# Whats the Story behind Sony's Audio CD Malware? Has it ever been resolved? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 10, 2010, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-story-behind-sonys-audio-cd-malware-has-it-ever-been-resolved/556691 "2010-10-10T17:03:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-story-behind-sonys-audio-cd-malware-has-it-ever-been-resolved/556691/1 "2010-10-10T17:03:18Z")
About ten years ago there was a big story about Sony Audio CD’s installing malicious software that permanently altered Windows. It did something to prevent copying music off the cd. The stories I heard was it took reinstalling Windows to repair the damage. Everyone was told to hold the shift key down anytime they loaded a Sony Audio CD. I definitely recall news articles where Sony admitted to their tactics. Last night I was tired and forgot to hold the shift key down while loading a new jazz cd I bought. Scared the crap out of me. The CD was a Japanese import and I think it was a Sony. I don’t read Japanese and don’t know for sure. What’s the straight Dope behind the Sony Malware? Were there lawsuits? Outcomes? Was Sony criminally charged? Were any class action lawsuits litigated? What was Microsoft’s position on this? Microsoft Win Media Player can copy audio frm the cd. That feature has been in media player at least twelve years. What date ranges of Sony Audio CD’s do you have to fear? Does current programs like Norton or McAffe protect against the Sony Malware? Or do we have to spend the rest of our lives holding down the shift key when we load a Sony Audio CD into a Windows PC? ---
**Author:** ![Silophant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Silophant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silophant)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-story-behind-sonys-audio-cd-malware-has-it-ever-been-resolved/556691/2 "2010-10-10T17:36:09Z")
Sony only put that rootkit on about 50-some titles, all of which were released in 2005, and all of which were supposed to be recalled. [Here’s the list of CDs.](http://www.myce.com/news/Sony-officially-lists-52-XCP-infected-CDs--faces-a-loss-of-sales-11149/) If you don’t have these CDs, you have nothing to worry about. Even if you do have those CDs, they probably are the new version without copy protection, unless it fits the description [here.](http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2005/11/are-you-infected-sony-bmgs-rootkit) So basically, don’t worry about it. Holding down the shift key won’t help anyway. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-story-behind-sonys-audio-cd-malware-has-it-ever-been-resolved/556691/3 "2010-10-10T17:47:11Z")
:eek: :eek: The shift key trick doesn’t protect you? It’s supposed to keep Windows from auto loading. If you do it at Win startup, items in your start up folder don’t load. I always hold down the shift key when plugging in an external usb drive. Has that functionality gone away in newer versions of Windows? ---
**Author:** ![Carlarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@Carlarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carlarm)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-story-behind-sonys-audio-cd-malware-has-it-ever-been-resolved/556691/4 "2010-10-12T02:53:15Z")
You can disable the Autorun functionality so you don’t have to hold the shift key down when you insert a CD or USB drive. See: [http://support.microsoft.com/kb/967715](http://support.microsoft.com/kb/967715) ---
**Author:** ![jamie6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jamie6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jamie6)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-story-behind-sonys-audio-cd-malware-has-it-ever-been-resolved/556691/5 "2010-10-12T21:56:50Z")
Windows 7 always asks me what I want to do when I pop something in. No shift required. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-story-behind-sonys-audio-cd-malware-has-it-ever-been-resolved/556691/6 "2010-10-12T23:56:51Z")
> [@jamie6](#): > > Windows 7 always asks me what I want to do when I pop something in. No shift required. Even on CDs that have an autorun.inf file? Because I know Windows XP didn’t. Autorun.inf overrode the prompt. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-story-behind-sonys-audio-cd-malware-has-it-ever-been-resolved/556691/7 "2010-10-13T00:09:51Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > > [@jamie6](#): > > > > Windows 7 always asks me what I want to do when I pop something in. No shift required. > > Even on CDs that have an autorun.inf file? Because I know Windows XP didn’t. Autorun.inf overrode the prompt. Autorun is a configurable setting in windows XP. You can turn it off. I do it on my computer and it does not auto run CDs when I insert them. ---
**Author:** ![Petek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/petek/32/1590_2.png) [@Petek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petek)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-story-behind-sonys-audio-cd-malware-has-it-ever-been-resolved/556691/8 "2010-10-14T01:38:07Z")
For a highly technical description of this topic, from the one who brought it to everyone’s attention, read [this blog entry](http://blogs.technet.com/b/markrussinovich/archive/2005/10/31/sony-rootkits-and-digital-rights-management-gone-too-far.aspx) and subsequent entries on that site. My take: Sony messed with the wrong guy! ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-story-behind-sonys-audio-cd-malware-has-it-ever-been-resolved/556691/9 "2010-10-15T21:14:01Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Last night I was tired and forgot to hold the shift key down while loading a new jazz cd I bought. Scared the crap out of me. The CD was a Japanese import and I think it was a Sony. I don’t read Japanese and don’t know for sure. Sony’s logo is the same around the world. If you don’t see [this](http://gadgetophilia.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/sony-logo.jpg) somewhere on it, I’d be very surprised if it was Sony. ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-story-behind-sonys-audio-cd-malware-has-it-ever-been-resolved/556691/10 "2010-10-16T01:11:38Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > Sony’s logo is the same around the world. If you don’t see [this](http://gadgetophilia.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/sony-logo.jpg) somewhere on it, I’d be very surprised if it was Sony. Not true. One of the CDs on that list I own (the Switchfoot one from 2005), and it only says Sony BMG in very small print. The Columbia/CMV (CMV as it is a dual sided disc) logo is far more prominent. That disc screwed my computer up when I first used it, and doesn’t even play in some of my players (I always assumed it was because of the DVD/CD hybrid, not due to malware).