DRM & "Intellectual property" - a catalyst for World Government dictatorship

[Anti_Illuminati]

This is old news but VERY important to understand yet another angle of the NWO's total enslavement agenda.  This directly parallels the "smart appliances" that will be governed by the "Smart (tyranny) grid".

First 4 Internet *LIES* about DRM scheme
Posted by on November 7, 2005 at 8:18 PM   (printer friendly)

http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2005/11/sonys-rootkit-first-4-internet.html

info@first4internet.co.uk sales@first4internet.co.uk
webmaster@first4internet.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1295 255777 Fax: +44 (0)1295 262682
Nick Bingham Chairman Mathew Gilliat-Smith CEO
Tony Miles Operations & Technical Director
Peter Worrall Marketing & Research Director
Nick Drew ICA Business Development Manager


"Sony�s Rootkit: First 4 Internet Responds
First 4 Internet, the company that implements Sony�s Digital Rights Management (DRM) software that includes a rootkit, has responded to my last post, More on Sony: Dangerous Decloaking Patch, EULAs and Phoning Home. They rebut four of the points I raise in the post. Their first statement relates to my assertion that Sony�s player contacts Sony�s web site each time it runs and sends the site an ID associated with the CD the user is playing:

The player has a standard rotating banner that connects the user to additional content (e.g. provides a link to the artist web site). The player simply looks online to see if another banner is available for rotation. The communication is one-way in that a banner is simply retrieved from the server if available. No information is ever fed back or collected about the consumer or their activities.

I speculated that the player sends Sony�s web site a CD identifier as part of a check to see if new song lyrics or artwork was available, which they essentially confirm. Their claim that the communication is �one way� from Sony�s web site is false, however, since Sony can make a record of each time their player is used to play a CD, which CD is played, and what computer is playing the CD. If they�ve configured standard Web server logging then they are doing that. As I stated earlier, I doubt Sony is using this information to track user behavior, but the information allows them to do so. In any case, First 4 Internet cannot claim what Sony is or is not doing with the information since they do not control those servers, and the First 4 Internet response fails to address the fact that the End User License Agreement (EULA) and Sony executives either make no mention of the �phone home� behavior or explicitly deny it.

Another point that I made in the post is that the decloaking patch that Sony has made available weighs in at a relatively large 3.5 MB because it not only removes the rootkit, it also replaces most of the DRM files with updated versions. First 4 Internet responded with this:

In addition to removing the cloaking, Service Pack 2 includes all fixes from the earlier Service Pack 1 update. In order to ensure a secure installation, Service Pack 2 includes the newest version of all DRM components, hence the large file size for the patch. We have updated the language on our web site to be clearer on this point.

It�s not clear to me what they mean by �a secure installation�, but like most of the disclosure in this story, they�ve acknowledged the updating nature of the patch only after someone else has disclosed it first. What�s also lost in their response is that Sony DRM users not following this story as it develops have no way of knowing that there�s a patch available or that they even have software installed that requires a patch.

Further, Sony�s patch is dangerous because the way that it removes the cloak could crash Windows. I discussed the flaw in the patch�s decloaking method in the first post and again in the last one (I also provide a simple way for users to remove the cloak safely), yet First 4 Internet refuses to recognize it. They contest my claim in their comment:

This is pure conjecture. F4I is using standard Windows commands (net stop) to stop their driver. Nothing more.

While the probability of a crash is relatively small, its not �pure conjecture�, but fundamental to multithreaded programming concepts. Anyone that writes Windows device driver code must have a firm grasp of these concepts or they can easily introduce bugs and security holes into Windows. Here�s one of many scenarios that will lead to a crash when the patch decloaks Sony�s rootkit:

1. Thread A invokes one of the functions that Aries.sys, the Sony rootkit driver developed by First 4 Internet, has redirected
2. Thread A reads the address of the redirected function from the system service table, which points at the rootkit function in Aries.sys
3. Thread A executes the first few instructions of the Aries.sys function, which is enough to enter the driver, but not enough to execute the Aries.sys code that attempts to track threads running within it
4. Thread A is context swapped off the CPU by the Windows scheduler
5. The scheduler gives thread B the CPU, which executes the patch�s �unload driver� command, unloading the Aries.sys driver from memory
6. The scheduler runs thread A again, which executes memory that previously held the contents of Aries.sys, but is now invalid or holds other code or data
7. Windows detects thread A�s illegal execution and crashes the system with a blue screen

First 4 Internet�s failure to imagine this control flow is consistent with their general failure to understand Windows device driver programming.

