To Protect or Not Protect Sony/BMG’s DRM Dilemma Sony’s Attempt-- Sony/BMG’s digital right’s management (DRM) “rootkit” inclusion on their music CDs has been another effort in trying to prevent the piracy of music. Sony’s “root kit” is a program that installs itself along with drivers secretly when you access your music CD. It alters the way Windows plays the CDs by taking control of certain computer processes related to the use of the CD and by redirecting the system to use the secretly installed drivers. Using this, Sony could ensure that only computers with this “rootkit” could access the CDs and that you could not upload the music indefinitely. However, this anti-piracy software was discovered and found to be a huge risk for user’s computers. Sony’s Attempt-- Sony/BMG’s digital right’s management (DRM) “rootkit” inclusion on their music CDs has been another effort in trying to prevent the piracy of music. Sony’s “root kit” is a program that installs itself along with drivers secretly when you access your music CD. It alters the way Windows plays the CDs by taking control of certain computer processes related to the use of the CD and by redirecting the system to use the secretly installed drivers. Using this, Sony could ensure that only computers with this “rootkit” could access the CDs and that you could not upload the music indefinitely. However, this anti-piracy software was discovered and found to be a huge risk for user’s computers. The Risks-- --AOL reported that if you loose your original CD, you will loose rights to the music you already uploaded. --People found that you had to erase all your files if you went bankrupt or moved out of the country. But how would Sony know this? Sources have reported that anti-piracy software leaves a “backdoor” open so the “rootkit” can upload information about your use of Sony CDs to their server. Creating this backdoor also makes it easier for malware and viruses to infect your computer. --Many computer techies have found that if you try to remove the “rootkit” software it will cause harm to your computer including disabling the use of your Sony CDs on your computer, disabling the CD-Drive, and even worse, disabling your operating system. The Risks-- --AOL reported that if you loose your original CD, you will loose rights to the music you already uploaded. --People found that you had to erase all your files if you went bankrupt or moved out of the country. But how would Sony know this? Sources have reported that anti-piracy software leaves a “backdoor” open so the “rootkit” can upload information about your use of Sony CDs to their server. Creating this backdoor also makes it easier for malware and viruses to infect your computer. --Many computer techies have found that if you try to remove the “rootkit” software it will cause harm to your computer including disabling the use of your Sony CDs on your computer, disabling the CD-Drive, and even worse, disabling your operating system. The Outcome-- Sony/BMG tried to protect their artist’s music from piracy only to have it backfire in their face. Sony/BMG was sued by several parties after which Sony made a recall on all the CDs that contained this anti-piracy software, approx. 2 million CDs. They offered consumers an exchange of their CD and access to free MP3s.