Posted on 02/01/2007 6:21:11 PM PST by Space Wrangler
A Romanian-born programmer claims to have developed code that can bypass the Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology in Windows Vista. Writing in his blog, Alex Ionescu said that for over a year, he's been working on a method of getting around Vista's signed driver requirements and that he's recently succeeded.
As you might know, Vista requires that all drivers be digitally signed so that they can be properly authenticated to the OS. The 64-bit version of Vista requires what Microsoft calls Kernel Mode Code Signing (KMCS) in order to load kernel-mode drivers.
Vista also includes a technology called Protect Media Path (PMP), which essentially is a way to enable secure playback of "next-generation premium content," such as high-definition DVDs. The idea behind PMP is to prohibit access to unencrypted premium content to prevent the user from making copies that aren't approved by the content publisher. In order to facilitate trusted interoperability with premium content, any components placed into the PMP must be digitally signed for use with PMP.
Ionescu said that his code does not load any unsigned drivers and that he uses a special boot flag when starting Vista. He intends to release sample code that partially demonstrates his discoveries, but he won't release code that bypasses Vista DRM out of fear of being prosecuted under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
"Later this week I will release some safe, generic, proof of concept code that targets what I believe is a flaw in the Code Integrity/Driver Signing model.... Because this code will require an initial reboot [of the operating system] Microsoft does not consider it to be a flaw from a security standpoint. And because [the code I intend to release is] so generic, it has absolutely nothing to do with DRM or PMP. That being said, I'm sure someone with knowledge of the PMP implementation might be able to use this as a very smart building block of the entire code that would be required [to bypass PMP and DRM]," Ionescu wrote.
"anyone that finds ways around it will have the proverbial better mousetrap"
Considering that Apple's current business model is more dependent on DRM than Microsoft's, seemed like a reasonable question.
For any sophisticated home users MS pretty much forces you to buy the most expensive "ultimate" version. There is a "Deluxe Home" version with serveral things most home users would want on their computer but this version of Vista doesn't have remote desktop or vpn capabilities. That's BS. Many, many home users use their machine to log onto their work computers via remote desktop. Microsoft intentionally left this out of Vista (it's in XP) Home version to force most of us to have to shell out the extra bucks. Forget it, I see no reason to trade XP for some eye candy and massive DRM crippleware.
Well, let me clarify then....anyone who finds a reliable method of cutting DRM out of the mix on current MS or Apple systems, will have the world beating a path to his door, precisely because neither MS or Apple is going anywhere any time soon. As for existing OS's that don't have DRM schemes built in, there are already multitudes of Linux distros available. While I think you are going to see a steady rise of Linux adoption over the coming years, I don't think it's going to be huge, and DRM gutting methods on the "Big Two" will be very much in demand.
So you agree with Norway's position that Apple's iTunes should be "illegal"?
I was automatically updated too....and on alot of my pages I get 'run time -- do you want to debug errors'. So for those web pages, I use firefox.
No I do not. Let the market decide.
Most of the freepers posting on this thread sound like techies, which I am clearly not.
We purchased a new computer on Wednesday which was loaded with Vista Home Basic. I consider myself relatively computer literate and never had problems with Windows XP and I was unable to manage Vista.
When I called for technical assistance, I was told that the average home user would find using Vista very difficult because it is a sophisticated program and doesn't work like windows.
We returned the computer yesterday and I intend to stay as far away from Vista as possible. It's likely over time that home PC users will force changes and patches and maybe in a year or so it will be an easier operating system to manage.
So you're taking the side of the foreign hackers over that of US corporations attempting to protect their intellectual property? Please don't retreat to the position of "it's inevitable", take a stand either on the side of foreign hackers or US corporations. Thanks.
Regards, Ivan
If only it were so black and white.
I was just over at google and clicked on news and then searched for articles about Vista.
Most of the trade magazines say they're about 80% sold on Vista and think it's a good product. One in particular said that it's worth getting the Vista Home Premium, which we didn't get.
I do think over time that home PC users will have so many problems and so many calls for technical help that it will force some changes to make it all easier for the average person.
The techies told me I'd love some of the features but when they talked, I didn't know what they were talking about. Things like overlays, etc.
I work in technology as well, and our official stance to all of our clients is to sit tight on Vista for now.
Getting beyond one's own selfish desires and looking at the big picture is necessary to establish principle in one's position. In this case we have US corporations vs. the foreign hackers that crack our intellectual property protections. I easily side with US corporations, based on the principle of the big picture, where do you stand on the big picture?
Regards, Ivan
First, you can't show a lie in their defense.
Or the "180 day rule for criminal prosecution" LMAO.
Second, that rule would kick in if he were to start distributing Vista. It's part of the law. I love how you continuously mock the laws you appear to support.
First, that's far, far, far from the only thing they're doing.
Second, you're arguing with the use of the False Choice logical fallacy.
Two question: Have you ever been bitten by the Windows 2000 RPC bug? Have you thought of an OS tweaked or designed for real-time processing, like RTLinux or VXWorks?
Once XP finally becomes too outdated for my personal home use, what other, real option is there for a universally supported OS that nearly every program I use will still work? For example, can Linux run my 5 year old copy of MS Office? For the technomoron, would a Linux type OS run any tax prep software that's written for Windows?
It has been my position for some time now that the greed of the RIAA and MPAA are actually forcing people into a moral dilemma...and one where the 'illegal' option can be morally justified. It's a train wreck of a situation. Perhaps the pressure from the 'foreign hackers' will force the content providers into a more realistic business model, and one that is fair to the consumer.
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