Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
to CD an unlimited number of times, playing a song past a particular date, or limit the number of times
you can copy a song from one PC to another.
Although the use of DRM on CD media (as opposed to downloadable audio tracks) has been rare, the
Sony rootkit scandal of 2005 is a useful case to keep in mind.
Sony BMG, one of the biggest music CD distributors, introduced a controversial method of copy
protection and DRM in the fall of 2005 by adding copy protection and DRM to some of its music
CDs. Affected CDs used either XCP (Extended Copy Protection, developed by First 4 Internet, now
known as Fortium Technologies, Inc.) or MediaMax CD-3 (developed by SunnComm).
These programs limited the user's ability to work freely with the songs (as can be done with normal
music CDs), and, worse yet, were installed on PCs without the user being notified. The type of
installer Sony used is called a rootkit , which is a program that hides its presence from the OS and
makes it easier for worms and other malware to attack the system.
After security and privacy advocates attacked Sony's use of DRM and rootkits without adequate
notice to music purchasers, Sony introduced a rootkit removal tool and eventually recalled all albums
in 2006, settling a lawsuit with the Federal Trade Commission. Although Sony's attempt to use DRM
was botched by its failure to inform customers that CDs contained DRM software and the software
did not provide a way for users to block installation, it's possible that DRM features that avoid
Sony's mistakes may be used on CD and other types of media in the future.
DVD and Blu-ray Copy Protection
DVD-Video discs employ several levels of protection that are mainly controlled by the DVD Copy
Control Association (DVD CCA) and a third-party company called Macrovision (they developed
SafeDisk).
This protection typically applies only to DVD-Video discs, not DVD-ROM software. So, for
example, copy protection might affect your ability to make backup copies of The Matrix , but it won't
affect a DVD encyclopedia or other software application distributed on DVD-ROM discs.
Note that every one of these protection systems has been broken, so with a little extra expense or the
correct software, you can defeat the protection and make copies of your DVDs either to other digital
media (hard drive, optical drive, flash drive, and so on) or to analog media (such as a VHS or other
tape format).
A lot of time and money are wasted on these protection schemes, which can't really foil the
professional bootleggers willing to spend the time and money to work around them. But they can make
it difficult for the average person to legitimately back up his expensive media.
The four main protection systems used with DVD-Video discs are as follows:
• Regional Playback Control (RPC)
• Content Scrambling System (CSS)
• Analog Protection System (APS)
• ProtectDisc
Blu-ray video discs are also copy protected, using one of the following schemes:
• Advanced Access Content System (AACS)
• BD+
• BD-ROM Mark
 
 
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