Shift key breaks CD copy protection

[MikeK]

http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-5087875.html

In a paper published on his Web site this week, Princeton Ph.D. student John
Halderman explained how he disabled a new kind of copy-protection
technology, distributed as part of a new album by BMG soul artist Anthony
Hamilton.

Under normal circumstances, the antipiracy software is automatically loaded
onto a Windows machine whenever the Hamilton album is run in a computer's CD
drive, making traditional copying or MP3 ripping impossible. However, simply
holding down the Shift key prevents Windows' AutoRun feature from loading
the copy-protection software, leaving the music free to copy, Halderman
said.

The technique was confirmed by BMG and SunnComm Technologies, the small
company that produces the anticopying technology. Both companies said they
had known about it before releasing the CD, and that they still believed the
protection would deter most average listeners' copying.

"This is something we were aware of," BMG spokesman Nathaniel Brown said.
"Copy management is intended as a speed bump, intended to thwart the casual
listener from mass burning and uploading. We made a conscious decision to
err on the side of playability and flexibility."

[Brian Takei]

MikeK ) QUOTED:
> http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-5087875.html
>
> In a paper published on his Web site this week, Princeton Ph.D. student John
> Halderman explained how he disabled a new kind of copy-protection
> technology, distributed as part of a new album by BMG soul artist Anthony
> Hamilton.
>
> Under normal circumstances, the antipiracy software is automatically loaded
> onto a Windows machine whenever the Hamilton album is run in a computer's CD
> drive, making traditional copying or MP3 ripping impossible. However, simply
> holding down the Shift key prevents Windows' AutoRun feature from loading
> the copy-protection software, leaving the music free to copy, Halderman
> said.

Autorun can also be completely disabled (method varies depending on
Windows version). It should be criminal for this ability to be
removed...

- Brian

[Brian Takei]

MikeK ) QUOTED:
> http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-5087875.html
>
> In a paper published on his Web site this week, Princeton Ph.D. student John
> Halderman explained how he disabled a new kind of copy-protection
> technology, distributed as part of a new album by BMG soul artist Anthony
> Hamilton.
>
> Under normal circumstances, the antipiracy software is automatically loaded
> onto a Windows machine whenever the Hamilton album is run in a computer's CD
> drive, making traditional copying or MP3 ripping impossible. However, simply
> holding down the Shift key prevents Windows' AutoRun feature from loading
> the copy-protection software, leaving the music free to copy, Halderman
> said.

Autorun can also be completely disabled (method varies depending on
Windows version). It should be criminal for this ability to be
removed...

- Brian

[dt king]

"Brian Takei" > wrote in message
.net...
> MikeK ) QUOTED:
> > http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-5087875.html
> >
>
> Autorun can also be completely disabled (method varies depending on
> Windows version). It should be criminal for this ability to be
> removed...

Are you saying that it should be illegal to disable autorun or to remove
the option of turning off autorun?

I keep autorun turned off for reasons entirely unrelated to copying CDs. I
certainly don't want those old CDs with obsolete computer features trying
to install old web links every time I want some tunes on the computer
speakers.

dtk

[dt king]

"Brian Takei" > wrote in message
.net...
> MikeK ) QUOTED:
> > http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-5087875.html
> >
>
> Autorun can also be completely disabled (method varies depending on
> Windows version). It should be criminal for this ability to be
> removed...

Are you saying that it should be illegal to disable autorun or to remove
the option of turning off autorun?

I keep autorun turned off for reasons entirely unrelated to copying CDs. I
certainly don't want those old CDs with obsolete computer features trying
to install old web links every time I want some tunes on the computer
speakers.

dtk

[DaveDrummer]

It should be criminal for this ability to be
> removed...
>
> - Brian



That is...very stupid.

[DaveDrummer]

It should be criminal for this ability to be
> removed...
>
> - Brian



That is...very stupid.

[Richard Crowley]

MikeK wrote:
> Under normal circumstances, the antipiracy software is
> automatically loaded onto a Windows machine

So it is only protected against consumers using current MSwin
versions? Apple, Linux, etc. etc. users are free to rip with gusto?
Thats special.

[Richard Crowley]

MikeK wrote:
> Under normal circumstances, the antipiracy software is
> automatically loaded onto a Windows machine

So it is only protected against consumers using current MSwin
versions? Apple, Linux, etc. etc. users are free to rip with gusto?
Thats special.

[Brian Takei]

dt king ) wrote:
> Are you saying that it should be illegal to disable autorun

Definitely not.

> or to remove the option of turning off autorun?

Yes, that's what I was referring to. Sorry I wasn't more clear in my
wording.

I guess some might argue that "illegal" is a bit strong, but in any
case, an OS that had mandatory AutoRun would probably get quite a
response from lots of folks... though I'm sure AOL would be all for it;
they probably salivate over the possiblity of an autorun cd drive in
every mailbox. But can you imagine how quickly and rabidly mandatory
autorun would get hacked?

- Brian

[Brian Takei]

dt king ) wrote:
> Are you saying that it should be illegal to disable autorun

Definitely not.

> or to remove the option of turning off autorun?

