Slashdot Mirror
Apple's iTunes DRM Cracked?
joekra writes "The author of DeCSS is back in the spotlight with a new application called QTFairUse. The new application attempts to convert DRM'd AACs to non-DRM'd AACs on Windows machines. MacRumors has done some limited testing on it and has found it doesn't yet work as advertised... but they do offer a look into how it works."
I am the person who did the original testing for MacRumors. Here are the final steps:
The raw aac file that QTFairUse produces can be played in a windows app called foobar.
To play back in itunes is a little harder. One must run an application called faad.exe to fix the "atoms?" of the aac file. After that is done one must add the MPEG-4 wrappers using the program mp4creator found in MPEG4IPutils. Make sure to use the -optimize tag, or else the file will triple in size. After this is all done you end up with a m4a file with the decrypted aac content in a MPEG-4 wrapper playable in itunes.
It's being compared to an analog hole attack because it doesn't actually solve the encryption scheme, but instead lets QuickTime do the decryption, and then captures the plaintext AAC file that is stored in memory.
Truely, it's still digital at that point, so it should be called the "plaintext hole".
I'm curious.. did he do this for a similar reason as the one he claims he created DeCSS for - namely to play back DVDs on Linux ?
:)
I can't seem to find it in any of the articles, nor in his blog.
If there is no similar reason, does that mean that the reason of DeCSS's existence should be reviewed ?
Was 'hollywood' right, and he really just wanted digital dumps of the movies, just as - seemingly - he just wants a non-AAC'd digital dump of the music here ?
Not inciting a discussion on whether people should be allowed to do this in the first place - that's a whole other discussion
Apple does EXACTLY WHAT EVERYONE SAID THEY WANTED and they still get fucked over.
This isn't about fair use any more. This is about "fuck over any company that uses price tags."
This entire argument has lost every last shred of whatever legitimacy it may have once had.
Business isn't willing to pay for products, innovation and careers, so we get brands, mortgage commercials and layoffs.
the DRM on Apple's AAC files may be about to be rendered useless
I'm of the opinion that it was already useless. iTunes allows you to purchase the DRM'ed music, burn it as an Audio CD, then rip it as AAC, MP3, whatever you want without any DRM on it at all. The cost is a blank CD-R that, once done, is perfectly playable in any CD player, so its not even a wasted CD.
All this is possible with iTunes right out of the box without any special tools. All this "FairUse" tool does is save you one step.. and one CD-R.
The