<s>
Extended	B-Application
Copy	I-Application
Protection	I-Application
(	O
XCP	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
software	B-Application
package	O
developed	O
by	O
the	O
British	O
company	O
First	O
4	O
Internet	O
(	O
which	O
on	O
20	O
November	O
2006	O
,	O
changed	O
its	O
name	O
to	O
Fortium	O
Technologies	O
Ltd	O
)	O
and	O
sold	O
as	O
a	O
copy	B-Application
protection	I-Application
or	O
digital	O
rights	O
management	O
(	O
DRM	O
)	O
scheme	O
for	O
Compact	O
Discs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
used	O
on	O
some	O
CDs	O
distributed	O
by	O
Sony	O
BMG	O
and	O
sparked	O
the	O
2005	O
Sony	O
BMG	O
CD	O
copy	B-Application
protection	I-Application
scandal	O
;	O
in	O
that	O
context	O
it	O
is	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
Sony	O
rootkit	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
Sony	O
eventually	O
recalled	O
the	O
CDs	O
that	O
contained	O
the	O
XCP	O
system	O
,	O
the	O
web-based	O
uninstaller	B-Application
was	O
investigated	O
by	O
noted	O
security	O
researchers	O
Ed	O
Felten	O
and	O
Alex	O
Halderman	O
,	O
who	O
stated	O
that	O
the	O
ActiveX	B-Application
component	I-Application
used	O
for	O
removing	O
the	B-Application
software	I-Application
exposed	O
users	O
to	O
far	O
more	O
significant	O
security	O
risks	O
,	O
including	O
arbitrary	O
code	O
execution	O
from	O
websites	O
on	O
the	O
internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
version	O
of	O
this	O
software	B-Application
used	O
in	O
Sony	O
CDs	O
is	O
the	O
one	O
marketed	O
as	O
“	O
XCP-Aurora	B-Application
”	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
time	O
a	O
user	O
attempts	O
to	O
play	O
such	O
a	O
CD	O
on	O
a	O
Windows	B-Application
system	O
,	O
the	O
user	O
is	O
presented	O
with	O
an	O
end-user	O
license	O
agreement	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
they	O
accept	O
it	O
,	O
the	B-Application
software	I-Application
is	O
installed	O
,	O
otherwise	O
the	O
disc	O
is	O
ejected	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
EULA	O
did	O
not	O
mention	O
that	O
it	O
installed	O
hidden	O
software	B-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
software	I-Application
will	O
then	O
remain	O
resident	O
in	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
system	O
,	O
intercepting	O
all	O
accesses	O
of	O
the	O
CD	O
drive	O
to	O
prevent	O
any	O
media	O
player	O
or	O
ripper	O
software	B-Application
other	O
than	O
the	O
one	O
included	O
with	O
XCP-Aurora	B-Application
from	O
accessing	O
the	O
music	O
tracks	O
of	O
the	O
Sony	O
CD	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
No	O
obvious	O
way	O
to	O
uninstall	B-Application
the	O
program	O
is	O
provided	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Attempting	O
to	O
remove	O
the	B-Application
software	I-Application
by	O
deleting	O
the	O
associated	O
files	O
manually	O
will	O
render	O
the	O
CD	O
drive	O
inoperable	O
due	O
to	O
registry	B-Protocol
settings	O
that	O
the	O
program	O
has	O
altered	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
soon	O
discovered	O
that	O
the	B-Application
software	I-Application
could	O
be	O
easily	O
defeated	O
by	O
merely	O
using	O
a	O
permanent	O
marker	O
to	O
draw	O
a	O
dark	O
border	O
along	O
the	O
edge	O
of	O
the	O
disk	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Specifically	O
,	O
the	B-Application
software	I-Application
was	O
found	O
to	O
conceal	O
its	O
activity	O
in	O
the	O
manner	O
of	O
a	O
rootkit	O
and	O
expose	O
users	O
to	O
follow-on	O
harm	O
from	O
viruses	O
and	O
trojans	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
