Topic awaiting preservation: New DRM on Beastie's latest album? (Page 1 of 1)

It appears that there is something on the CD which installs software onto your computer (first link doesn't seem to work at the moment):

http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/366191

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=16708

http://p2pnet.net/story/1724

There is a lot of discussion on it on the BB forum:

http://www.beastieboys.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=20128&highlight=copy+protected

___________________
Emps

The Emperor dot org | Justice for Pat Richard | FAQs: Emperor | Site Reviews | Reception Room

Interesting stuff. Hmm, er.. the last time I bought a cd.. it was blank... Maybe I should get a refund..

(First link is fine now)

Did you miss this bit? Some extra info:

quote:

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MediaMax protected CD online

p2pnet.net News:- BMG's Velvet Revolver's Contraband is protected against unauthorized duplication.

Or, as ZDNet puts it here, "For the first time, the No. 1 album in the United States is loaded with anticopying protections, marking a clear step into the mainstream for the controversial technology."

Loaded with anticopying protections?

We checked three p2p networks and although Sunncomm's MediaMax is supposed to stop people from copying it, Contraband is very defiitely online. In spades.

And although it may be the first time a DRM'd CD hit as Number One, it's far from being the first time BMG has launched a recording claiming it to be safeguarded by Sunncomm technology, only to find it wasn't.

As we wrote here, close to a year ago SunnComm said it had successfully completed the "external testing phase" of MediaMax copy protection technology and none of the ripper programs used, "was able to produce a usable unauthorized copy of the protected CD, yielding a verifiable and commendable level of security for the SunnComm product".

So Anthony Hamilton's $14 BMG CD Comin' From Where I'm From went out under MediaMax protection.

However, it started showing up on p2p networks immediately after its release, encouraging Princeton University's John Halderman to take a look. He found the Sunncomm technology could be by-passed if people simply held down the shift key while inserting the CD and therefore came to the conclusion, "MediaMax's protections are ineffective because the driver program can easily be disabled or, depending on the system configuration, it might never be installed to begin with."

The "Workaround"
Velvet Revolver's Contraband was the largest test yet for BMG: "The test uses MediaMax copy protection from BMG partner SunnComm International," according to ZDNet.

"We're thrilled with the results we've seen and the apparent consumer acceptance [of Contraband]," it has Jordan Katz, an executive vp in BMG's distribution arm, saying, going on: "The company has released a total of 12 'copy managed' discs, with more than 2.5 million units now in the market, he said.

"Like other recent copy-protected albums, the Velvet Revolver disc includes technology that blocks direct copying or ripping of the CD tracks to MP3 format. It also comes preloaded with songs in Microsoft's Windows Media Audio (WMA) format, which can be transferred to a computer or to many portable digital music players."

However, "As in earlier tests by BMG and SunnComm, the copy protection on the Velvet Revolver disc can be simply disabled by pushing the 'Shift' key on a computer while the CD is loading, which blocks the SunnComm software from being installed," says Zdnet.

"The companies say they have long been aware of the work-around but that they were not trying to create an unhackable protection."

Yes, they've known about it for some time. In fact, Sunncomm was on the very of attempting to sue Halderman, but at the last minute, wisely decided against it.

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QUOTATION: I've learned so much from my mistakes... that I'm thinking of making a few more.



(Edited by Xpirex on 06-21-2004 17:52)

yeah.........i got Velvet Revolver's album the other day. I tried to bypass all that Flash intro stuff and blah blah blah. But, I couldn't even play the cd on my computer without the auto player thing starting up and playing the tunes from the interface they give you.

really sucked. I found the audio files deep in a folder and tried to play them straight from the fold and nope.......nothing. Wanted the license and shit.

I finally agreed to the license agreement and didn't realize that it had installed the shit on my computer.

How can I get this off? Not sure where it would have even installed it.....

Later,

C:\


~Binary is best~

My goodness.. what will they want to do next.. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/01/06/us_inspired_copyright_laws_set/

quote:

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WHAT IS DRM?

- You start up a DVD movie and before the film starts, you encounter an
annoying advertisement. But when you try to fast-forward past the
commercial, your player does not respond.

