sony BMG – XCP Wars

Sony loves you so much that when you buy one of its official, bona fide Van Zant CDs, a program called a root kit installs itself on your PC. Why?

Well, that’s so Sony can keep an eye on you to make sure you’re not being “naughty” and making more than 3 copies of the CD. You’re lucky, all this can happen without you even knowing.

That’s not the entire story, unfortunately.

This “root kit” is underhanded and badly written and hides itself from not only your operating system but also any anti-virus or anti-spyware software. You don’t know its there, and whats more you haven’t agreed for it to be installed in the first place.

Removal of this nasty bit of software involves registering on the Sony BMG website in order to receive a confirmation email with a link allowing you to download a removal program.

Not surprisingly this removal program so badly written that it too can stop your PC from working (i.e. you won’t be able to boot it or use Windows) when it attempts to remove the root kit; you know, the program you never agreed to install in the first place!

What kind of message does this send to the consumer?

You choose to be legal.
You choose to buy the CD of your favourite band from Amazon.
You put your PC at risk whether you like it or not.

It’s your choice not to buy this stuff and send Sony a message. Beware of copy-protected CDs, they contain more than music!

Links:
Sony slated over anti-piracy CD