Last week we reported on the hidden files that some Sony CDs install on Windows machines, quoting Sys Internals concerns that the software and files could not be easily removed. Facing unrest from the masses Sony issued a uninstall patch, but Sys Internals Mark Russinovich was unimpressed.
Following that Russinovich did more research into the hidden files, and even posted a screen shot of a ‘Blue Screen of Death’ with the cause being one of Sony’s hidden files. This backed up his point that the file could lead to system instability. Speaking about the creators of the copy protection software Russinovich said "Because the software that installed the rootkit is hidden when Windows is running (in this case Sony’s software), and even if exposed not clearly identified, if an application triggers one of [the driver's] bugs a user would have no way of associating the driver responsible for the crash with any software they have installed."
Following more concern Sony has released a revised patch, which they have called Service Pack 2a, which is now over half the size, and can be downloaded directly.
View: Sys Internals Blog
Download: Sony Service Pack 2a
Following that Russinovich did more research into the hidden files, and even posted a screen shot of a ‘Blue Screen of Death’ with the cause being one of Sony’s hidden files. This backed up his point that the file could lead to system instability. Speaking about the creators of the copy protection software Russinovich said "Because the software that installed the rootkit is hidden when Windows is running (in this case Sony’s software), and even if exposed not clearly identified, if an application triggers one of [the driver's] bugs a user would have no way of associating the driver responsible for the crash with any software they have installed."
Following more concern Sony has released a revised patch, which they have called Service Pack 2a, which is now over half the size, and can be downloaded directly.
View: Sys Internals Blog Download: Sony Service Pack 2a
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