- You can play your new audio CD on your stereo system, but when you insert
it into the CD drive on your Macintosh computer, the CD doesn't work. Worse
still, the machine crashes and refuses to reboot. The disc remains stuck in
the drive until you force the tray open by inserting a paper clip.

- You try to reinstall your tax preparation software on the new PC you just
bought, but it comes up in a "trial" mode: You can't file or print your
return?unless you pay for the product again.

- You want to time-shift a TV program for later viewing, but your digital
video recorder detects a signal known as the broadcast flag in the program
and won't record it.

- You buy an e-book and discover you can read it on-screen but can't print a
chapter, even though the book is by Dickens and entered the public domain
more than a century ago.

In each of these scenarios, you've run headlong into digital rights
management (DRM). So far, such measures have halted few of us in our tracks.
But in the future, as DRM becomes increasingly widespread, situations like
those mentioned above may be all too common. Here we explain what DRM is
about, how it's done, and what the future is likely to hold. And because
this is such a big and complex subject, we provide lots of URLs with
pointers to additional information.

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Essential reading..
http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/dmca-activists/2003-04/msg00024.html

I'm so glad I don't like 'pop' music.

And yes it can be bypassed.. real easy.. but I don't think your allowed to discuss it here.

QUOTATION: I've learned so much from my mistakes... that I'm thinking of making a few more.

quote:

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Xpirex said:

And yes it can be bypassed.. real easy.. but I don't think your allowed to discuss it here.

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Its a tricky one.

Porn /adult material: No
Hacking/cracking: No

Overriding DRM: Hmmmm

Personally I wouldn't frown on any minor discussion and linking to resources and discussion - it is realy only through our challenging unjust laws that they might get changed.

___________________
Emps

The Emperor dot org | Justice for Pat Richard | FAQs: Emperor | Site Reviews | Reception Room

I would actually reccomend discussing this kind of thing as much as possible. If you keep all their nasty little secrets hidden away then it just makes it easier for them to keep adding more and more anti-competitive anti-consumer devices. If this were installed on my computer, I would sue the label for hacking into my computer. It is getting so that the people who purchase any major label content are being treated like criminals, and being abused because of this.

I don't purchase any music anymore, if I like a band I go to see them in concert now. But I do like to buy DVD's and I do not appreciate having to spend 20USD and then be forced to watch a Coca-Cola commercial every time I try to play the disc. It is terrible what these companies are doing.

I really don't think there is anything wrong with discussing it here. As long as we don't get into some piracy discussion. By-passing it can be found easily enough with a google search.

The point is, that they install some software on my computer without me knowing. It said that it was checking for a license and that was it. Nothing about installing. I don't like the sound of it myself.

Since it is on my computer.........i'd like to get it outa there.

Later,

C:\


~Binary is best~

Isn't there some legality issue about installing software on a persons computer without permission ... they used to call that sort of thing a virus, and they prosecute 18 yr olds for writing them. I think there may well be scope for a test case (assuming that the license agreement does not contain a disclaimer which you have to accept before the installation).

I don't think I would like any band enough to allow them to interfere with my personal property before I could listen to them, so I'd happily send back any CD ifI knew that it was going to DRM on my PC. Thanks for the warning. I'm just glad I only listen to CDs from independant companies.


Bug-free software only exisits in two places
In a programmer's mind and on a salesman's lips

You'll have to check the small print, I'm pretty sure CD's with that protection say so on the box somewhere, there may also be some print about it only playing on your computer with specific software installed

quote:

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CPrompt said:

yeah.........i got Velvet Revolver's album the other day. I tried to bypass all that Flash intro stuff and blah blah blah. But, I couldn't even play the cd on my computer without the auto player thing starting up and playing the tunes from the interface they give you.really sucked. I found the audio files deep in a folder and tried to play them straight from the fold and nope.......nothing. Wanted the license and shit.I finally agreed to the license agreement and didn't realize that it had installed the shit on my computer.How can I get this off? Not sure where it would have even installed it.....Later,C:\~Binary is best~

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I'd like to know as well... ever since I played this CD on my computer, it reboots itself! And it happens with every CD I put into the computer! I need to fix this!

my email: spinjen74@yahoo.com