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Sony Music CD's Contain Mac DRM Software Too

brjndr writes "A MacInTouch poster has found that certain Sony CD's also contain a smaller extra partition for 'enhanced' content. Running one of the applications found within this partition installs kernel extensions containing DRM software by SunnComm. In Sony's defense you're told what is being installed within a EULA which pops up when the program is loaded. Thankfully we all read our EULAs completely."

6 of 399 comments (clear)

  1. Even more thankfully by Have+Blue · · Score: 4, Informative

    Autorun is turned off by default on Macs, and there's never a good reason to turn it on. There's no way this could interfere with the usual insert/launch iTunes/click Rip method most people use.

    1. Re:Even more thankfully by eobanb · · Score: 4, Informative

      Actually, there IS no autorun on Mac OS X.

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  2. autorun by minus_273 · · Score: 4, Informative

    the summary fails to mention that OSX has no autorun. There is no way it can install something behind your back like windows does.

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  3. Re:Think different... by npietraniec · · Score: 5, Informative

    If you use a mac, you'll find that you type in your password far less than you might think you would. I don't do it that often, I don't think I'm that desensitized... I don't do it that often on my linux boxes either. My roommate however tried to set up a non-admin account on his windows computer and found it impossible to get any work done without changing over to admin all the time... Worse yet, things would fail mysteriously without any inidication of what the problem was "why can't I delete my documents on my external harddrive?!?!" He was just complaining about that today.

  4. Re:Oh thank God... by dreamer-of-rules · · Score: 4, Informative

    Because of OS X default security, even when running as the administrator, you still need to click to run the program, then type in your password. Deceptive, but not really secretive or automatic, thanks to the default Mac security.

    In Windows, you just insert the CD. Maybe into someone else's system when their back is turned. Windows OS trusts external content much more than the user sitting at the desk. "Do me", it says.

    Unfortunately, people are still stupid enough to follow these ludicrous steps. Remember the teddy bear "virus" in Windows? Consisted only of an email, the instructions to delete a standard Windows exe file, and a directive to resend the email to all of your friends.

    PS. Join us... you know you want to. ;)

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  5. Re:Think different... by tm2b · · Score: 4, Informative

    No, it doesn't.

    You are not often challenged for your password in Mac OS X. The default installation location is /Applications, which is mode 775 (meaning users can create items in the directory, but not alter files owned by someone else, including root). Most installs you simply drag an item into the Applications folder.

    If something's asking you for your password and isn't (a) your security manager wanting to fetch your keychain for a website, or (b) something that should be installing drivers, be very worried and don't type your password until you understand exactly what it's doing. My mother has to type her password so infrequently on Mac OS X that she can never remember what it is.

    Even Microsoft Office is a drag-and-drop-to-install application (as well as being a drag), ferchrisakes.

    (and mods, please mod parent down for using Andrew Tanenbaum's name).

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