Be careful of Sony-BMG music CDs

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...ry/Technology/
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/interne...eut/index.html

Sony BMG equipped some of its music CDs with a "rootkit" that did not explicitly say it was being installed on a computer. The media player that Sony ships with those CDs sends the IP address of the computer and the user's listening habits back to Sony and perhaps all its partners, without notice, consent or choice. There is no way for the user to disable or modify this "phone home" technology.

There is MORE: The Virus and Trojans
A computer security firm said Thursday it had discovered the first virus that uses music publisher Sony BMG's controversial CD copy-protection software to hide on PCs and wreak havoc.

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Therefore if you happen to have the above CDs take care not to play it on your computer (ok for normal radio CD player). This is ESPECIALLY if you are the type who takes music CDs to the office and use the office computer to listen to it because you may end up compromising the entire office network.

Oh my... ...I didn´t know about it...

UPDATE

From Slashdot.org:
"Bowing to public outrage, Sony BMG has temporarily halted the use of its controversial anti-piracy software in all of its music CDs, the company said in a statement today. The move comes just a day after a top Bush administration official chided Sony and the entertainment industry for going too far: according to this story over at Washington Post , Stewart Baker, the Department of Homeland Security's policy czar warned would-be DRM makers: 'It's very important to remember that it's your intellectual property -- it's not your computer. And in the pursuit of protection of intellectual property, it's important not to defeat or undermine the security measures that people need to adopt in these days.' The Post has the full text and video of his commentary."

Also note that antivirus programs are being updated to remove the sony DRM features, etc. Please update or visit your software websites accordingly for more information.