Technical details of the Sony rootkit can be found on Wikipedia. Essentially it was a copy-protection system bundled with Sony audio CDs. When the user attempted to play the CD on a Windows computer system, they were asked to sign a licence agreement. The CD then installed software on the user's system to prevent the CD being copied, and to prevent other media player programs from accessing the tracks it contained. This 'rootkit' was functionally equivalent to sophisticated spyware: hidden from the user, hooked into important system files and virtually ineradicable by an ordinary user.
Sony began using the system on its CDs in 2005. By August 2005 there were reports of crashing PCs. The possibility of malicious software using the rootkit to subvert the user's PC was quickly raised. An uninstaller was offered on the web by Sony but this too was shown to have security flaws.
The resulting scandal did immeasurable harm to the public's perception of Sony. Production of the CDs stopped in November. Sony were obliged to recall up to 4.7 million CDs and exchange them for unprotected versions. To add insult to injury, it was shown that the rootkit could be circumvented by simply sticking clear tape around the edge of the CD, hiding its multisession nature from the computer.
Now that Sony has had its fingers badly burned, will that stop other media companies from trying to cripple users' equipment?
Is the Pope protestant?
Jon.
Update: 2007-04-24 - They've done it again! My theory now is that Sony has been taken over by a group of pirates who are trying to destroy DRM from the inside. See here for details.
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