Posts tagged: MEDIA

This evening I was pointed to a blog posting from yesterday about Sony’s foray into malware distribution. The author gives a heavily technical blow-by-blow account of uncovering sleazy copy-protection software that has come along with his latest purchase from the Sony BMG record label:

…At that point I knew conclusively that the rootkit and its associated files were related to the First 4 Internet DRM software Sony ships on its CDs. Not happy having underhanded and sloppily written software on my system I looked for a way to uninstall it. However, I didnt find any reference to it in the Control Panels Add or Remove Programs list, nor did I find any uninstall utility or directions on the CD or on First 4 Internets site. I checked the EULA and saw no mention of the fact that I was agreeing to have software put on my system that I couldn’t uninstall. Now I was mad.

I find Rob Curley interesting for many reasons:

• Until recently, he worked as director of New Media and Convergence for The World Company of Lawrence, Kansas, which sounds kind of weird and obscure if you don’t know that LJworld.com is possibly the most award-winningest, cutting-edge local news site in existence.

• The World Company and its web projects gave birth to Django.

• He is at heart a newspaper guy. Two or three careers ago I was a newspaper guy too (though the paper was weekly rather than daily).