It's part long time since I have posted here, but i am going to try to update this blog more frequently in the future! If you have any questions or need assistance with your computer just drop email.

Long time - no post

It has been a very long time since I last posted here!!! A lot of stuff has happened & I don't know where to start. The biggest & most important is the fact that we lost our old place in Hoschton , & are now in a new house back in the sticks over here in Pendergrass! We all love it! We have no tv services, so we actually sit at the table in our very spacious dining room & talk to each other. The only thing I miss is the news & the history channel, but it has been a small sacrifice for the closeness we have all developed. I am now working in gainesville at Stork. I am still a temp after 1 1/2 years, but it is much better than what I had before...nothing. Ain't GOD good???!!!!

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This weeks update on Sony DRM Rootkit

It seems as if this whole thing has really blown up in Sony's face!! Lawsuits are rolling in, & even the government has gotten involved (see:http://blogs.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2005/11/the_bush_admini.html). The Electronic Frontier Foundation has written a very strong letter to Sony, outlining what they expect to be done. You can read it here: http://www.eff.org/IP/DRM/Sony-BMG/?f=open-letter-2005-11-14.html. Another good article by USA Todat is at: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/andrewkantor/2005-11-17-sony-rootkit_x.htm. The good news is that Sony has recalled all of the cd's that contain the rootkit installer & will give cd's & mp3's in return. There is no indication as to how long this process will take, but I assume for 4 million cd's, it could take quite a while! The ones who are hurt the most in this (other than the consumer) is the artists. Reviews in the Amazon.com site of the VanZant cd, which this DRM rootkit installer was first discovered on, are horrible! These guys make some great music, they just got stuck with a bad label that made a horrible decision. There are very good manual uninstall instructions here: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic34904.html. As always you can keep up on the latest info at Mark's blog at: http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2005/11/sony-no-more-rootkit-for-now.html

UPDATE: Sony DRM Scheme=In-Security For All

Well, here we are 2 weeks after Mark Russovich stumbled upon the Sony DRM rootkit, & there is news that Sony/BMG is recalling all of the tainted cd's, but there is a list of 52 artist on their website that have this copy protection rootkit on them. There are artists like Montgomery Gentry, George Jones, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Neil Diamond, Rosanne Cash, Celine Dion, Flatt & Scruggs, & many more. According to Sony in a USA Today article (see: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2005-11-14-sony-cds_x.htm?csp=34 ) they say that some 20 titles have been released with the copy protection, but their own website lists 52. Looks as if Sony has no clue as to how many are really effected! Earlier this week Sony released an uninstaller for the software, but were forced to remove it from their website due to allegations that it opened more security holes than it closed (see: http://internetnews.com/security/article.php/3564711). One website asks the question of which costs more, a few people making copies of cd's, or having to recall 5 million cd's & the impact that this fiasco is having on Sony's reputation? I personally will have a hard time buying anything with the Sony name on it, & have told my family & friends to be very careful what they buy as well! If I am going to put my hard earned money into music, I want to be able to listen to it where I want, when I want, & how I want without having to jump through the hoops of the big record companies!!! In the end, it is the consumer who suffers for the piracy of a few!!!

Sony DRM Scheme=In-Security For All

Last week well known Windows analyst Mark Russovich (of http://www.sysinternals.com) published an article on a rootkit that he discovered on his system. Through his excellent investigation, he found that the malware had been installed on his system without his knowledge or consent by a music cd that he had purchased & played on his PC. This cd was published by Sony-BMG Music Inc. & the artist was the well known Van-Zant brothers of country music fame.

A rootkit by definition is:
a collection of tools (programs) that enable administrator-level access to a computer or computer network. Typically, a hacker installs a rootkit on a computer after first obtaining user-level access, either by exploiting a known vulnerability or cracking a password. Once the rootkit is installed, it allows the attacker to mask intrusion and gain root or privileged access to the computer and, possibly, other machines on the network. In other words, it is a way to hide not only files, but services, & activities as well. No legitimate program or file on your machine will ever be completely hidden from you. Under normal circumstances some "System" files are not shown by default, but they can still be viewed by changing the settings in the folder options. Rootkits hide files from ever being viewed, so they can never be deleted. It is as if they do not exist to the operating system. They may be just sitting there, or they may be running a virus, a keylogger, forwarding spam, or reporting back to someone on your activities, but you cannot see what they are doing.

Sony has published a patch that unhides the files, but still offers no way of removing the files. Mark reports that removing the files manually can cause all sorts of issues, like your cd drive disapperaing for good! Unfortunately many users have no internet access, so they know nothing of this issue, much less the patch. Several sites are reporting that they are seeing viruses that "use" the rootkit provided by Sony, to run undetected on users systems, & even Microsoft is investigating the issue to see if it warrants action on their part to help remove the rootkit, since it is a security issue for their operating system!

My opinion:
Follow this one closely in the news & on the web. Several lawsuits have already been filed, & I am sure more will follow. Stay away from the cd's that have anything like DRM, or Digital Rights Management. If you want to support these artists, buy their music online, & burn your own cd's. If you already have one of these cd's, return it & explain that you don't want to own anything that will break your pc, as these have been showm to do. If we all stop buying this junk, & hold the big labels responsible for their actions, this type of behavior on their part will prove to be too expensive & they will have to stop forcing this DRM stuff down our throats! This will be an issue even 20 years from now when someone pops one of these cd's in their pc & it installs itself, breaking the functionality of their drive. Sony has a long way to go to getting any of their credibility back as far as I am concerned. The first thing they need to do is recall all of the cd's that have been sold, & issue ones that do not install the rootkit, then help customers clean their machines up & get them working properly again, but it seems like they are going to have to be forced into doing anything. As far as I can tell on the web, they are still denying that there has been any wrongdoing on their part!

Deepnet Explorer - Web + P2P + News Browser

Deepnet Explorer - Web + P2P + News Browser


Here is a very impressive new browser that gives you tabbed browsing, as well as P2P file sharing, & a XML news reader all in one very slick package. I have been using DeepNet Explorer for several days & it is quickly becoming indispensable!!!