Your computer belongs to Sony/BMG
I am writing this at around 12 Midnite on January 2, 2006 (Happy New Year everyone) and I am constantly seeing things that make me crazy, yet I haven’t been visiting the blog and writing them down. I am sure that Dr. Hartley would not approve, but I digress.
I want to start off by stating confidently that I am not a Sony hater. I have long been a fan of much of the company’s entertainment products, including the Playstation and Playstation 2. I have a Sony television, and I just installed a Sony DVD burner into my old Dell computer. So it is safe to conclude that I don’t have any particular axe to grind against them.
Their copy protection measures are a totally different animal, and one that I am completely opposed to. It seems that they have installed a piece of software on some music CD’s made by their various labels. When you pop it into your computer drive, it makes you click through and accept software before it allows you to play in on your pc. Okay, you say, so what’s the problem. Well, even if you click “no” and decline the install, it installs it anyway! (I can verify this with personal experience.) This software that now lies on your pc (whether you know it or not) can be used by other malicious people to get certain information or obtain control of your computer. Now I am not an alarmist, and I think that the chances of that happening are slim, but I think the greater danger is how under the guise of protecting their copyright, they don’t seem to mind making changes to a machine that is not theirs. My computer does not belong to them. They don’t want me making copies of their music, (which does not belong to me) but they are totally okay with making unauthorized changes to my computer setup, and perhaps putting me at risk for various malware issues. Nice. And just in case you were wondering what I was doing putting the cd in my computer, the idea was to rip it and put it on my iPod, which should be completely legitimate. They don’t want to allow me to do that, but it’s okay if I buy a copy on iTunes to put on my iPod. Jerks.
You can read more about the story here.
I want to start off by stating confidently that I am not a Sony hater. I have long been a fan of much of the company’s entertainment products, including the Playstation and Playstation 2. I have a Sony television, and I just installed a Sony DVD burner into my old Dell computer. So it is safe to conclude that I don’t have any particular axe to grind against them.
Their copy protection measures are a totally different animal, and one that I am completely opposed to. It seems that they have installed a piece of software on some music CD’s made by their various labels. When you pop it into your computer drive, it makes you click through and accept software before it allows you to play in on your pc. Okay, you say, so what’s the problem. Well, even if you click “no” and decline the install, it installs it anyway! (I can verify this with personal experience.) This software that now lies on your pc (whether you know it or not) can be used by other malicious people to get certain information or obtain control of your computer. Now I am not an alarmist, and I think that the chances of that happening are slim, but I think the greater danger is how under the guise of protecting their copyright, they don’t seem to mind making changes to a machine that is not theirs. My computer does not belong to them. They don’t want me making copies of their music, (which does not belong to me) but they are totally okay with making unauthorized changes to my computer setup, and perhaps putting me at risk for various malware issues. Nice. And just in case you were wondering what I was doing putting the cd in my computer, the idea was to rip it and put it on my iPod, which should be completely legitimate. They don’t want to allow me to do that, but it’s okay if I buy a copy on iTunes to put on my iPod. Jerks.
You can read more about the story here.
posted by Archeron at 11:14 PM
1 Comments:
I had to read that twice to understand it because the first time I was all rolling my eyes cause technology makes me fall asleep. But re reading it I can see how this is a real problem. I wonder if someone will get mad enough to do something about it? You have a very valid point that THEY can do what they want to YOUR personal computer.
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