Are rootkits a good way to prevent copyright violations?

In My Humble Opinion
1

From http://news.com.com/Sony+to+patch+copy-protected+CD/2100-7355_3-5928608.html?tag=nefd.lede
it seems that Sony has included a rootkit which is installed on a computer that plays it’s copyprotected CD’s. My understanding of a rootkit, which is limited, is basically a program which changes the OS at a core level, which could cause much trouble trying to update your OS, and even microsoft says that the way to remove it very well might involve the ‘format c:’ command.

This to me seems outrageous. Perhaps my understanding of rootkits is off, but IMHO they have no right to do anything to your OS, and it is arguably a violation of microsoft’s copyright on windows.

2

Well, judging by the response it’s getting, from a purely public-relations point of view, I’d have to say the answer is no.

3

While I’m all for protecting copyrights, something like this is just plain out of line. They have no right to screw with your computer. If it crashes becaue of that, are they going to get your data back?

4

And notice they’re not really saying they’ll make the rootkit it easier to remove, or less risky to the system, but just patch it so that it identifies itself as legit. The uninstall process AND the procedure to obtain the uninstall instructions are both byzantine rituals involving multiple independent support channels, designed to make you give up at some point.

Y’know, on THIS one Mr. Gates could be brave and say: Only MS can plant things into Windows at that level. Cease and desist. But of course I’m just being silly, he won’t do any such thing.

5

Well, Microsoft is lining up for a battle with Sony in the next-gen game consoles. Gates going on and making a big deal of this could hurt Sony there.

Anyways, a rootkit like this is a terrible way of preventing copyright violation; anyone with a Mac, Linux, or BSD box could ignore said rootkit, rip the files, and place them on P2P networks.

6

I am in no way a detractor of intellectual property rights, but this is just another ill-concieved, fantasy-world implementation of a DRM scheme. Insult and inconvenience the genuine customers in order to offer absolutely no protection to your content from determined, equipped thieves. Stupid, stupid stupid. Bad Sony!

7

I find it unethical for any software to make such deep changes to my property without a clear indication beforehand what is happening, a chance to abort installation, and a straightforward method to uninstall.

8

  1. Note the usual Failure of the Media: Some of the news articles say that Sony’s new patch removies the software when it only makes (some of) it visible. The patch itself is of course software that you have to install and trust. Right.

  2. The DRM is trivially bypassed. Just disable autorun!

9

Here is a Pit thread that is also discussing this topic. There are a lot more links explaining about this practice in that thread.