Crackers Tune In to Windows Media Player

jamshedji writes "Crackers are using the newest DRM technology in Microsoft's Windows Media Player to install spyware, adware, dialers and computer viruses on unsuspecting PC users."

Comments

Crackers like...

[NetNifty]

Crackers like the RIAA/MPAA contractor Overpeer?

Not only hackers!

[EvilCowzGoMoo]

Its not only hackers taking advantage of DRM vulnerabilities. This article at virus.org reports that the RIAA is also exploiting DRM!

"The contractor Overpeer who works solely for the MPAA and RIAA to polute Peer-to-Peer networks with corrupt and useless files has moved to a new low by using a loop hole within Windows Media DRM to launch popup adds and infect users PCs with Spyware, Viruses and Adware.

In what could be considered a quite blatent breach of computer crime laws the world over, Overpeer a company owned by Loudeye is making a lot of money seeding Peer-to-Peer networks with thousands of fake files. It's one of the entertainment industry's favourite, and most obnoxious, anti-p2p contractors.

The loophole in the Windows Media DRM process allows companies to create media files and link them to adware. When you normally download a protected Windows Media file, you also receive a license that lets you play it. If however Windows Media Player cannot find a valid license on your PC, it checks in with a remote system running Microsoft's Windows Media DRM Server.

You should rarely see that happen. Some files, however are set up to ask you for information before playing. They do this by displaying a URL in a dialog box labeled License Acquisition. Normally that dialog box is used to check for a user name or offer a chance to purchase the file that's being played. In a legitimate DRM-encrypted file the author may let you play it a few times, then bring up a window asking if you want to buy it.

Since the license dialog box is in essense an Internet Explorer window, it will display whatever is on the page it points to, in the cases that have been seen of this these trojaned Windows Media files, they all point to servers that load up unwanted ads, including windows that attempt install adware onto your PC surreptitiously, including adding items to your browser's Favorites list, attempting to change your home page and installing viral adware such as the 180search Assistant. "

Acording to the above article's date (December 31, 2004) Is it possible the RIAA inspired the hacker comunity?

Winamp TV had this problem too

[British]

On the Beta Winamp TV stations, adult site operators quickly figured how to launch URLs on video streams. Needless to say, the support forums showed you how to turn off this feature about a day after the discovery.

Please, not every app in the known world needs to launch a freakin' web page, etc.

Re:It's like sun on your wedding day?

[UWC]

All WMP versions that I've encountered through the current one have given a choice on whether to enable DRM at install. I've never tried installing with DRM enabled, so I don't know if it would request DRM on all files, or just makes sure to verify DRM on protected files, but with DRM turned off, I've not had a problem with playback of other files or portability of WMP-created media (e.g. CDs I've ripped to WMA. Yeah, I know, I should have used MP3 or Ogg, but CDex wasn't working for me at the time, and I was lazy; I've since rectified the transgressions).

I wonder how long until you're no longer given the choice to opt out of DRM at install, though.

I guess that explains that

[AssFace]

I was in NYC on business at the end of last week. The owner of our company had me swing by his apartment while I was in town and he wanted me to setup a wireless network there - which I did.
As part of the process I was tasked with fixing the 3 XP laptops that were "not working" or "too slow".

Sure enough, I found that they all had spyware - but one had 52 viruses on it.

The best part was that his wife (it was her laptop) said to me "oh that is odd because my IT person from work JUST scanned that two days ago - so I hardly think that I got 52 viruses in two days."

I tried to be polite but essentially told her that she might want to look into getting a better IT person.

One of the viruses that she had kept spawning instances of the media player and I couldn't figure out why... now I see why I guess.

(technically some of the viruses were trojans/worms/spyware, so I guess I should just say "malware")