Sony… Rootkits and EULA’s

November 10th, 2005 at 6:57 pm By johnsee (Around the World, Tech & Science)

Every week there is something that gets people online all over the world fired up. Last week… Jack Thompson… this week… Sony and Rootkits. Now for anyone whos been living under a rock for the past week, let me give you a run down. Sony has started including new software on their music cds. Now in the past this crappy add on software has had to be installed before you could listen to music, but sony is now taking it even further. The new software installs without you having any idea. There is no screen telling you a percentage remaining… or a screen asking where you would like to install it too… it simply silently installs itself on your computer. It stays there until you take the cd out of… wait… no it stays there for pretty much forever. Worse still, Sony say they don’t care. Even security experts are struggling to remove it. Lets take this one step further. Whenever you insert a sony CD into your computer you agree to their EULA (electronic user licence agreement)… these are the things you always click accept to whilst installing and just keep on going. Well you should read your sony one… because you are signing away the following rights:

1. If your house gets burgled, you have to delete all your music from your laptop when you get home. That’s because the EULA says that your rights to any copies terminate as soon as you no longer possess the original CD.
2. You can’t keep your music on any computers at work. The EULA only gives you the right to put copies on a "personal home computer system owned by you."
3. If you move out of the country, you have to delete all your music. The EULA specifically forbids "export" outside the country where you reside.
4. You must install any and all updates, or else lose the music on your computer. The EULA immediately terminates if you fail to install any update. No more holding out on those hobble-ware downgrades masquerading as updates.
5. Sony-BMG can install and use backdoors in the copy protection software or media player to "enforce their rights" against you, at any time, without notice. And Sony-BMG disclaims any liability if this "self help" crashes your computer, exposes you to security risks, or any other harm.
6. The EULA says Sony-BMG will never be liable to you for more than $5.00. That’s right, no matter what happens, you can’t even get back what you paid for the CD.
7. If you file for bankruptcy, you have to delete all the music on your computer. Seriously.
8. You have no right to transfer the music on your computer, even along with the original CD.
9. Forget about using the music as a soundtrack for your latest family photo slideshow, or mash-ups, or sampling. The EULA forbids changing, altering, or make derivative works from the music on your computer.

There is still one simple way to get your music from sony without any crap. There is in fact still one way to get your music without it installing spyware on your computer. I’m all for buying CDs, I’m buying almost one a week at the moment… but if you want your Sony music without the crap, your going to have to illegally download it.