The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is praising a U.S. District Court judge's preliminary approval Friday of a settlement with Sony BMG Music Entertainment over two widely criticized copy protection programs found on an estimated 15 million music CDs.
The settlement means that consumers can finally get music that will play on their computers without invading their privacy or eroding their security, EFF said in a statement Friday. EFF, a U.S.-based organization, studies technology-related legal issues.
The terms of the settlement vary according to which kind of copy protection software the CD contains, according to details released by EFF on its Web site. Sony used two versions of copy protection: Extended Copy Protection (XCP), produced by First 4 Internet in Banbury, England, and two versions of MediaMax from SunnComm International of Phoenix, Arizona.
Although designed to prevent unauthorized copies of songs, security researchers found the programs were either difficult to remove, caused security holes in users' computers or violated accepted user control rights over their own computer. As a result, several class-action lawsuits were filed against Sony in November and were consolidated into a single case in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Sony does not agree with all of the claims of the lawsuit, EFF said.
For people who bought CDs with XCP, they can exchange the disks for new ones without the programs. Customers are also entitled to download a clean version of that same album in MP3 format, and receive a $7.50 payment plus one free album download. Users can opt out of the cash payment and get three free album downloads, according to details released by EFF.
Those possessing disks with MediaMax 3.0 are eligible to receive a free MP3 download of the same album. The settlement also allows for customers who have CDs with the 5.0 version of that program to receive a free MP3 download of the same album plus an additional free album download.
The terms of the settlement require that users run an uninstaller that removes the copy protection software.
The settlement also mandates Sony to stop manufacturing CDs with any of the three programs and issues updates to fix security problems. Sony began including XCP software on some CDs in January 2005. The company had shipped CDs with the MediaMax software since August 2003, court documents showed.
Security researchers found the XCP software was hard to detect, embedding itself within Microsoft's Windows OS using rootkit technology. Soon after, viruses that could exploit the rootkit were released, putting further pressure on Sony from customers over details of XCP and how it operated. Subsequently, security vendors classified XCP as spyware and updated their products to disable it.
This whitepaper explains the terminology and concepts behind Data Replication technologies and establishes some sizing rules through worked examples. Learn the new paradigm in disaster tolerance—protect data anywhere.
Download now »
Server virtualization is a popular option for dealing with mounting datacenter costs. Another equally promising approach is the use of an Application Delivery Controller. Citrix NetScaler provides a low-cost way for organizations to reduce their server count and accrue cost savings from a reduction in space, cooling, power and personnel.
Download now »
The emergence of WLANs has created a new breed of security threats to enterprise networks.
Included in HP ProCurve WLAN solutions is security technology that alleviates threats from WLANs through:
* Monitoring wireless activity inside and out of the enterprise
* Classifying WLAN transmissions into harmful and harmless
* Preventing transmissions that pose a security threat to the enterprise network
* Locating participating devices for physical remediation
Effectively address data protection challenges, implementing solutions that help store and protect business–critical data while cutting costs and improving efficiency and reliability.
Download now »
Sign up to receive Security Resource Alerts
This white paper provides guidance on how to develop a strategic approach to managing and monitoring logs, a key function required for compliance with many regulatory mandates and a critical defense against security threats.
Download now! »
Learn about the processes and technologies that support security information management (SIM) operations, as well as the business case for SIM. The series examines different options for implementing SIM and gives you evaluation criteria for selecting the best option for your organization.
Download now! »
Learn the strategies, actions, and capabilities that Best-in-Class organizations employ and technologies they choose to obtain superior performance against various security performance metrics. This report provides guidelines for identifying which security solutions to consume as a MSS and defines best practices for choosing and managing MSSPs.
Download now! »
Recommend This
