Beastie Boys CD installs virus

26 Jun, 2004 at 6:18pm ET Article published in Tech

A new Beastie Boys’ CD called “To the Five Boroughs” (Capitol Records), is raising hackles around the Web for reputedly infecting computers with a virus.

On Windows, when a CD is loaded, a text file called autorun.inf is read, and any instructions within it are executed. In this case, the machine is instructed to install some manner of DRM driver that prevents copying. We haven’t seen either the .inf file or any of the executables, so we can’t say how or at what level it accomplishes this – or if indeed it actually does accomplish this.

Submitted by: profdlp – Thanks mate!

Source: TheRegister.co.uk

Comments

26 Jun 2004 ~ 6:32pm Thrax You've got to fight, for your right, to coooooooopy!
27 Jun 2004 ~ 12:09am KingFish They should be sued for installing stuff on peoples' computers without their knowledge or consent.

KingFish
27 Jun 2004 ~ 1:55am gtghm F'em then, I'll never buy another CD again.
Screw this guys.. I'm going home... LOL

"g"
27 Jun 2004 ~ 9:27am EyesOnly Now you can't even trust bought cds. And that's supposed to stop people from copying. Ha i doubt it. Sue them bastards before more follow.
28 Jun 2004 ~ 12:32am keto Meh, it was the same deal on the Beatles 'Let It Be....Naked' and that was a year ago (or so), there was a very VERY small outcry then. It installs a player, don't remember which one, and anti-theft.
28 Jun 2004 ~ 12:36am profdlp Craps! I'm glad you told me that, keto - I was going to (once again... ) complete my Beatles CD collection by adding that album soon. Looks like I'll be ripping it on my often-formatted comp...

I'd have more respect for someone who robbed me face-to-face. I hate sneakiness.
28 Jun 2004 ~ 3:50pm BuddyJ I got a copy of The Cooper Temple Clause's newest and it tries to do the same thing. Thank God for press advances that come to you without all that crap.
28 Jun 2004 ~ 4:06pm Animal people who actually buy Beastie Boys' CD's deserve all they get!