malicious	O
trojan	O
to	O
hide	O
via	O
XCP	O
was	O
discovered	O
on	O
10	O
November	O
2005	O
according	O
to	O
a	O
report	O
by	O
the	O
BitDefender	B-Application
antivirus	O
company	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Follow-up	O
research	O
by	O
Felten	O
and	O
Halderman	O
showed	O
that	O
the	O
Web-based	O
uninstaller	B-Application
Sony	O
later	O
offered	O
for	O
the	B-Application
software	I-Application
contained	O
its	O
own	O
critical	O
security	O
problems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
software	I-Application
installs	O
an	O
ActiveX	B-Application
component	I-Application
which	O
allows	O
any	O
Web	O
site	O
to	O
run	O
software	B-Application
on	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
computer	O
without	O
restriction	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
component	O
is	O
used	O
by	O
First	O
4	O
Internet	O
's	O
Web	O
site	O
to	O
download	O
and	O
run	O
the	O
uninstaller	B-Application
,	O
but	O
it	O
remains	O
active	O
afterward	O
allowing	O
any	O
Web	O
site	O
the	O
user	O
visits	O
to	O
take	O
over	O
the	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
it	O
is	O
specific	O
to	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
,	O
XCP	O
has	O
no	O
effect	O
on	O
all	O
other	O
operating	O
systems	O
such	O
as	O
Linux	B-Application
,	O
BSD	O
,	O
OS/2	B-Application
,	O
Solaris	B-Application
,	O
or	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
,	O
meaning	O
that	O
users	O
of	O
those	O
systems	O
do	O
not	O
suffer	O
the	O
potential	O
harm	O
of	O
this	O
software	B-Application
,	O
and	O
they	O
also	O
are	O
not	O
impeded	O
from	O
ripping	O
the	O
normal	O
music	O
tracks	O
on	O
the	O
CD	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
Some	O
discs	O
involved	O
in	O
the	O
Sony	O
scandal	O
contained	O
a	O
competing	O
technology	O
,	O
MediaMax	B-Operating_System
from	O
SunnComm	B-Operating_System
,	O
which	O
attempts	O
to	O
install	O
a	O
kernel	B-Operating_System
extension	O
on	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
because	O
of	O
the	O
permissions	O
of	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
,	O
there	O
were	O
no	O
widespread	O
infections	O
among	O
Mac	O
users	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
Shortly	O
after	O
independent	O
researchers	O
broke	O
the	O
story	O
,	O
security	O
software	B-Application
vendors	O
followed	O
up	O
,	O
releasing	O
detailed	O
descriptions	O
of	O
the	O
components	O
of	O
XCP	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
software	B-Application
to	O
remove	O
the	O
$sys$*	O
cloaking	O
component	O
of	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
other	O
hand	O
,	O
no	O
software	B-Application
has	O
yet	O
been	O
released	O
to	O
remove	O
the	O
CD-ROM	O
filter	O
driver	O
component	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Computer	O
Associates	O
,	O
makers	O
of	O
the	O
PestPatrol	O
anti-spyware	O
software	B-Application
,	O
characterize	O
the	O
XCP	O
software	B-Application
as	O
both	O
a	O
trojan	O
horse	O
and	O
a	O
rootkit	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
XCP.Sony.Rootkit	O
installs	O
a	O
DRM	O
executable	B-Application
as	O
a	O
Windows	B-Application
service	O
,	O
but	O
misleadingly	O
names	O
this	O
service	O
"	O
Plug	B-Device
and	I-Device
Play	I-Device
Device	O
Manager	O
"	O
,	O
employing	O
a	O
technique	O
commonly	O
used	O
by	O
malware	O
authors	O
to	O
fool	O
everyday	O
users	O
into	O
believing	O
this	O
is	O
a	O
part	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Approximately	O
every	O
1.5	O
seconds	O
,	O
this	O
service	O
queries	O
