Extended Copy Protection
Extended Copy Protection ( XCP) is a copy of the company First4Internet, which was used, among others, Sony BMG music CDs.
The copy protection is not the making of legitimate copies of music CDs more difficult ( Digital Rights Management). The user must be able to play the music on the CD on the computer can install a contained on the CD player program. In the criticism came Sony and the copy beginning of November 2005, as the software during installation, without informing the user ( EULA), a rootkit installed on Windows PCs.
Technology
The rootkit monitors whether current programs are included in a blacklist copy programs, and denied it by means of a filter driver to access the CD drive and prevents copies of protected CD. Furthermore, the rootkit hides all files and folders whose name starts with $ sys $, regardless of whether it is foreign programs or not. This approach carries the risk that other malicious software using Sony's rootkit can hide from virus and malware scanners, what is actually happening. An example of this is the Trojan horse Backdoor.IRC.Snyd.A.
Furthermore, it was revealed that the driver used by Sony is messy and can be programmed so when errors lead to data loss or make Windows unusable.
Other operating systems such as Linux or FreeBSD are not affected. These play the protected CDs as regular CDs. It is also not common on other operating systems than Windows, that programs that are on CDs, to be started automatically.
Effectiveness
XCP is considered very poor copy. Thus, a small strip of electrical tape already him on ( opaque) from. Audio CDs with copy protection generally consist of two parts, an audio part and a data part. The software is on the CD in the outer regions. By a piece of electrical tape in the size of a fingernail, this area is unreadable. The PC drive can no longer recognize this section, the audio tracks are now as a non- copy-protected CD read.
Sony's behavior
After Sony BMG had initially claimed that it was in the rootkit neither time nor spyware, a so-called uninstaller was finally provided, which should remove the copy of Windows PCs. To get to the uninstall program, users will, however, had first register on the website of Sony. An analysis of the program found that this indeed the function to hide files and folders with $ sys $ away in the name of the copy but leaves. In fact, the program files are even replaced by newer ones. In the further course also revealed that the software when playing songs contacted a website and transmitted data as the album ID. From the data, "Time", "IP Address" and "Album ID " it would be Sony thereby possible to create user profiles.
After Sony had initially promised, the copy will not be used in Germany during the period, Sony withdrew it due to the fierce criticism and called on all unsold CDs with XCP back.
A collective action of the Electronic Frontier Foundation against Sony BMG was settled against the obligation of Sony, 7.50 U.S. dollars to pay each returned CD and provide a code for a free download.
Copyright infringement in XCP itself
Reportedly committed Sony and the former company First4Internet (now Fortium Technologies), the owner of XCP with which were made by Sony distribution of CDs with XCP some copyright infringement on the context of the use of pieces of free software and the GPL LGPL are.
The experts Sebastian Porst and Matti Nikki and other programmers have published evidence that in XCP parts of the LAME MP3 encoder, of mpglib, FAAC, id3lib ( ID3 tags), mpg123 and the VLC media player are included. All these parts are under licenses whose requirements were not met by Sony.