31 Oct 2005
Sony DRM Installs a Rootkit?

This dude is truly a Windows guru - I doubt that I could've managed to follow the trail as throughly as he did and get everything back to normal. Fortunately, there's a simpler solution. Don't buy DRM'd music or software.

SysInternals.com guru Mark Russinovich has a detailed investigation of a rootkit from Sony Music. It's installed with a DRM-encumbered music CD, Van Zant's "Get Right with the Man". (Mmmm, delicious irony!) The rootkit introduces several security holes into the system that could be exploited by others, such as hiding any executable file that starts with '$'. Russinovich also identifies several programming bugs in the method it uses to hook system calls, and chronicles the painful steps he had to take to 'exorcise the daemon' from his system.

(link) [Slashdot]

00:00 /Copywrongs | 4 comments | permanent link

Texas Pastor Electrocuted During Baptism

Shocking news! But I wonder ... the article states that the woman getting baptized was not hurt, but did she go ahead with the ritual, or did she take the hint?

AP - A pastor performing a baptism was electrocuted inside his church Sunday morning after grabbing a microphone while partially submerged, a church employee said.

(link) [Yahoo! News: Top Stories]

00:00 /Humor | 0 comments | permanent link

Small US units lure Taliban into losing battles

Interesting article on the tactics the Army employs against an elusive and persistent, if ill-trained and equipped enemy.

How the strategy works, and how it may have weakened the Taliban movement's effectiveness as a military force - for now.

(link) [Christian Science Monitor | Top Stories]

00:00 /Politics | 0 comments | permanent link