All the latest UK technology news, reviews and analysis
|
|
|
16 Dec 2005
US band My Morning Jacket has waded into the debate over copy protection by sending fans DRM-free copies of its album.
The move follows complaints by fans who had bought copy protected Sony BMG CDs and found they were unable to copy the band's music to iPod devices.
The band's manager, Mike Martinovich, told Rolling Stone magazine that Sony BMG should drop DRM on CDs entirely.
Edward Felten, professor of computer science at Princetown University, who exposed the security breaches in both the DRM software and subsequent 'uninstallers' and patches, said that it is not possible to have a CD-based DRM system without installing software on the listener's computer.
But such software would have to be installed covertly, and made difficult to find, so that the user cannot easily uninstall it.
Professor Felten pointed out that installing a program secretly on a user's computer is precisely what spyware programmers do.
"Having set off down the road of CD copy protection, the music industry should not be surprised to have arrived at spyware, because that's where the road leads," he said on his blog.
Latest stories from Web
Related articles
Related jobs
Poll
What is the most important IT priority for your company this year?
Connect with V3.co.uk
This paper focuses on a series of best practices and techniques for development teams looking to improve their software development processes
Why good data management at all levels is essential in the modern business (video, 6mins)
Principal Development Engineer Lead- London - Smart TV...
Development Engineer - London - Smart TV, Gaming, Tablets...
Principal Development Engineer - London - Smart TV, Gaming...
Test Engineer -London - Smart TV, Gaming, Tablets, PC...
Keep up to date with the latest products, services and technologies from the world's leading IT companies. IThound.com brings you over 2,000 white papers, case studies and analyst reports.
Do you agree?
two wrongs don't make a right
It is copy protection schemes like this that keep me from buying CDs anymore. Sure there is a good chunk of people doing illegal things with music out there, but companies resorting to spyware type programs to protect their music is just as bad as the illegal stuff those people are doing with the music. These companies are trying to stop the bleeding by using copy protection meathods. Problem is, once the majority catches wind of this, they'll stop buying CDs period. Its enough of a threat to keep me away from them. My computer runs slow enough as it is with hidden programs constantly installing themselves.
Posted by: Seth 18 Dec 2005