As further evidence of this, I�ve performed further testing of the Aries.sys driver using a program I wrote, NTCrash2, and found that Aries.sys fails to perform basic checks on the data passed to it by applications. NTCrash2 passes randomly-generated invalid data to Windows APIs and on a stock Windows system simply receives error codes from the APIs. However, when NTCrash2 runs on a system that has the Sony rootkit installed Windows crashes. Here�s an example Windows blue screen that identifies Aries.sys as the cause of a crash that occurred while NTCrash2 ran:

Besides demonstrating the ineptitude of the First 4 Internet programmers, this flaw highlights my message that rootkits create reliability risks in addition to security risks. Because the software package that installed the rootkit is hidden when Windows is running (in this case Sony�s DRM software), and even if exposed not clearly identified, if an application triggers one of Aries.sys�s bugs a user would have no way of associating the driver responsible for the resulting crash with any software package they have installed on their system. The user would therefore be unable to conclusively diagnose the cause of the crash, check to see if they have the most recent version of the driver or of uninstalling the driver.

First 4 Internet and Sony also continue to argue that the rootkit poses no security vulnerability, repeating it in the description of the patch download. Any software that hides files, processes, and registry keys based on a prefix of letters can clearly be used by malicious software.

First 4 Internet�s final rebuttal relates to my complaint that as part of a request to uninstall their DRM software Sony requires you to submit your email address to their marketing lists. First 4 Internet says:

An email address is required in order to send the consumer the uninstall utility. The wording on the web site is the standard Sony BMG corporate privacy policy that is put on all Sony web sites. Sony BMG does nothing with the customer service data (email addresses) other than use them to respond to the consumer.

The Sony privacy policy the comment refers to clearly states that Sony may add a user�s email address to their marketing lists:

Except on sites devoted to particular recording artists, we may share the information we collect from you with our affiliates or send you e-mail promotions and special offers from reputable third parties in whose products and services we think you may have an interest. We may also share your information with reputable third-parties who may contact you directly.

Again, the fact is that most users of Sony�s DRM won�t realize that they even have software that can be uninstalled. Also, the comment does not explain why Sony won�t simply make the uninstaller available as a freely accessible download like they do the patch, nor why users have to submit two requests for the uninstaller and then wait for further instructions to be emailed (I still have not received the uninstaller). The only motivation I can see for this is that Sony hopes you�ll give up somewhere in the process and leave their DRM software on your system. I�ve seen similar strategies used by adware programs that make it difficult, but not impossible, for you to remove them.

Instead of admitting fault for installing a rootkit and installing it without proper disclosure, both Sony and First 4 Internet claim innocence. By not coming clean they are making clear to any potential customers that they are a not only technically incompetent, but also dishonest."

posted by Mark Russinovich @ 7:29 PM

First 4 Internet street address:

6 South Bar Street
Banbury
Oxfordshire
OX16 9AA
United Kingdom
Give these bastards HELL

info@first4internet.co.uk sales@first4internet.co.uk
webmaster@first4internet.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1295 255777 Fax: +44 (0)1295 262682
Nick Bingham Chairman Mathew Gilliat-Smith CEO
Tony Miles Operations & Technical Director
Peter Worrall Marketing & Research Director
Nick Drew ICA Business Development Manager
__________________________________________________________________
http://www.boycott-riaa.com/article/18634

TrueAudio Date: November 8, 2005 @ 4:53 PM

The plot thickens (see actual site to see the screenshots) http://www.sysinternals.com/Blog/

I laughed when I read the following: "Thank you for contacting Sony BMG Online. Sony BMG and First 4 Internet have released an update that will reveal and remove the original rootkit-based DRM content protection replace it with non-rootkit DRM technology....-- UMM, YEAH, catch a f**king clue? Trying to validate the existence of the DRM claiming the rootkit is the only bad part? LOL, try again. No one wants the DRM period and the implementation of a rootkit ONLY shows why the DMCA must be striken off the law books forever, with huge fines and prison time for anyone who creates DRM in the firstplace.

Now for the second part "If you still wish to fully uninstall our DRM software..." --wow lets hold it right there. BEHOLD, the perpetrator THEMSELVES realizing that they have brought this upon themselves (not quite but at least an inkling). Hahaha, this puts the screws right to these scumbags. THEY have to offer a full uninstall themselves and in so doing SONY, a.k.a. the RIAA is about to commit a FELONY by violating THEIR OWN piece of shit legislation, the DMCA. Hahahaha, f**k you you bastards, you have fallen to your own corruption, and it is just the beginning. Behold the power of what you sow, you shall also reap!!!!!

"EULAs and Disclosure: Sony's Player Phones Home
There's more to the story than rootkits, however, and that's where I think Sony is missing the point. As I've pointed out in press interviews related to the post, the EULA does not disclose the software's use of cloaking or the fact that it comes with no uninstall facility. An end user is not only installing software when they agree to the EULA, they are losing control of part of the computer, which has both reliability and security implications. There's no way to ensure that you have up-to-date security patches for software you don't know you have and there's no way to remove, update or even identify hidden software that's crashing your computer.