Yes, that's what I was referring to. Sorry I wasn't more clear in my
wording.

I guess some might argue that "illegal" is a bit strong, but in any
case, an OS that had mandatory AutoRun would probably get quite a
response from lots of folks... though I'm sure AOL would be all for it;
they probably salivate over the possiblity of an autorun cd drive in
every mailbox. But can you imagine how quickly and rabidly mandatory
autorun would get hacked?

- Brian

[Brian Takei]

DaveDrummer ) wrote:
>
> It should be criminal for this ability to be
> > removed...
> >
> > - Brian
>
> That is...very stupid.

I think you misunderstood me 180° (see follow-up). If so, I agree with
your reaction. If not, I'm 180° opposed. <g>

- Brian

[Brian Takei]

DaveDrummer ) wrote:
>
> It should be criminal for this ability to be
> > removed...
> >
> > - Brian
>
> That is...very stupid.

I think you misunderstood me 180° (see follow-up). If so, I agree with
your reaction. If not, I'm 180° opposed. <g>

- Brian

[anthony.gosnell]

"Brian Takei" > wrote
> Autorun can also be completely disabled (method varies depending on
> Windows version). It should be criminal for this ability to be
> removed...

It should be criminal to write a software package that installs itself
automatically onto a computer.

--
Anthony Gosnell

to reply remove nospam.

[anthony.gosnell]

"Brian Takei" > wrote
> Autorun can also be completely disabled (method varies depending on
> Windows version). It should be criminal for this ability to be
> removed...

It should be criminal to write a software package that installs itself
automatically onto a computer.

--
Anthony Gosnell

to reply remove nospam.

[Stuart Barkley]

On Wed, 8 Oct 2003 at 19:16 -0000, dt king wrote:

> I keep autorun turned off for reasons entirely unrelated to copying
> CDs. I certainly don't want those old CDs with obsolete computer
> features trying to install old web links every time I want some
> tunes on the computer speakers.

Yes, Autorun should be turned off. I'm just waiting for computer
viruses to start adding themselves to all the CD-Rs people make for
each other.

Think of a virus which attaches to Nero or other CD writing software
which adds a similar autorun track to all audio CDs produced. This
virus could then propagate to other machines and perhaps even run
outside of Nero and add a virus autorun track to any unfinalized CD-R.

It could be similar to the old floppy boot sector viruses, except that
you wouldn't even need to reboot to give control to the virus.
--
Remove "-nxdomain" to reply via email.

[Stuart Barkley]

On Wed, 8 Oct 2003 at 19:16 -0000, dt king wrote:

> I keep autorun turned off for reasons entirely unrelated to copying
> CDs. I certainly don't want those old CDs with obsolete computer
> features trying to install old web links every time I want some
> tunes on the computer speakers.

Yes, Autorun should be turned off. I'm just waiting for computer
viruses to start adding themselves to all the CD-Rs people make for
each other.

Think of a virus which attaches to Nero or other CD writing software
which adds a similar autorun track to all audio CDs produced. This
virus could then propagate to other machines and perhaps even run
outside of Nero and add a virus autorun track to any unfinalized CD-R.

It could be similar to the old floppy boot sector viruses, except that
you wouldn't even need to reboot to give control to the virus.
--
Remove "-nxdomain" to reply via email.

[Roger W. Norman]

"Brian Takei" > wrote in message
. net...

>
> I guess some might argue that "illegal" is a bit strong, but in any
> case, an OS that had mandatory AutoRun would probably get quite a
> response from lots of folks... though I'm sure AOL would be all for it;
> they probably salivate over the possiblity of an autorun cd drive in
> every mailbox. But can you imagine how quickly and rabidly mandatory
> autorun would get hacked?
>
> - Brian

The response it would get from me is to be polishing up my Smith and Wesson
and heading out for some target practice. They aren't called Personal
Computers for no reason. I don't want software companies dictating how I
HAVE to use my computer. Autorun is a feature, not a right of the software
companies. Probably just a little more than a great way to distribute
viruses, too.

--


Roger W. Norman
SirMusic Studio
Purchase your copy of the Fifth of RAP CD set at www.recaudiopro.net.
See how far $20 really goes.

[Roger W. Norman]

It wasn't your best thought of the day, I'll bet! <g>

--


Roger W. Norman
SirMusic Studio
Purchase your copy of the Fifth of RAP CD set at www.recaudiopro.net.
See how far $20 really goes.




"Brian Takei" > wrote in message
.net...
> DaveDrummer ) wrote:
> >
> > It should be criminal for this ability to be
> > > removed...
> > >
> > > - Brian
> >
> > That is...very stupid.
>
> I think you misunderstood me 180° (see follow-up). If so, I agree with
> your reaction. If not, I'm 180° opposed. <g>
>
> - Brian

[Brian Takei]

Roger W. Norman ) wrote:
> It wasn't your best thought of the day, I'll bet! <g>

Agreed <g>

- Brian

[Rob Adelman]

MikeK wrote:


> The technique was confirmed by BMG and SunnComm Technologies, the small
> company that produces the anticopying technology. Both companies said they
> had known about it before releasing the CD, and that they still believed the
> protection would deter most average listeners' copying.