the	O
primary	O
executables	B-Application
associated	O
with	O
all	O
processes	O
running	O
on	O
the	O
machine	O
,	O
resulting	O
in	O
nearly	O
continuous	O
read	O
attempts	O
on	O
the	O
hard	O
drive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Furthermore	O
,	O
XCP.Sony.Rootkit	O
installs	O
a	O
device	B-Application
driver	I-Application
,	O
specifically	O
a	O
CD-ROM	O
filter	O
driver	O
,	O
which	O
intercepts	O
calls	O
to	O
the	O
CD-ROM	O
drive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
XCP.Sony.Rootkit	O
loads	O
a	O
system	O
filter	O
driver	O
which	O
intercepts	O
all	O
calls	O
for	O
process	O
,	O
directory	O
or	O
registry	B-Protocol
listings	O
,	O
even	O
those	O
unrelated	O
to	O
the	O
Sony	O
BMG	O
application	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
rootkit	O
driver	O
modifies	O
what	O
information	O
is	O
visible	O
to	O
the	O
operating	O
system	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
cloak	O
the	O
Sony	O
BMG	O
software	B-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
This	O
rootkit	O
hides	O
every	O
file	O
,	O
process	O
,	O
or	O
registry	B-Protocol
key	I-Protocol
beginning	O
with	O
$sys$	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
represents	O
a	O
vulnerability	O
,	O
which	O
has	O
already	O
been	O
exploited	O
to	O
hide	O
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Warcraft	I-Protocol
RING0	O
hacks	O
as	O
of	O
the	O
time	O
of	O
this	O
writing	O
,	O
and	O
could	O
potentially	O
hide	O
an	O
attacker	O
's	O
files	O
and	O
processes	O
once	O
access	O
to	O
an	O
infected	O
system	O
had	O
been	O
gained	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Computer	O
Associates	O
announced	O
,	O
in	O
November	O
2005	O
,	O
that	O
its	O
anti-spyware	O
product	O
,	O
PestPatrol	O
,	O
would	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
remove	O
Sony	O
's	O
software	B-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
One	O
month	O
later	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
released	O
an	O
update	O
for	O
its	O
Malicious	B-Application
Software	I-Application
Removal	I-Application
Tool	I-Application
which	O
could	O
clean	O
the	O
F4IRootkit	O
malware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Beginning	O
as	O
early	O
as	O
August	O
2005	O
,	O
Windows	B-Application
users	O
reported	O
crashes	O
related	O
to	O
a	O
program	O
called	O
aries.sys	O
,	O
while	O
inexplicably	O
being	O
unable	O
to	O
find	O
the	O
file	O
on	O
their	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Security	O
researcher	O
Dan	O
Kaminsky	O
used	O
DNS	B-Protocol
cache	O
analysis	O
to	O
determine	O
that	O
568,000	O
networks	O
worldwide	O
may	O
contain	O
at	O
least	O
one	O
XCP-infected	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kaminsky	O
's	O
technique	O
uses	O
the	O
fact	O
that	O
DNS	B-Protocol
nameservers	O
cache	O
recently	O
fetched	O
results	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
XCP	O
phones	O
home	O
to	O
a	O
specific	O
hostname	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
finding	O
DNS	B-Protocol
servers	O
that	O
carry	O
that	O
hostname	B-Protocol
in	O
cache	O
,	O
Kaminsky	O
was	O
able	O
to	O
approximate	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
networks	O
affected	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Gartner	O
,	O
because	O
the	O
installation	O
of	O
XCP	O
or	O
any	O
DRM	O
software	B-Application
relies	O
on	O
the	O
CD	O
being	O
multi-session	O
,	O
the	O
application	O
of	O
ink	O
(	O
via	O
an	O
ordinary	O
felt-tip	O
marker	O
)	O
to	O
the	O
outer	O
edge	O
of	O
the	O
disk	O
renders	O
the	O
data	O