The EULA also makes no reference to any "phone home" behavior, and Sony executives are claiming that the software never contacts Sony and that no information is communicated that could track user behavior. However, a user asserted in a comment on the previous post that they monitored the Sony CD Player network interactions and that it establishes a connection with Sony's site and sends the site an ID associated with the CD.

I decided to investigate so I downloaded a free network tracing tool, Ethereal, to a computer on which the player was installed and captured network traffic during the Player's startup. A quick look through the trace log confirmed the users comment: the Player does send an ID to a Sony web site. This screenshot shows the command that the Player sends, which is a request to an address registered to Sony for information related to ID 668, which is presumably the CD's ID:

In response the Sony web site reports the last time a particular file was updated:

I dug a little deeper and it appears the Player is automatically checking to see if there are updates for the album art and lyrics for the album it's displaying. This behavior would be welcome under most circumstances, but is not mentioned in the EULA, is refuted by Sony, and is not configurable in any way. I doubt Sony is doing anything with the data, but with this type of connection their servers could record each time a copy-protected CD is played and the IP address of the computer playing it.

The media has done a great job of publicizing this story, which has implications that extend beyond DRM to software EULAs and disclosure, and I hope that the awareness they're creating will result in Congressional action. Both the software industry and consumers need laws that will clearly draw lines around acceptable behaviors."
_______________________________________________________
TrueAudio 
   Date: November 8, 2005 @ 6:03 PM
"No comments" - baloney
Reader post by: Wally Bass
Posted on: Wed Nov 02 19:23:09 PST 2005
Story: Sony CD protection sparks security concerns

>>"I think this is slightly old news,"Gilliat-
Smith said. "For the eight months that these CDs have been out, we haven't had any comments about malware (malicious software) at all."

TrueAudio  
   Date: November 8, 2005 @ 6:06 PM
oops let me repost this

>>"I think this is slightly old news,"Gilliat-
Smith said. "For the eight months that these CDs have been out, we haven't had any comments about malware (malicious software) at all."
________________________________________________________
TrueAudio  
   Date: November 8, 2005 @ 6:09 PM
aarggh ldunno whats going on here

Let me translate this.

"Since most people lack the skills of
Russinovich, no one else so far has been able to track any of the system failures that we have induced back to us. You see, we spent an extraordinary amount of time covering our tracks by cloaking things that people would normally able to see in their systems.

"As to the (probably thousands of) poor smucks whose CD disappeared due to our code, or who blue screened, or whatever, and who spend hours trying to figure out what was wrong, and then more hours rebuilding their systems - well - who cares. They didn't trace it back to us - it doesn't affect our bottom line."

I really love his attitude: "well, we knew that we screwed you eight months ago - boy are you guys dummies that you only now have figured it out."

Hopefully, a good case will be made against these clowns, and Sony will pay heavily though a class action suit, and in the marketplace. With a little luck, maybe someone will even do some jail time.

http://news.com.com/5208-7355-0.html?forumID=1&threadID=11069&messageID=82524&start=-1

[Anti_Illuminati]

   Date: November 9, 2005 @ 5:33 PM
More Sony bashing.....enjoy!

Police Called In To Investigate Sony
David Richards

Computer Associates said that new anticopying software Sony is using to discourage pirating of its music also secretly collects information from any computer that plays the discs including hundreds of people in Australia who buy BMG Sony music. One of the world's largest software and information technology companies, Computer Associates is the latest to wade into the growing controversy over Sony's efforts to curb theft and illegal pirating of its music.In Europe Police have been called in to investigate Sony's actions.

An Italian digital rights organisation has taken the first steps to possible criminal charges over the XCP software which, it was recently discovered cloaks itself on users' computers and communicates with Sony servers over the Internet.







The group, calling itself the ALCEI-EFI (Association for Freedom in Electronic Interactive Communications - Electronic Frontiers Italy), filed a complaint about Sony's software with the head of Italy's cyber-crime investigation unit, Colonel Umberto Rapetto of the Guardia di Finanza.






The complaint alleges that XCP violates a number of Italy's computer security laws by causing damage to users' systems and by acting in the same way as malicious software, according to Andrea Monti, chair of the ALCEI-EFI. "What Sony did qualifies as a criminal offense under Italian law," he said.

Should police determine that a crime has been committed, prosecutors will be required to begin criminal proceedings against Sony, Monti said.

The software works only on computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system. It limits listeners' ability to copy the music onto their computers, and locks copied files so they cannot be freely distributed over the Internet.

