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iTunes DRM-Free Files Contain Personal Info

Posted by kdawson on from the musical-steganography dept.

r2k writes "Apple's iTunes Plus files are DRM-free, but sharing the files on P2P networks may be an extremely bad idea. A report published by CNet highlights the fact that the account information and email address of the iTunes account holder is hidden inside each and every DRM-free download. I checked, and I found I couldn't access the information using an ID3 tag editor, but using Notepad I found my email address stored inside the audio file itself."

7 of 693 comments (clear)

  1. Vengance by gevreet · · Score: 1, Redundant

    1. Open mp3 with text editor 2. Find and replace your email with 3. Upload.

  2. would be interesting by ani23 · · Score: 1, Redundant

    to see if they actually did used to for enforcement how would they track someone down and on what basis would they press charges? Yeah your email was in that file. hell anyone could change the email using some tool and upload stuff. The whole thing seems pointless.

  3. Simple... by maharg · · Score: 0, Redundant

    1) Download DRM-free song from iTunes
    2) Open in Notepad, Find and replace email address, Save
    3) Share on p2p network of choice
    4) ???
    5) Profit !!!

    --

    $ strings FTP.EXE | grep Copyright
    @(#) Copyright (c) 1983 The Regents of the University of California.
  4. non-repudiation by rapiddescent · · Score: 0, Redundant

    how can they prove that the email address in the file wasn't placed there by someone else?

    I don't think that would last long as evidence in court, especially if some bright spark changes the email in the tag to steve.jobs@apple.com

  5. Re:MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE - DO NOT MOD D by Hal_Porter · · Score: 0, Redundant

    It's a picture of a cute doggy.

    --
    echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
  6. Problem with ID'd files by mgiuca · · Score: 0, Redundant

    I'd be pretty scared about owning any watermarked or otherwise personally-identifiable files. Even if I stay totally within the law and never give it to anybody, it means I have a file sitting on my computer which I must make sure nobody ever gets.

    As in, if someone, possibly a hacker, were to steal a confidential Word document from my PC, that might be bad.

    If someone were to steal a watermarked MP3 file from my PC (or, say, a whole album of such files), and it then finds its way out onto the Internet, I could potentially be fucked over. From what we see all the time here, I could lose my house if the RIAA really wanted me to.

    It means once I have purchased these files, I have to be eternally vigilant. The security of those MP3 files is potentially one of the more important things on my PC. This really isn't something the average consumer is thinking about when they purchase music.

    Combine that with an OS like Windows, on which it is the norm for rogue programs to run wild opening backdoors everywhere, and you have an unfortunate situation for consumers.

  7. New Idea for a practical Joke by Requiem18th · · Score: 0, Redundant

    1. Replace your personal info with that of some friend.
    2. Share a metric ton of these mp3 on pirate bay.
    3. Enjoy as your friend burns in flames and their life is ruined.
    4. There isn't a step number 4.

    --
    But... the future refused to change.