track	O
of	O
the	O
CD	O
unreadable	O
,	O
thereby	O
causing	O
the	O
PC	O
to	O
treat	O
the	O
disc	O
as	O
an	O
ordinary	O
single-session	O
music	O
CD	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Slysoft	O
's	O
AnyDVD	O
program	O
,	O
which	O
removes	O
copy	B-Application
protection	I-Application
from	O
DVDs	O
and	O
Blu-ray	O
discs	O
,	O
also	O
defeats	O
DRM	O
on	O
audio	O
CDs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
is	O
much	O
speculation	O
to	O
what	O
extent	O
the	O
actions	O
taken	O
by	O
this	O
software	B-Application
are	O
a	O
violation	O
of	O
various	O
laws	O
against	O
unauthorized	O
tampering	O
with	O
computers	O
,	O
or	O
laws	O
regarding	O
invasion	O
of	O
privacy	O
by	O
"	O
spyware	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
how	O
they	O
subject	O
Sony	O
and	O
First	O
4	O
Internet	O
to	O
legal	O
liability	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
mere	O
act	O
of	O
attempting	O
to	O
view	O
or	O
remove	O
this	O
software	B-Application
in	O
order	O
to	O
determine	O
or	O
prevent	O
its	O
alteration	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
would	O
theoretically	O
constitute	O
a	O
civil	O
or	O
criminal	O
offense	O
under	O
certain	O
anti-circumvention	O
legislation	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
controversial	O
Digital	O
Millennium	O
Copyright	O
Act	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Picker	O
points	O
out	O
that	O
in	O
the	O
wake	O
of	O
the	O
negative	O
publicity	O
surrounding	O
the	O
Sony	O
add-on	O
DRM	O
,	O
Amazon.com	B-Application
began	O
alerting	O
customers	O
as	O
to	O
which	O
Sony	O
CDs	O
contained	O
XCP	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Researcher	O
Sebastian	O
Porst	O
,	O
Matti	O
Nikki	O
and	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
software	B-Application
experts	O
have	O
published	O
evidence	O
that	O
the	O
XCP	O
software	B-Application
infringes	O
on	O
the	O
copyright	O
of	O
the	O
LAME	B-Algorithm
mp3	B-Application
encoder	I-Application
,	O
mpglib	B-Language
,	O
</s>
<s>
id3lib	O
(	O
ID3	O
tag	O
reading	O
and	O
writing	O
)	O
,	O
mpg123	B-Language
and	O
the	O
VLC	B-Application
media	I-Application
player	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Princeton	O
researcher	O
Alex	O
Halderman	O
discovered	O
that	O
on	O
nearly	O
every	O
XCP	O
CD	O
,	O
code	O
which	O
uses	O
a	O
modified	O
version	O
from	O
Jon	O
Johansen	O
's	O
DRMS	O
software	B-Application
which	O
allows	O
to	O
open	O
Apple	O
Computer	O
's	O
FairPlay	B-Operating_System
DRM	I-Operating_System
is	O
included	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
found	O
the	O
code	O
to	O
be	O
inactive	O
,	O
but	O
fully	O
functional	O
as	O
he	O
could	O
use	O
it	O
to	O
insert	O
songs	O
into	O
Fairplay	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
DRMS	O
,	O
mpg123	B-Language
and	O
VLC	O
are	O
licensed	O
under	O
the	O
GNU	B-License
General	I-License
Public	I-License
License	I-License
(	O
GPL	B-License
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
other	O
software	B-Application
found	O
,	O
like	O
LAME	B-Algorithm
,	O
is	O
licensed	O
under	O
the	O
terms	O
of	O
the	O
GNU	B-Application
Lesser	I-Application
General	I-Application
Public	I-Application
License	I-Application
(	O
LGPL	B-Application
)	O
,	O
also	O
as	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
LAME	B-Algorithm
developers	O
have	O
put	O
an	O
open	O
letter	O
to	O
Sony/BMG	O
online	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
No	O
"	O
prominent	O
notices	O
"	O
for	O
including	O
of	O
GPL	B-License
and	O
LGPL	B-Application