But Computer Associates said the antipirating software also secretly communicates with Sony over the Internet when listeners play the discs on computers that have an Internet connection. The software uses this connection to transmit the name of the CD being played to an office of Sony's music division in Cary, N.C. The software also transmits the IP address of the listener's computer, Computer Associates said, but not the name of the listener. But Sony can still use the data to create a profile of a listener's music collection, according to Computer Associates.

''This is in effect 'phone home' technology, whether its intent is to capture such data or not," said Sam Curry, vice president of Computer Associates' eTrust Security Management unit. ''If you choose to let people know what you're listening to, that's your business. If they do it without your permission, it's an invasion of privacy."

Sony and the British firm that wrote the antipirating code for the music company flatly denied the software snoops on listeners. ''We don't receive any spyware information, any consumer information," said Mathew Gilliat-Smith, chief executive of First 4 Internet Ltd., which makes the software for Sony BMG Music Entertainment.

So far, Sony BMG has installed the software on about 20 titles in its music catalog, including works by jazzman Dexter Gordon, singer Vivian Green, and the new issue by country rockers Van Zant, ''Get Right with the Man." It was the Van Zant disc that led to the controversy over Sony's new software. In late October, a well-known Windows computer engineer, Mark Russinovich, stumbled across the Sony software on one of his personal computers while running a security scan. Russinovich had used the computer to play the Van Zant CD, not realizing that it had installed the anticopying program. When he tried to remove it, Russinovich found that the program lacked the ''uninstall" feature found in most Windows software. Indeed, key components of the software hid themselves deep in his computer by applying the same techniques used by data thieves to conceal their activities. Even a skilled user who identifies the correct files can't safely remove them, said Russinovich.

''Most users that stumble across the cloaked files . . . will cripple their computer if they attempt the obvious step of deleting the cloaked files," he wrote on his technology website, SysInternals. Computer Associates yesterday concurred with Russinovich's assessment. Curry said Sony has made it so difficult for listeners to uninstall its software that some could lose all their data in the process.

''It can damage the operating system and the operating system's integrity, so it can't reboot at all," Curry said. ''As an expert in security, I can say this is bad behavior." Indeed, Computer Associates has added the software to its list of spyware programs that collect personal information from computer users without their permission. Russinovich also said that a patch Sony and First 4 released Friday to stop the software from hiding inside computers malfunctions and can cause an irreparable loss of computer data. Gilliat-Smith of First 4 said he knows of no case in which this has happened. Sony offers a website where users can obtain a program that uninstalls its software. He said both efforts should prove that Computer Associates and Russinovich's complaints are unfounded.

Sneaky Bastards!!!
__________________________________________
http://www.boycott-riaa.com/article/18650

TrueAudio 
   Date: November 10, 2005 @ 11:58 AM
HOLY CRAP
The plot thickens--AGAIN!!!

"However, Computer Associates, which has a security division, said on Monday it had found further security risks in the Sony software and was releasing a tool to uninstall it directly. According to Computer Associates, the Sony software makes itself a DEFAULT MEDIA PLAYER on a computer after it is installed. The software then reports back the user's Internet address and identifies which CDs are played on that computer. Intentionally or not, the software also seems to DAMAGE A COMPUTERS'S ABILITY TO "RIP" CLEAN COPIES OF MP3S FROM **NON-COPY PROTECTED** CDS, the security company said."IT WILL EFFECTIVELY INSERT PSEUDO-RANDOM NOISE INTO A FILE SO THAT IT BECOMES LESS LISTENABLE," said Sam Curry, a Computer Associates vice president. "What's disturbing about this is the LACK OF NOTICE, the LACK OF CONSENT, and the lack of an easy removal tool."

A Sony spokesman said the company's technical staff was looking into the issues identified by Computer Associates, but had no immediate comment. The furore over the Sony software comes nearly eight months after the copy protection technique, created by British company First 4 Internet, was first released on a commercial disc in the United States.

(caps are my emphasis)
http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/12663
_____________________________________________________
TrueAudio 
   Date: November 10, 2005 @ 11:18 PM
Everyone please request that infowars.com covers the story of the Sony rootkit DRM spyware, I've already emailed them, you can do the same from this link (whether or not you regard or agree with infowars.com, or not --they report online news, and Alex Jones is a reporter, the more people we can get info out to damage the RIAA with the better, they sure as hell deserve it more than ever now.

http://www.infowars.com/contact.html

Thank you
TrueAudio 
   Date: November 10, 2005 @ 11:57 PM
Lots of good new info at this link

http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2005/10/sony-rootkits-and-digital-rights.html
TrueAudio 
   Date: November 11, 2005 @ 2:33 AM
Partial list of XCP (and of course RIAA) infected trash to warn others about, i.e. those in charge of a local Walmart or something.

