Sony rootkit settlement
Here’s a followup to one of the first big stories that I posted on… the Sony rootkit – there has been a settlement with the FTC (Federal Trade Commision). It has yet to be approved but, affected customers could see up to $150 to cover cost of repair (rootkit removal/etc.) They(Sony) must also allow the cds to be swapped. Under the settlement Sony does not admit breaking any law.
If you don’t recall – there was a BIG fuss over CD’s distributed by Sony after it was discovered that a rootkit was being installed without notification to the user. Essentially, if a windows user put a sony cd into their machine the software would silently install. Some attempts at removal could cause serious problems (if I recall even forcing a reinstall of the system.)