software	B-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
Statically	O
linking	O
GPL	B-License
code	O
into	O
the	O
program	O
but	O
not	O
providing	O
the	O
source	O
code	O
of	O
the	O
whole	O
program	O
under	O
GPL	B-License
.	O
</s>
<s>
Statically	O
linking	O
LGPL	B-Application
code	O
but	O
not	O
providing	O
the	O
source	O
of	O
the	O
LGPL	B-Application
parts	O
and	O
the	O
binary	O
code	O
of	O
the	O
non-LGPL	O
parts	O
to	O
allow	O
relinking	O
with	O
updated	O
LGPL	B-Application
code	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Placing	O
restrictions	O
on	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
code	O
outside	O
of	O
what	O
GPL/LGPL	O
allow	O
,	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
not	O
"	O
licensing	O
at	O
no	O
charge	O
to	O
all	O
third	O
parties	O
"	O
under	O
the	O
LGPL	B-Application
and	O
GPL	B-License
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
explained	O
that	O
"	O
The	B-Application
software	I-Application
is	O
designed	O
to	O
protect	O
our	O
CDs	O
from	O
unauthorized	O
copying	O
and	O
ripping.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
analysis	O
of	O
this	O
uninstaller	B-Application
has	O
been	O
published	O
by	O
Mark	O
Russinovich	O
-	O
who	O
initially	O
uncovered	O
XCP	O
-	O
titled	O
"	O
More	O
on	O
Sony	O
:	O
Dangerous	O
Decloaking	O
Patch	O
,	O
EULAs	O
and	O
Phoning	O
Home	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Obtaining	O
the	O
original	O
uninstaller	B-Application
requires	O
one	O
to	O
use	O
a	O
specific	O
browser	O
(	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Internet	I-Application
Explorer	I-Application
)	O
and	O
to	O
fill	O
out	O
an	O
online	O
form	O
with	O
their	O
email	O
address	O
,	O
receive	O
an	O
email	O
,	O
install	O
the	O
patch	O
,	O
fill	O
out	O
a	O
second	O
online	O
form	O
,	O
and	O
then	O
they	O
will	O
receive	O
a	O
link	O
to	O
the	O
uninstaller	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
link	O
is	O
personalized	O
,	O
and	O
will	O
not	O
work	O
for	O
multiple	O
uninstalls	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
has	O
also	O
been	O
reported	O
that	O
the	O
uninstaller	B-Application
might	O
have	O
security	O
problems	O
which	O
would	O
allow	O
remote	O
code	O
execution	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sony	O
's	O
uninstall	B-Application
page	O
would	O
attempt	O
to	O
install	O
an	O
ActiveX	B-Application
control	I-Application
when	O
it	O
is	O
displayed	O
in	O
Internet	B-Application
Explorer	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
ActiveX	B-Application
control	I-Application
was	O
marked	O
"	O
Safe	O
for	O
scripting	O
,	O
"	O
which	O
means	O
that	O
any	O
web	O
page	O
can	O
utilize	O
the	O
control	O
and	O
its	O
methods	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
We	O
also	O
intend	O
to	O
re-examine	O
all	O
aspects	O
of	O
our	O
content	B-Application
protection	I-Application
initiative	O
to	O
be	O
sure	O
that	O
it	O
continues	O
to	O
meet	O
our	O
goals	O
of	O
security	O
and	O
ease	O
of	O
consumer	O
use	O
,	O
"	O
Sony	O
BMG	O
added	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
The	O
New	O
York	O
Times	O
,	O
Sony	O
BMG	O
said	O
"	O
about	O
4.7	O
million	O
CDs	O
containing	O
the	B-Application
software	I-Application
had	O
been	O
shipped	O
,	O
and	O
about	O
2.1	O
million	O
had	O
been	O
sold.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Amazon	B-Application
says	O
it	O
's	O
treating	O
the	O
XCP	O
CDs	O
as	O
defective	O
merchandise	O
and	O
will	O
offer	O
a	O
refund	O
with	O
shipping	O
,	O
as	O
long	O
as	O
the	O
customer	O
specifies	O
the	O
request	O
.	O
</s>