# Trey Anastasio, Shine (Columbia)
# Celine Dion, On ne Change Pas (Epic)
# Neil Diamond, 12 Songs (Columbia)
# Our Lady Peace, Healthy in Paranoid Times (Columbia)
# Chris Botti, To Love Again (Columbia)
# Van Zant, Get Right with the Man (Columbia)
# Switchfoot, Nothing is Sound (Columbia)
# The Coral, The Invisible Invasion (Columbia)
Acceptance, Phantoms (Columbia)
# Susie Suh, Susie Suh (Epic)
# Amerie, Touch (Columbia)
# Life of Agony, Broken Valley (Epic)
# Horace Silver Quintet, Silver's Blue (Epic Legacy)
# Gerry Mulligan, Jeru (Columbia Legacy)
# Dexter Gordon, Manhattan Symphonie (Columbia Legacy)
# The Bad Plus, Suspicious Activity (Columbia)
# The Dead 60s, The Dead 60s (Epic)
# Dion, The Essential Dion (Columbia Legacy)
# Natasha Bedingfield, Unwritten (Epic)
# Ricky Martin, Life (Columbia) (labeled as XCP, but, oddly, our disc had no protection)

http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/12667?t=1131693476?t=1131693557
_____________________________________________
TrueAudio 
   Date: November 12, 2005 @ 6:20 PM
"So, I called Sony's tech support at 800-222-7669 and eventually the obviously Indian rep told me told me to call Sony BMG at 212-833-8000.

The operator at Sony BMG in turn directed me to call the Sony tech support number. Talk about a run around.

So, I did a whois on Sony BMG's website, and called the technical contact at 212-833-7305. This resulted in me being transferred to an individual who indentified himself only as Sony's internal techincal support. He was very rude, said that he wasn't even supposed to be talking to me, and ultimately directed me to Mark's post and told to download RKR to remove the DRM rootkit. I attempted to explain to him that this program only works on NT and was no help to me since I'm running Win 98. He said that he couldn't do anything else. When I said that I wanted to speak to his manager, he told me that management was unavailiable, and when I said that I didn't appreciate this unauthorized and apparently illegal modification of my system, he said, "So sue us." '

Class Action Suit. Have you heard of it, Sony?

http://db.audioasylum.com/cgi/m.mpl?forum=gen eral&n=407614&highlight=Rootkit&r=&session=

"What we decided to do is take extra precautionary steps to allay any fears," said Mathew Gilliat-Smith, First 4 Internet's CEO. "There should be no concern here."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9911371/

""[Sony] employs 151,400 people worldwide."

These are the people I feel sorry for. Their employer has a distracting obsession with harming their paying customers rather than an obsession with releasing quality products that beat the competition.

Sony employees should ask for these practices to halt."
http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/viewtopic. php?t=22697
TrueAudio 
   Date: November 12, 2005 @ 6:25 PM
Above links didn't work here you go

http://db.audioasylum.com/cgi/m.mpl?forum=general&n=407614&highlight=Rootkit&r=&session=

http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/viewtopic.php?t=22697
___________________________________________________
TrueAudio 
   Date: November 13, 2005 @ 2:29 PM
Maybe we should organize a 500+ person protest against DRM and raise hell with the hardware manufacturers at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

If only Intel and Microsoft were against the RIAA/MPAA like we are, they alone could have saved this country from technological enslavement.

"giving away illegal copies of discs or lending discs to others for them to copy is illegal"

So if I go to a friends house and listen to his CD collection, were both criminals because I "experienced/benefitted" from the music but I didn't compensate the copywrong holder, and he's guilty of infringement because he let me listen ?

Maybe when your sitting there in traffic on a 3 lane road and someone pulls up with booming bass rap music, the FBI should swoop in fast and put up roadblocks and take everyone to jail that was in the vicinity of the rap music that they heard through the car that they didn't pay for (and won't buy because they heard firsthand how much it sucked, being guilty of "try before you buy").

On Airlines, they should make the word "Share" have the same severe legal implications as saying the word "Bomb", mandating an emergency landing, and immediate arrest, interrogation, and imprisonment.

Not to want to get into a political flame war, but this is what happens when 290 million Americans completely dismiss the notion that there are alternatives to voting EITHER Republican or Democrat. Because 99% of Americans (maybe slightly less) dismiss Libertarian, or the Constitutional parties as "jokes" or "non-contenders", and everyone collectively believes that they could never win.

Thus, since you believe they cannot win, they cannot. What anyone believes cannot happen in terms of something that they have direct, complete, individual control over, cannot, and will not happen.

