According to copy protection expert Mark Russinovich, Sony’s DRM system for protecting it’s CD content uses hidden files to deep inside Windows and makes the un-installation process extremely difficult. Mark Russinovich critical of Sony’s system, saying that it “went too far�, and accused them of employing virus-like practices and of using poorly written code which makes the removal of the files tricky. What’s more in his Blog Russinovich said the licence agreement that he accepted when he first listened to the CD made no mention of the fact that he could not uninstall the program or of the significant changes it made to his computer. Sony BMG have responded by saying that they will provide tools to user to ‘reveal’ the hidden files. Getting the software removed involves filling in a form on the Sony website, visiting a unique URL and agreeing to have another program downloaded on to a user's PC that then does the un-installation. It’s a thorny problem this, as CD piracy is a big problem in many countries. Indeed, visit any car-boot sale in the UK during the Summer and your likely to see a bloke selling CD and DVD’s from the back of his car to an eager public. The loss of revenue to record labels is considerable, and it seems the authorities are not falling over themselves to sort it out. This leaves companies on their own to come up with in-house protection strategies such as Sony.

http://www.sysinternals.com/

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