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Draconian DRM Revealed In Windows 7
TechForensics writes "A few days' testing of Windows 7 has already disclosed some draconian DRM, some of it unrelated to media files. A legitimate copy of Photoshop CS4 stopped functioning after we clobbered a nagging registration screen by replacing a DLL with a hacked version. With regard to media files, the days of capturing an audio program on your PC seem to be over (if the program originated on that PC). The inputs of your sound card are severely degraded in software if the card is also playing an audio program (tested here with Grooveshark). This may be the tip of the iceberg. Being in bed with the RIAA is bad enough, but locking your own files away from you is a tactic so outrageous it may kill the OS for many persons. Many users will not want to experiment with a second sound card or computer just to record from online sources, or boot up under a Linux that supports ntfs-3g just to control their files." Read on for more details of this user's findings.
Re — Photoshop: That Photoshop stopped functioning after we messed with one of its nag DLLs was not so much a surprise, but what was a surprise: Noting that Win7 allows programs like Photoshop to insert themselves stealthily into your firewall exception list. Further, that the OS allows large software vendors to penetrate your machine. Even further, that that permission is responsible for disabling of a program based on a modified DLL. And then finding that the OS even after reboot has locked you out of your own Local Settings folder; has denied you permission to move or delete the modified DLL; and refuses to allow the replacement of the Local Settings folder after it is unlocked with Unlocker to move it to the Desktop for examination (where it also denies you entry to your own folder). Setting permissions to 'allow everyone' was disabled!
Re — media: Under XP you could select 'Stereo Mix' or similar under audio recording inputs and nicely capture any program then playing. No longer.
Re — Photoshop: That Photoshop stopped functioning after we messed with one of its nag DLLs was not so much a surprise, but what was a surprise: Noting that Win7 allows programs like Photoshop to insert themselves stealthily into your firewall exception list. Further, that the OS allows large software vendors to penetrate your machine. Even further, that that permission is responsible for disabling of a program based on a modified DLL. And then finding that the OS even after reboot has locked you out of your own Local Settings folder; has denied you permission to move or delete the modified DLL; and refuses to allow the replacement of the Local Settings folder after it is unlocked with Unlocker to move it to the Desktop for examination (where it also denies you entry to your own folder). Setting permissions to 'allow everyone' was disabled!
Re — media: Under XP you could select 'Stereo Mix' or similar under audio recording inputs and nicely capture any program then playing. No longer.
i'm not seeing how MS has done you wrong. use the app as licensed. this is like criminals whining about people putting better locks on their houses.
If you mod me down, I will become more powerful than you can imagine....
I refuse to run vista. I happen to own an unopened full 'ultimate' vista sealed copy, as a gift from MS, themselves (long story).
but I won't install it.
and I won't install win7.
these latest o/s's from MS are what I would call 'remote control devices'. and you know WHO is in the control of your computer?
that's right - everyone BUT you.
all new MS os's are packed with DRM by design. who in their right mind would voluntarily install/run such a thing!?
access control this, hardware limit that; hobble the other thing. yeah, sign me up for more of that... (sheesh).
in a way, its good MS is doing this. and you know what I mean, too.
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"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
Wow! I really think Microsoft is in for a surprise if they think they can even get away with this. If I'm understanding correctly, Windows 7 is by default assuming it's owner is untrustworthy and at the first hint of DRM violations, will shutdown and lock you out of the supposed violated software. You get all this and get to pay heftily for it too!
I long ago left the MS world and am a very happy GNU/Linux user that has converted my family and most of my friends to Kubuntu. After the initial learning curve just about everyone I switched over couldn't be happier. That being said, I really don't have a problem with Windows and unlike a lot of Linux zealots, I don't bash or put down MS products every chance I can get. Truth be told, I actually really like XP...but I don't need it as there isn't anything it can do that I can't do with GNU/Linux.
Getting to my point now, the average MS user is going to become entirely dissatisfied with Windows 7 and the ridiculous DRM controls they are ever creating and enforcing. I've found it's been easier and easier to convert Windows users and if TFA is accurate, I may just be able to make a living doing this exclusively. So will every other half knowledgeable *nix user too!
We buy software to perform tasks for us and want it to be as pain free as possible. Now MS wants the general public to pay for their software that caters more to the media industry rather than the end user. Worst of all, the real pirates will still easily get around this while generally the average user will be hugely inconvenienced. All I can say is thank you MS...I expect to pick up a lot more business in the future because of this!
Mod parent up. I'm thinking this story is falsified LOL EVERY1 SWITCH TO LINUX QUICK propaganda.
(Not that there's anything wrong with Linux... it's just that without any citations for this article, you 100%-Linux-All-The-Way-Fuck-Micro$oft guys look just as bad as the big corporations you work so hard to discredit.)
Microsoft keeps feeding people crap and people keep right on eating it. Just enough crap to make people feel somewhat sick to their stomachs but apparently not enough to switch to something else.
Yes, yes, I know, Linux is doomed because it doesn't play the latest game or run Photoshop natively.
OK, time to go, gotta edit some more sound files with Audacity under Linux (no rebooting necessary, as the article implies)...
If the DRM is disclosed up front and you still buy the product then you have no one to blame but yourself.
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
i'm not seeing how MS has done you wrong. use the app as licensed. this is like criminals whining about people putting better locks on their houses.
Were you born stupid?
Why all of you are so frustrated?! That's great news! I even cross my fingers for Micro$hit. Let them do what they wanna do. After Vista it seems to be another opportunity for Linux/Unix based OS'es to gain a grip around Windows throat. Wouldn't you like to see the fall of a Goliath again? I'd love to.
I agree! forget guantanomo bay and water boarding. And forget illegal wars, landmines, depleted uranium and huge backhanders to guys like the enron bosses.
The REAL cause for outrage in the USA is whether or not people cant copy DVDs.
Well said!!!
Welcome to slashdot, a perspective-free zone
DRM-free indie games for the PC and Mac: Positech Games
This is what the OP defined it as
To control your entire machine, you do not have to write a single line of code. You just have to be able to choose which code gets executed on it.
This is such a loose definition that it would seem each and every operating system that supports kernel mode programming would fall under this category. You have 100% raw control on any OS in kernel mode. You can do anything you want if you understand the h/w specs and how to communicate with the h/w. There is nothing that can stop you. If you encounter DRM in the display driver, its pretty simple - write your own kernel mode driver. (we already established pre-req that you know how to speak to the h/w)
I can choose to do whatever the hell I like with a linux system.
You can only do so _BECAUSE_ someone has already written the code (aka tools) necessary for you to execute certain modules/programs/patches/drivers whatever. You are still not in control. You're merely the Gate Keeper of what you let execute. This definition is very ambiguous. Unless you are in charge of the actual kernel mode process that interacts with the hardware all you're doing is handing over control to helper functions.
I have more trust in it because the code can be (and has been) seen by multiple people, I can inspect it and change it to do what I like.
Why are we heading towards a closed-open source argument? This is offtopic.
but by the sounds of it nobody is ever in control of a car (unless they built the engine, starting by smelting the iron ore)
Jeez. The engine/otehr car components are _NOT_ modifiable while the car is running. (unless you chip your car or do something out of the ordinary i.e. not what average consumers buy)
OTOH, With computers you can decide anything from which pointers go into which register or which stack variable gets loaded when and where or how much memory a particular program should be able to access, each of these decisions is possible on the fly. You can unload a shared library if you don't like its location and rebase it in memory, etc. You get the picture.