[Anti_Illuminati]

http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/10395-DVD-Decrypter---Gone-Forever.html

DVD Decrypter – Gone, Forever!

Hello world,

I"ve got some good news and some bad news.Let’s start with the good…. (tumble weed passes by)Ok, and now onto the bad: DVD Decrypter 3.5.4.0 is the last version you"ll ever see.We hoped this day would never come, but it has, and I can promise you, nobody is more gutted about it than I am.

What started as a bit of fun, putting a GUI around some existing code, turned into something that I can only describe as ‘part of me’ ‘� yes, I know that’s sad ;-) As I"ve recently been made aware (by a letter, hand delivered to my door, last Tuesday), due to some law that was changed back in October 2003, circumventing copy protection isn"t allowed.

Ok so it has taken a while (almost 2 years), but eventually "a certain company" has decided they don"t like what I"m doing (circumventing their protection) and have come at me like a pack of wolves. I"ve no choice but to cease everything to do with DVD Decrypter.I realise this is going to be one of those "that sucks – fight them!" kinda things, but at the end of the day, it"s my life and I"m not about to throw it all away (before it has even really started) attempting to fight a battle I can"t possibly win.

If 321 Studios can"t do it with millions, what chance do I have with £50?! As I"m sure most of you have already noticed, the site has been down for a few days. That surprised me as much as the next person (slight breakdown in communication), or I would have issued this statement on it directly.

So anyway, from this point forward, I"m no longer permitted to provide any sort of assistance with anything that helps people infringe the rights of "a certain company".That means, no more emails, no more forum posts, no PM"s, no nothing! END OF STORY.The domain name will be transferred over to the company by the end of the week (9th June, according to the undertakings I have to sign) so don"t email it thinking "Oh, I"ll just ask LIGHTNING UK! for support on this". You"ll not be getting the intended recipient and could be landing yourself in sh1t!

With 3.5.4.0 being the last version, it makes sense for everyone to disable the "check for new versions" feature, as obviously there won"t be any. Of course what I really mean is that you should all stop using the program out of respect for the company’s rights.

Anyone hosting DVD Decrypter is advised to cease doing so immediately. I"ve the feeling they won"t stop with just me. I"m having to contact anyone I know of that is (at the very least, the "mirror" sites), and tell them to stop. Copies of those emails must also be sent to the solicitors so they can check I"m doing everything I"m supposed to. If I don’t, I die.

It is of course down to the owners of those sites to react how they want to. It"s not my job to force you to do anything you don"t want to, I"m just giving you some friendly advice. Maybe it"s just me, but I see this as a bit of an "end of an era". I realise there are other tools, but there"s no telling how much longer they"ll last, and not only that, mine was the oldest! I"ve met loads of great people over the years and I want to take this opportunity to wish them every success for the future – yes DDBT peeps, that includes you lot! : "(I hope you"ve all enjoyed my contribution to the DVD scene and maybe I"ll see ya around sometime.

LIGHTNING UK!
(Author of the once "Ultimate DVD Ripper", DVD Decrypter)
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TrueAudio
   
Posted on: 06 Jun 05 20:02

This tragic event should serve as a HUGE red flag to all software programmers who write similar software-to make immediate preparations to already have your source code stashed away safely, ready to be immediately be distributed to the whole world should such oppression befall the next software maker that fosters digital Fair Use rights, that way, these greed driven fascists will be completely screwed forever. Seeing this kind of egregious crap makes me sick. The fact that governments have been relentlessly bombarded with the so called "need for stonger copyright protections" has already gone far enough, but threatening the maker of this great software is just unbelieveable. Other companies will likely follow, until there will be NO readily available software tools for anyone, except for the experts who make copies and sell them for money illegaly, again screwing the home user. This gestapo is trying to make Jack Valenti's viewpoint a reality "When you buy a DVD, you are buying a copy, if that gets damaged, you go buy another copy". I trust there is a special place in hell reserved for those that perpetrated this injustice. The "law" that made possible for this to happen deserves NOTHING BUT CONTEMPT, and the "LAW" CAN GO TO HELL, just like it did with alcohol prohibition, SCREW YOU MPAA, SONY, Macrovision, et.al.
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TrueAudio
 
Posted on: 07 Jun 05 09:22

This software is/was EXTREMELY powerful and was the first to laugh in the face of Sony's BS freedom robbing Arccos DRM. Now what will happen is they will make small changes to their DRM, and it will make the software useless eventually, because noone will be around to update the code in it to keep defeating the new DRM. These companies who have been implementing DRM must have been getting pissed, but thats what should be happening, EXCEPT they should be getting so pissed and getting the message that they should STOP ALTOGETHER PERMANENTLY with screwing around with DRM. Now Macrovision doesn't have to worry as much with their DVD rip guard, they advertised that crap saying that it defeated like 97% of the rippers out there, so guess what their plans are for the last 3%? Threaten the hell out of them with some lawsuit so they can't work on it anymore.