But, even though the knew that it can be disabled by the shift key, they
just announced they are going to sue the student who published the report.

<http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/biztech/10/10/bmg.protection.reut/index.html>

That is truly idiotic! They make crappy software and want to sue
somebody that called them on it? Give me a break.

[Martin D. Bartsch]

Rob Adelman > schrieb:

>But, even though the knew that it can be disabled by the shift key, they
>just announced they are going to sue the student who published the report.

It is mentioned in the Windows Help that you can disable Autorun by
pressing the Shift-button, so they should sue Bill Gates!

--
Martin D. Bartsch
ARD-Studio Paris
German TV Allemande

[reddred]

"MikeK" > wrote in message
...
> http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-5087875.html
>
> In a paper published on his Web site this week, Princeton Ph.D. student
John
> Halderman explained how he disabled a new kind of copy-protection
> technology, distributed as part of a new album by BMG soul artist Anthony
> Hamilton.
>

'Analysis of the MediaMax CD3 Copy-Prevention System'

http://www.cs.princeton.edu/~jhalderm/cd3/

jb









> Under normal circumstances, the antipiracy software is automatically
loaded
> onto a Windows machine whenever the Hamilton album is run in a computer's
CD
> drive, making traditional copying or MP3 ripping impossible. However,
simply
> holding down the Shift key prevents Windows' AutoRun feature from loading
> the copy-protection software, leaving the music free to copy, Halderman
> said.
>
> The technique was confirmed by BMG and SunnComm Technologies, the small
> company that produces the anticopying technology. Both companies said they
> had known about it before releasing the CD, and that they still believed
the
> protection would deter most average listeners' copying.
>
> "This is something we were aware of," BMG spokesman Nathaniel Brown said.
> "Copy management is intended as a speed bump, intended to thwart the
casual
> listener from mass burning and uploading. We made a conscious decision to
> err on the side of playability and flexibility."
>
>

[reddred]

"Rob Adelman" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> MikeK wrote:
>
>
> > The technique was confirmed by BMG and SunnComm Technologies, the small
> > company that produces the anticopying technology. Both companies said
they
> > had known about it before releasing the CD, and that they still believed
the
> > protection would deter most average listeners' copying.
>
> But, even though the knew that it can be disabled by the shift key, they
> just announced they are going to sue the student who published the report.
>
>
<http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/biztech/10/10/bmg.protection.reut/index.html>
>
> That is truly idiotic! They make crappy software and want to sue
> somebody that called them on it? Give me a break.
>

They changed their minds, and decided it wouldn't do any good. I think they
were mad because they knew the stock would go in the ****ter, and they
probably just lost their deals with the majors (one would think so.)

jb

[LeBaron & Alrich]

Martin D. Bartsch wrote:

> Rob Adelman schrieb:
>
> >But, even though the knew that it can be disabled by the shift key, they
> >just announced they are going to sue the student who published the report.
>
> It is mentioned in the Windows Help that you can disable Autorun by
> pressing the Shift-button, so they should sue Bill Gates!

I think lots of people are doing that right now. Unfortunately it's not
working very well. <g>

--
ha

[Rob Adelman]

LeBaron & Alrich wrote:


> I think lots of people are doing that right now. Unfortunately it's not
> working very well. <g>

I think Bill's lawyer is better than your lawyer. Nah nah

[Pooh Bear]

MikeK wrote:

< snip >

> We made a conscious decision to err on the side of playability and
> flexibility."

Makes a pleasant change !


Graham

[Noel Bachelor]

On or about Thu, 09 Oct 2003 04:57:01 GMT, Stuart Barkley allegedly wrote:

> On Wed, 8 Oct 2003 at 19:16 -0000, dt king wrote:
>
> > I keep autorun turned off for reasons entirely unrelated to copying
> > CDs. I certainly don't want those old CDs with obsolete computer
> > features trying to install old web links every time I want some
> > tunes on the computer speakers.

Can anyone tell me how to turn off Autoplay completely under XP?

Under Properties, Autoplay you can select or turn off actions which will
be done for different types of disks it finds, I presume that even if you
turn them al off, you still have something that is regularly checking the
drive to see if you've just put a disc in (and taking system time to do
it).

With older versions of windows, you just had a single tick box to disable
Autoplay, and then you had no further problems from it.

Is there a registry hack, or service that can be disabled to deal with it
completely under XP?


Noel Bachelor noelbachelorAT(From:_domain)
Language Recordings Inc (Darwin Australia)

[Noel Bachelor]

On or about 13 Oct 2003 05:02:29 GMT, Psy allegedly wrote:

> (Noel Bachelor) lost his marbles in
> :
>
> > Is there a registry hack, or service that can be disabled to deal with it
> > completely under XP?
>
> microsoft's own TweakUI extra does this.
>
> here for XP Pro
> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/powertoys.asp
>
> here for XP home
> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/downloads/powertoys.asp


Thanks. Will look into it.


Noel Bachelor noelbachelorAT(From:_domain)
Language Recordings Inc (Darwin Australia)