Sony rootkit settlement gets final nod
A final approval to a settlement in a class action suit against Sony BMG has been issued by a federal judge. It ends a long running debacle that Sony BMG in which have paid a heavy price for their rootkit planting actions. At least 15 class action suits were brought against Sony BMG by lawyers and some were judged together in some states as they were so similiar.
If anyone bought a CD that contained the imfamous rootkit they can receive replacement a CD, free music downloads and additional cash payments have also been mentioned. Every person who had bought one of the CD’s ( here is a list of the offending CD’s ) should go and get a replacement under the terms of the settlement. The more people who apply the more big corporations will see that trying to mess with people’s computers will have an adverse affect in the future and should put them off trying such an action.
The Sony BMG rootkit sandal broke out in Nov 2005 after Mark Russanovich discovered something funny when he went to listen to a Sony music CD. He discovered that the DRM software installed a rootkit that hide the Digital Rights Management (DRM ) files so that users could not bypass the DRM software. It was soon released that malware writers could use the same technology to hide their own files on a Sony BMG infected PC.
First4Internet’s XCP and SunnComm’s MediaMax were the names of the DRM software installed and hidden by the rootkit.
The final agreement (click for PDF) is here. Get a copy and if you have some of the CD’s and are affected get a refund.
Keep Safe
regards
Steo
www.antirootkit.com
rootkit