It's as though the laws of business don't apply to the likes of Macrovision, one of their executives said their objective was to "piss customers off gently" with regards to DRM (same mentality goes for TCPA, but thats even more insidious). Now what in the hell business professors did these people have in college? "Piss your customers off gently" --yeah, right, ask your boss, CEO of your company etc what he would think of that philosophy. They all hope people get "comfortably numb" to DRM schemes, and then, one day finally there will be no choice not to have DRM unless you are aware of Indie labels (which the vast majority dont even know what an Indie is, and also AFAIK there's not much in the way of independent films that are that good.)

The MPAA is so incredibly arrogant, and has such audacity that they will probably push for Congress to make ALL open source software Illegal, criminalizing tens of thousands more individuals and companies. Linux might be illegal worldwide, companies that use it will be forced to switch to M$ft, or force DRM by federal (or worldwide via IFPI) mandate into Linux. Right now the MPAA utterly refuses to acknowledge that Source code (aka TEXT) is protected by freedom of speech, they say that because they know that if it can always remain protected by Freedom of Speech they are utterly powerless, thus they are hellbent to dissassociate it with that constitutional protection. Sure more people will boycott, but most people are sheep, and are complacent as hell.

Unless something interferes with someone's ability to eat, go to the grocery store, shit, take a shower, drive to work, and sleep, people don't generally give a damn about anything else. I did something at least about all this type of BS, I wrote 26 U.S. Senators when they tried to pass the Induce Act, and I spent my own money calling in to their DC offices like mad on the call in day giving people hell. If 100,000 more people in this country gave a damn, it would matter. I also wrote my House Representative about the Pirate Act back in the day, after finding out he more or less supported it, he instantly lost my vote. Way too many people don't read enough and aren't qualified to make intelligent voting decisions, and that's part of the reason the U.S. is going to hell fast.--Libertarian for the win, and yes, I'm boycotting.

[Anti_Illuminati]

Dutch court: Web site Mininova must remove copyright works within 3 months

"But the court said that wasn't good enough, and Mininova should assume that all commercial media works are copyrighted."

How about the Judges burn in hell and go pound sand?

Do you realize the implications of this in one respect?

Alex Jone's OWN FILMS are copyrighted, BUT he specifically allows free copying and distribution at will.

That means that these types of rulings would make it illegal for anyone to even have torrents for Alex Jone's films on the sheer bullshit basis "that they are copyrighted".  ANYTHING THAT IS CREATED IS COPYRIGHTED ***BY DEFAULT*** WHEN IT IS MADE, REGARDLESS IF SOMEONE APPLIES FOR A COPYRIGHT OFFICIALLY OR NOT.  This POST that you are reading IS COPYRIGHTED to me because I wrote it.

What this ruling states is that:

"YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO DISSEMINATE ANY INFORMATION PERIOD, WHATSOEVER, UNLESS IT COMES DIRECTLY FROM THE NWO, YOU DO NOT HAVE PERMISSION TO COMMUNICATE AT ALL."

THIS IS F*CKING BULLSHIT!

THEY CAN EXTEND THIS TO EFFECTIVELY SAY THAT ALL WEBSITES PERIOD ARE ILLEGAL UNLESS THEY ARE NWO OWNED AND RUN, WORLDWIDE.

Bear in mind that my very introduction into the NWO stems from my in depth knowledge of the copyright tyranny with the RIAA many years ago as audio was my main hobby and I hated seeing what was happening to music/artists, etc.  So I know wtf the real ramifications of shit like this is, even if it takes years before it becomes a total reality.  The agenda is 100% obvious to me and is recognized instantaneously.

Completely Fake "Iran Cyber Army" false flag attack on Twitter [Rockefeller]

Yup, I bet the NWO cyber terrorists that work at Booz Allen Hamilton and MITRE corporation were really shitting their pants when Josh and myself pre-emptivley exposed these coming inside job cyber propaganda intentions in March of 2008.  Then again, MITRE did start probing our server in real time while we were talking about them on the air.  It's too bad a few billion people worldwide don't realize what we realize--because then they wouldn't have pulled out all the stops with all of these utter lies.

The problem is, a minuscule fraction of the population will ever understand anything in the cyber domain as a fraudulent new version of the Al CIA dah fantasy like the masses do with healthcare, and CLIMATEGATE.  I give it a few weeks before we start seeing hellbent MSM coverage of the need to lock down all commercial/open source software, and all forms of digital communications, as the NWO finalizes their supply chain, GIG infrastructure, autonomously surveillance weapons assassination grid for anyone who dares to open their mouths against the terrorist military intelligence industrial pedophile complex.

