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Today’s article will focus on the recent story involving Sony and their act of putting rootkits on any PC that loads the software. True, this topic has been a major source of discussion everywhere, and has almost been exhausted, but before it is, I have a few things to say.

What is a rootkit exactly? Well, Wikipedia explains it quite nicely:

“A rootkit is a set of software tools frequently used by a third-party (usually an intruder) after gaining access to a computer system. These tools are intended to conceal running processes, files or system data, which helps an intruder maintain access to a system for purposes unbeknownst to the user.”

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rootkit)

So, this software, usually obtained by downloading some piece of questionable software that will show everything that you are doing on your computer to the anyone who can access it. They often travel in groups with keyloggers and worms. Most anti-virus programs classify rootkits in the same category as Trojans, programs designed for similar purposes.

The rootkits were first discovered by Mark Russinovich on October 31, and quickly spread from there. Stories were posted on Digg, Slashdot, and forums everywhere. People were outraged. And rightfully so; their computers were being exploited and left vulnerable to attack. And on top of it all, when they tried to uninstall the rootkit, they would lose use of their CD/DVD Drives, and the only way to recover use was a fresh install of Windows. Next came Sony’s line of responses. First, they released a tool that would remove the rootkits. Thanks, but just because you glued the vase back together doesn’t mean it wasn’t broken in the first place. When people weren’t satisfied, Sony decided to be stubborn and say that they still did the right thing by putting the rootkits on. Then someone had a great idea: “Let’s sue Sony!” As of now Sony is being sued by the State of California, and a group of users.
The ironic part of the users suing Sony is that technically it was not legal for them to remove the rootkit. So now Sony is breaking the law by putting the software on the discs, while the users and Anti-virus companies are
breaking the law because they want to get rid of it. The only people who aren’t breaking a law are people who don’t have a computer, an extremely small percent of people in this Country.

So, what could Sony want with these rootkits? Well, with piracy being what it is, they wanted to make sure that they could make sure that no one was pirating their music. Fair enough, except for one thing: they didn’t realize that what they were doing was illegal and wrong. Not only did they not mention in the EULA (End User License Agreement) that using the software would install this rootkit, but they violated the California law that prevents “a person or entity who is not an authorized user from inducing an authorized user to install a software component by intentionally misrepresenting that it is necessary for security or privacy or in order to open, view, or play a particular type of content.” Surely, Sony must have known that what they were doing was illegal. If not, then they need a new branch: Common Sense. Let me lay it out nicely for them, get this new branch started off:

A. People do not like spyware.

B. Installing spyware with consent of the user is illegal.

It follows then that to put spyware on a CD and install it without mentioning it is not only annoying (see statement A), but illegal (see statement B).

Did Sony seriously think they would get away with this? Obviously they underestimate the users, which doesn’t surprise me, seeing as they don’t respect us much either.

Original Article: http://www.sysinternals.com/bl…digital-rights.html
California Spyware Bill: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/0…chaptered.html