Following a firestorm of cries of moral and legal outrage, Sony BMG has said that they will pull their DRM software from their music CDs. The DRM software, XCP, behaves like a rootkit when surreptitiously installed on a user’s computer by the Sony music CD.

Sony BMG has secretly included the First4Internet XCP2 digital rights management (DRM) software on its CDs in order to keep you from using any other media player on your computer with their content. Unfortunately, it has rootkit like properties, and actually exposes your computer to great risk.

BWT Industry Technology Service d/b/a Computer Max, Data Day USA, Winvtech Solutions a/k/a Winvision Computers and Winvision Technology,Global Computing, Ion Technologies, Compustar, and Chips & Techs have all been sued today by Microsoft for software piracy. Says Microsoft, “Consumer input is key to understanding sources of illegal activity.”

Movies may be available simultaneously in the theaters and on DVD as studios contemplate earlier release dates for DVDs in an effort to get the jump on movie pirating. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, the Motion Picture Association has gotten an open search warrant for the entire city of New Delhi, India.

Argentine authorites have arrested fifteen people in a multinational phishing scam, and, separately, the U.S. FBI has arrested 8 people in a global online piracy investigation, spokespersons for the agencies have said. In the phishing scam, which was truly international, police arrested suspects from Argentina, Spain, Italy and Romania who…

In a decision in which the Canadian Private Copying Collective (somewhat analagous to the U.S.’ RIAA, except that the CPCC actually represents the interests of the artists) says that it is “disappointed”, the Canadian high court has this week let stand a ruling that the CPCC could no longer levy…

Proving that your copy of the Windows operating software is legitimate (and not pirated) in order to get updates became mandatory today with the launch of Microsoft’s Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) 1.0. Previous to now participation in WGA had been voluntary. But from now on, all updates, other than security…

Authorities are reporting that pirated online copies of the newest Harry Potter book, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”, hit the streets of the Internet in record time. Pirated (scanned) copies were available in ebook form, and audio versions on torrent sites, mere hours after the book was released for…

The body of Grokster was barely cold in the grave, when this press release came across Aunty’s desk: WASHINGTON – As part of its continued efforts to promote legal online services, educate fans about the right and wrong way to enjoy digital music, and enforce its rights through the legal…

The Internet world is abuzz with talk about today’s Supreme Court decision in the Grokster case, as it was with the Napster case before it. “Studios Win Big in Grokster Case,” reads one headline; “Hollywood Wins Internet Piracy Battle,” says another. “Court Sides with Entertainment Biz in Grokster Case,” reads…

Talk about spyware versus spyware. Authorities in Isreal have arrested dozens of people, including high level executives of multinational corporations, in what increasingly is developing into the Internet Trojan spyware custerfluck of the year. Only on the Internet can a Trojan horse disgorge its contents in several places at once,…

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Acting Assistant Attorney General John C. Richter of the Criminal Division, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement Michael J. Garcia, and Assistant Director Louis M. Reigel of the FBI’s Cyber Division today announced the first criminal enforcement action targeting individuals committing copyright infringement on…

Don’t believe that pirated website content is really a problem? Can’t imagine that anyone would really steal somebody else’s website look, feel, or content? Well, think again, because it’s real, and it happens. But don’t take Aunty’s word for it. Because there is a website out there which is devoted…

WASHINGTON, May 18 /PRNewswire/ — Thirty-five percent of the software installed on personal computers worldwide was pirated in 2004, a one percentage point decrease from 36 percent in 2003. Yet, losses due to piracy increased from $29 billion to $33 billion. These are among key findings of a global software…

That gaping hole in Tiger’s Dashboard is no air vent – it’s a wide-open, highly exploitable security threat for users of Apple’s newest version of OS X for Mac. And we have Stephan.com’s Zaptastic and Goatse widgets to thank for showing us the big hole. For those of you who…