Arrest ALL CSIS/NCOIC/AFCEA members immediately.

Shut down all cyber false flag terror companies/organizations/laboratories worldwide, and arrest all directors and their respective criminal accomplices.

Beckstrom resigned because was to have no part in false flag cyber attacks

Now it is fully clear.  While Rod Beckstrom wasn't a network security engineer - HIS APPROACH WAS AKIN TO AN OPEN SOURCE ONE, FAVORING DECENTRALIZATION (READ: INABILITY TO CARRY OUT FALSE FLAG CYBER ATTACKS BECAUSE YOU DENY THE NWO THE INTEROPERABILITY THEY NEED, AND YOU INTRODUCE INHERENT OVERSIGHT ****ANTI-COMPARTMENTALIZATION**** WITH HIS METHODOLOGY!)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/19/AR2008031903125.html

http://www.boycott-riaa.com/article/41522
Using open source makes you an enemy of the state
Posted by Bret Hannah on February 25, 2010 at 3:07 PM   

It's only Tuesday and already it's been an interesting week for the world of digital rights. Not only did the British government changed the wording around its controversial 'three strikes' proposals, but the secretive anti-counterfeiting treaty, Acta, was back in the headlines. Meanwhile, a US judge is still deliberating over the Google book settlement.

As if all that wasn't enough, here's another brick to add to the teetering tower of news, courtesy of Andres Guadamuz, a lecturer in law at the University of Edinburgh.

Guadamuz has done some digging and discovered that an influential lobby group is asking the US government to basically consider open source as the equivalent of piracy - or even worse.

What?

It turns out that the International Intellectual Property Alliance, an umbrella group for organisations including the MPAA and RIAA, has requested with the US Trade Representative to consider countries like Indonesia, Brazil and India for its "Special 301 watchlist" because they use open source software.

What's Special 301? It's a report that examines the "adequacy and effectiveness of intellectual property rights" around the planet - effectively the list of countries that the US government considers enemies of capitalism. It often gets wheeled out as a form of trading pressure - often around pharmaceuticals and counterfeited goods - to try and force governments to change their behaviours.

Now, even could argue that it's no surprise that the USTR - which is intended to encourage free market capitalism - wouldn't like free software, but really it's not quite so straightforward.

I know open source has a tendency to be linked to socialist ideals, but I also think it's an example of the free market in action. When companies can't compete with huge, crushing competitors, they route around it and find another way to reduce costs and compete. Most FOSS isn't state-owned: it just takes price elasticity to its logical conclusion and uses free as a stick to beat its competitors with (would you ever accuse Google, which gives its main product away for free, of being anti-capitalist?).

Still, in countries where the government has legislated the adoption of FOSS, the position makes some sense because it hurts businesses like Microsoft. But that's not the end of it.

No, the really interesting thing that Guadamuz found was that governments don't even need to pass legislation. Even a recommendation can be enough.

Example: last year the Indonesian government sent around a circular to all government departments and state-owned businesses, pushing them towards open source. This, says the IIPA, "encourages government agencies to use "FOSS" (Free Open Source Software) with a view toward implementation by the end of 2011, which the Circular states will result in the use of legitimate open source and FOSS software and a reduction in overall costs of software".

Nothing wrong with that, right? After all, the British government has said it will boost the use of open source software.

But the IIPA suggested that Indonesia deserves Special 301 status because encouraging (not forcing) such takeup "weakens the software industry" and "fails to build respect for intellectual property rights".

From the recommendation:

"The Indonesian government's policy... simply weakens the software industry and undermines its long-term competitiveness by creating an artificial preference for companies offering open source software and related services, even as it denies many legitimate companies access to the government market.

Rather than fostering a system that will allow users to benefit from the best solution available in the market, irrespective of the development model, it encourages a mindset that does not give due consideration to the value to intellectual creations.

As such, it fails to build respect for intellectual property rights and also limits the ability of government or public-sector customers (e.g., State-owned enterprise) to choose the best solutions.

Let's forget that the statement ignores the fact that there are plenty of businesses built on the OSS model (RedHat, Wordpress, Canonical for starters). But beyond that, it seems astonishing to me that anyone should imply that simply recommending open source products - products that can be more easily tailored without infringing licensing rules - "undermines" anything.

In fact, IP enforcement is often even more strict in the open source community, and those who infringe licenses or fail to give appropriate credit are often pilloried.

If you're looking at this agog, you should be. It's ludicrous.

But the IIPA and USTR have form here: in recent years they have put Canada on the priority watchlist."