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Texas Expands Lawsuit Against SonyBMG
Spywareinfo.com ^ | 12/24/05

Posted on 12/27/2005 5:30:42 AM PST by Born Conservative

The original lawsuit alleged that SonyBMG's XPC copy protection software violated Texas antispyware laws. The XPC software hid malicious and potentially destructive software with a rootkit, as well as opening a security hole.

A patch intended to remove the rootkit, released by SonyBMG after news of their software became public, turned out to be more harmful than original software. If installed, the XPC patch would have allowed any web site to install any software, regardless of its origins.

Texas now says that a different form of copy protection used by SonyBMG also violates the state's antispyware law, as well as laws against deceptive practices. The updated lawsuit alleges that this other copy protection program, known as MediaMax, is installed on computers even before the consumer is able to choose whether or not to accept it. The Texas Attorney-General says that SonyBMG is misleading consumers by stating that no files are installed, if the agreement is declined.

The MediaMax software also opens a security flaw on infected computers. This security flaw might leave a computer vulnerable to infection by other malicious software.

The Texas Attorney-General is asking that all Texas residents, who believe their computer to be infected by any of this software from SonyBMG, file a complaint with his office. The Attorney-General's web site demonstrates two ways in which to determine whether or not SonyBMG's XPC software is installed:

1) From Windows, choose Start, then Run, then type cmd. At the command prompt, type (do not include quote marks):

      "cd \" and press ENTER
      "cd windows\system32\$sys$filesystem" and press ENTER (substitute "winnt" for "windows" for Windows 2000)

If you are able to change to that folder, you have been infected. If you see the following message, then you likely are not infected: "The system cannot find the path specified."

If you are able to change to that folder, you have been infected. 2) From Windows, open any word processor and create a text document (named test.txt). Once saved, rename the file to "$sys$test.txt". Refresh the folder where you saved the file (by pressing the F5 button). If the file disappears, you have been infected.
 

If the court decides in favor of Texas, SonyBMG might have to pay up to $100,000 in damages for each violation of the antispyware law and $20,000 in damages for each violation of the deceptive trade practices law. Individuals whose computers were affected by the software also can recover


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Extended News; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: bc; sonybmg; spyware; xpc

1 posted on 12/27/2005 5:30:44 AM PST by Born Conservative
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To: Born Conservative

hoooooo brudder. ya think texas will end up owning all of sony's copyrights?


2 posted on 12/27/2005 5:32:37 AM PST by HiTech RedNeck
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To: HiTech RedNeck

I am so angry at Sony for this...it's about time some fighting back is going on! :-)


3 posted on 12/27/2005 7:12:52 AM PST by Gondring (I'll give up my right to die when hell freezes over my dead body!)
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To: NoCmpromiz

ping


4 posted on 12/27/2005 7:17:21 AM PST by DJ MacWoW (If you think you know what's coming next....You don't know Jack.)
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To: Born Conservative

I guess it's back to Kaaza for music downloads.


5 posted on 12/27/2005 7:34:56 AM PST by Balding_Eagle (God has blessed Republicans with political enemies who have dementia.)
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To: Born Conservative
I certainly hope noone bought any Sony products for Christmas this year.
6 posted on 12/27/2005 8:10:28 AM PST by zeugma (Warning: Self-referential object does not reference itself.)
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To: Born Conservative

Don't mess with Texas...or Texas Instruments.


7 posted on 12/27/2005 8:17:24 AM PST by 308MBR (Not only older, but bolder. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.)
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To: zeugma

Made the mistake of getting a Sony digital camcorder - playback is fine from it, but video quality sucks if I transfer a file from the camcorder to my PC thence to a DVD.

REALLY really crummy picture quality!
What's with that?


8 posted on 12/27/2005 12:15:17 PM PST by Redbob
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To: Redbob

My first guess with that kind of stuff is some kind of whacky copy protection scheme. You see, Sony believes you are a criminal, and wants to make it difficult for you to copy anything thay don't want you to. Doesn't matter if it effectively destroys the utility of producing home movies, as long as hollywierd can breathe easier.


9 posted on 12/27/2005 12:19:03 PM PST by zeugma (Warning: Self-referential object does not reference itself.)
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To: zeugma
Sony believes you are a criminal

Sony will never receive any more of my hard-earned money.

10 posted on 12/27/2005 8:28:31 PM PST by Born Conservative (Chronic Positivity: http://www.livejournal.com/users/jsher/)
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To: Born Conservative

I get the "path cannot be found" message but I doubt I'm who they are looking for. I rarely buy new CDs and don't tend to copy entire discs.


11 posted on 12/27/2005 9:51:26 PM PST by Tall_Texan (Santa Claus is an illegal alien.)
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To: Tall_Texan
I get the "path cannot be found" message but I doubt I'm who they are looking for.

That message means you're not infected.

12 posted on 12/27/2005 9:54:43 PM PST by ThinkDifferent (I am a leaf on the wind)
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To: ThinkDifferent; Tall_Texan
I get the "path cannot be found" message but I doubt I'm who they are looking for.

That message means you're not infected.

Or a bad typist ;)

13 posted on 12/27/2005 9:57:37 PM PST by freedumb2003 (American troops cannot be defeated. American Politicians can.)
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To: freedumb2003

LOL

I double-checked. Like I said, I'm not who they are after but the whole concept still bothers me - not so much spyware, I've learned to live with a certain amount of that (cookies, etc.), but opening up security holes, etc...

Don't they have some very harsh penalties for people who write viruses and isn't this roughly the same as that? You could say "oh, they only infect people who try to make copies" but couldn't you say "oh, they only infect people dumb enough to open attachments"?


14 posted on 12/27/2005 11:32:29 PM PST by Tall_Texan (Santa Claus is an illegal alien.)
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To: Tall_Texan
Don't they have some very harsh penalties for people who write viruses and isn't this roughly the same as that? You could say "oh, they only infect people who try to make copies" but couldn't you say "oh, they only infect people dumb enough to open attachments"?

I think you are dead on the mark. Sony is going to pay dearly for this for quite some time.

And I think there will be some criminal investigation as well, following your logic.

15 posted on 12/28/2005 5:12:35 AM PST by freedumb2003 (American troops cannot be defeated. American Politicians can.)
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