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Another Sony Rootkit?
An anonymous reader writes to tell us F-Secure is reporting that the drivers for Sony Microvault USB sticks uses rootkit techniques to hide a directory from the Windows API. "This USB stick with rootkit-like behavior is closely related to the Sony BMG case. First of all, it is another case where rootkit-like cloaking is ill advisedly used in commercial software. Also, the USB sticks we ordered are products of the same company — Sony Corporation. The Sony MicroVault USM-F fingerprint reader software that comes with the USB stick installs a driver that is hiding a directory under "c:\windows\". So, when enumerating files and subdirectories in the Windows directory, the directory and files inside it are not visible through Windows API. If you know the name of the directory, it is e.g. possible to enter the hidden directory using Command Prompt and it is possible to create new hidden files. There are also ways to run files from this directory. Files in this directory are also hidden from some antivirus scanners (as with the Sony BMG DRM case) — depending on the techniques employed by the antivirus software. It is therefore technically possible for malware to use the hidden directory as a hiding place."
It started with the Betamax. They're like the retarded cousin of Apple, always wanting to lock people down to Sony hardware but never figured out how to do it properly.
I patently refuse to buy Sony products. Their quality went downhill way before all of this digital shenanigans. The only thing that I have that actually still works for 16 years is a My First Sony "Electric Etch-a-Sketch" that you plug into the TV. All the other Sony junk has died within one-two years of purchasing. At least my IBM laptop didn't have a Sony battery in it.