Posted: Jun 05, 2012 2:33 am
Is anyone really surprised at Sony trying to pull shit like this, given their track record? Such as ...
[1] Putting together so-called "digital rights management" software on some music CDs, that, when you inserted the CDs into a PC, rewrote part of the Windows operating system kernel using a rootkit toolbox, and left thousands of PCs vulnerable to malware attacks ...
BBC Article on this
Wired article on this
They also shat all over World of Warcraft while they did this.
Read all about the WoW incident
Then, the Italian police launched a criminal investigation into Sony's rootkit crock of shit.
Read all about this fun and games
Eventually, Microsoft listed the Sony DRM as malware
Of course, we all know the REAL reason for so-called "digital rights management" shite such as this, as revealed in this handy article, explaining how Sony's plans involve turning you, the sucker consumer, into a limitless cash cow to be b/milked at leisure.
More on Sony's corporate rapacity here
Then, it got serious. Because when Sony went into total corporate fucktard mode, namely "it's not our fault, we're a multi-billion dollar corporation and we can do what the fuck we want, suck on it pleb", they apparently didn't realise that people would play these CDs on computers at work in their lunchtimes. Consequently, other corporate networks were fucked up by the rootkit malware. Including some military networks.
Happy, happy, happy, joy, joy, joy
Oh by the way, you're going to love this. Sony not only loaded their music CDs with malware in the name of "copyright protection", malware which ultimately left some US military networks vulnerable to hacking attacks, but when the code was analysed, it turned out they'd taken some open source code, embedded it in their software, and violated the terms of the Creative Commons licence attached thereto. A case of "do as I say, not as I do" on an epic scale.
[2] Employing people to write fake movie reviews for Sony BMG movies, and insert them into newspapers all over the USA, a little scam that led to Sony in the USA being fined $1.5 million.
[3] Bribing radio DJs to play Sony music titles preferentially and push them up the charts ... which led to a $10 million fine.
[4] Sony also tried to bully Apple into handing over the iPod DRM system to them free and gratis, instead of paying for a proper licence and royalties (don't do as I do, do as I say, much?).
With a track record like this, it's a wonder anyone with functioning brain cells buys Sony gear any more, because the company sucks donkey balls big time. it's run by wank-break MBAs with pinstripe DNA, who think they have a right to treat the consumer as a biological ATM machine with infinite cash flow. I wouldn't touch Sony hardware if you paid me on the basis of this track record, and after reading the above instances of malfeasance, neither should you.
[1] Putting together so-called "digital rights management" software on some music CDs, that, when you inserted the CDs into a PC, rewrote part of the Windows operating system kernel using a rootkit toolbox, and left thousands of PCs vulnerable to malware attacks ...
BBC Article on this
Wired article on this
They also shat all over World of Warcraft while they did this.
Read all about the WoW incident
Then, the Italian police launched a criminal investigation into Sony's rootkit crock of shit.
Read all about this fun and games
Eventually, Microsoft listed the Sony DRM as malware
Of course, we all know the REAL reason for so-called "digital rights management" shite such as this, as revealed in this handy article, explaining how Sony's plans involve turning you, the sucker consumer, into a limitless cash cow to be b/milked at leisure.
More on Sony's corporate rapacity here
Then, it got serious. Because when Sony went into total corporate fucktard mode, namely "it's not our fault, we're a multi-billion dollar corporation and we can do what the fuck we want, suck on it pleb", they apparently didn't realise that people would play these CDs on computers at work in their lunchtimes. Consequently, other corporate networks were fucked up by the rootkit malware. Including some military networks.
Happy, happy, happy, joy, joy, joy
Oh by the way, you're going to love this. Sony not only loaded their music CDs with malware in the name of "copyright protection", malware which ultimately left some US military networks vulnerable to hacking attacks, but when the code was analysed, it turned out they'd taken some open source code, embedded it in their software, and violated the terms of the Creative Commons licence attached thereto. A case of "do as I say, not as I do" on an epic scale.
[2] Employing people to write fake movie reviews for Sony BMG movies, and insert them into newspapers all over the USA, a little scam that led to Sony in the USA being fined $1.5 million.
[3] Bribing radio DJs to play Sony music titles preferentially and push them up the charts ... which led to a $10 million fine.
[4] Sony also tried to bully Apple into handing over the iPod DRM system to them free and gratis, instead of paying for a proper licence and royalties (don't do as I do, do as I say, much?).
With a track record like this, it's a wonder anyone with functioning brain cells buys Sony gear any more, because the company sucks donkey balls big time. it's run by wank-break MBAs with pinstripe DNA, who think they have a right to treat the consumer as a biological ATM machine with infinite cash flow. I wouldn't touch Sony hardware if you paid me on the basis of this track record, and after reading the above instances of malfeasance, neither should you.