Sony Settles Lawsuit Over Rootkits

By Jimmy Daniels
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

There have been many posts here about the Sony anti-piracy programs, XCP or MediaMax 5.0, i.e. rootkits, that was installed with some music cd’s distributed by Sony, well, this MAY be one of the last, as they have settled the lawsuits that were filed in Texas and California.

Sony BMG Music Entertainment will pay $1.5 million and kick in thousands more in customer refunds to settle lawsuits brought by California and Texas over music CDs that installed a hidden anti-piracy program on consumers’ computers.

Not only did the program surreptitiously monitor users’ behavior, but the method Sony BMG originally recommended for removing the software also damaged computers.

The settlements, announced Tuesday, cover lawsuits over CDs loaded with one of two types of copy-protection software — known as MediaMax or XCP. Source: Businessweek

We Say: You can file a claim for $25 to $175 in refunds, visit this website, http://www.sonybmgcdtechsettlement.com/ to file a claim.