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Newest Audio CD DRM Proves Ineffective
The Importance of writes "As noted previously, a couple of weeks ago BMG released a new CD by Anthony Hamilton that included DRM. Slashdot readers speculated that the system wouldn't work. Now there is a report proving it doesn't work by Alex Halderman, a graduate student at Princeton's computer science department and the author of an earlier, definitive report (PDF, HTML version) on first generation CD copy protection. Famed computer scientist Ed Felten asks: "Is this the end of the road for CD copy protection?" His answer? "It ought to be.""
Start with a Windows 2000/XP system with empty CD drives. Be sure to reboot the computer first to ensure MediaMax is not running.
1. Click the Start button and select Control Panel from the Start Menu.
2. Double-click on the System control panel icon.
3. Select the Hardware tab and click the Device Manager button.
4. Configure Device Manager by clicking "Show hidden devices" and "Devices by connection," both from the View menu.
5. Insert the Anthony Hamilton CD into the computer and allow the SunnComm software to start. Observe that the SbcpHid device driver is added to the Device Manager list when MediaMax runs for the first time.
At this point you can attempt to copy tracks from the CD with applications like MusicMatch Jukebox or Windows Media Player. Copies made while the driver is active will sound badly garbled, as in this 9-second clip [10].
Next, follow these additional steps to disable MediaMax:
1. Select the SbcpHid driver from the Device Manager list and click "Properties" from the Action Menu.
2. Click the Driver tab and click the Stop button to disable the driver.
With the driver stopped, you can verify that the same applications copy every track successfully.
And oh, yeah, this work is a blatant DMCA violation.
As long as I have an audio-in port on my sound card and an external player, drm is a waste of their time and money.
Now there is a report proving it doesn't work
No doubt written with a Sharpie pen.
No audio CD should be installing *ANYTHING* on my PC, unless I'm aware of it at first.
Words change meaning when you translate from English to Marketing. :)
"History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme." Mark Twain
1.2. Your rights to use the Digital Content are conditioned on your ownership of a license to use and possession of the original Compact Disc (CD) media and are terminated in the event you no longer own or possess the original CD media. (This apparently prohibits using copied tracks as backups in case the original disc is lost, stolen, or destroyed.)
So if the CD fails to remain usable through normal wear and tear, does that put the publisher in breach of contract? They've effectively granted me a license that they are going to renege on should the physical media degrade.
They've got to make up their minds! Is it a physical good, or a digital good? Did I buy a license and the CD was just a nice way for them to fulfill their promise that I'm licensed to use the content? Did I buy a plastic disc (for $15) which I'm free to do with as I please?
$8.95/mo web hosting
It's not supposed to be uncrackable. I know it's crackable, you know it's crackable, they sure as hell know it's crackable. Just like any other protection mechanism on anything from a PC CDROM to the XBOX.
What it's supposed to do is limit casual piracy. Make it tougher for the average slob to make a copy with the EZ-CD Copier that shipped with his Dell and give it to his buddies. That's it. Most folks would just give up if it didnt work the first time they tried, they aren't going to jump through any hoops, scribble on it with a sharpie, open up a hex editor, solder a mod-chip into their player, run a distributed cracking engine to decode it, whatever. It sure as hell has nothing to do with preventing some geek from leaking it on the 'net.
That's a *large* chunk of the sales they actually lose. Bob Magoo who gets a copy from his buddy Turd Ferguson because he's too lazy or cheap to run down to Wal-Mart and get his own.
So just friggin relax already, and dont be so proud of yourself that you figured out how to "hack" the technical equivalent of the safety pin that keeps a babies diaper in place.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
MagnaTune
I believe they were mentioned a little while ago, but they're the
"We're a record company, but we're not evil" people.
Seriously. Asside from a few artists I absolutely love, I have started getting my music fix from mp3.com and magnatune. If you're gonna listen to them though, please do help them out financially. It takes a lot of bandwidth to stream mp3s.
no comment
"This is about as effective as putting a sticker on the front that says 'Pretty please do not attempt to extract data from this CD on your computer'."
Gotta wonder, why hasn't the RIAA tried putting little "Do's and Dont's" pamphlet in CDs? I mean, seriously, the RIAA has done *nothing* to educate people about what's legal and what isn't. This is why people are appearing in court with a surprised expression on their faces. If the RIAA, ages ago, had insisted that record labels put little pamphlets in their CD's saying "please don't copy and give to a friend", then their stance would be a little easier to handle.
The RIAA says their problems are because everybody's a thief, I say the RIAA's problems are a direct result of their own ignorance. At least the movie industry is smart enough to put a list of don't on every movie. Interestingly enough, there aren't as many DVD rips out there.
"Derp de derp."
you used capital letters, dmca violator1111, you are going to jail1111
Copies made while the driver is active will sound badly garbled, as in this 9-second clip [10].
That's not garbled, that's the Aphex Twin mix!
Or under iMac:
1). Insert CD into drive
2). Take iMac into tech support, so they can "extract" the cd that is now jammed in your computer.