it?" In a November 7, 2005 article, vnunet.com summarized Russinovich's findings and urged consumers to temporarily avoid purchasing Sony BMG music CDs. The following day, The Boston Globe classified the software as spyware, and Computer Associates' Security Management unit VP Steve Curry confirmed that the rootkit communicates personal information from consumers' computers (the CD being played and the user's IP address) to Sony BMG. The methods used by the software to avoid detection were likened to those used by data thieves. On November 8, 2005, Computer Associates classified Sony BMG's software as spyware and provided tools for its removal. Russinovich said: "This is a step they should have taken immediately." The first virus to exploit Sony BMG's stealth technology to make malicious files invisible to both the user and antivirus programs surfaced on November 10, 2005. One day later, Yahoo! News announced that Sony BMG had suspended further distribution of the controversial technology. ZDNet News wrote: "The latest risk is from an uninstaller program distributed by SunnComm Technologies, a company that provides copy protection on other Sony BMG releases." The uninstall program obeys commands sent to it allowing others "to take control of PCs where the uninstaller has been used." On December 6, 2005, Sony BMG revealed that 5.7 million CDs spanning 27 titles were shipped with MediaMax 5 software. The company announced the availability of a new software patch to prevent a potential security breach in consumers' computers. Sony BMG in Australia issued a press release indicating that no Sony BMG titles manufactured in Australia contained copy protection. See also Defective by Design List of compact discs sold with Extended Copy Protection List of compact discs sold with MediaMax CD-3 References Sources "Sony Music CDs Under Fire from Privacy Advocates", National Public Radio, 2005-11-04 Bergstein, Brian (2005-11-18). "Copy protection an experiment in progress". Seattlepi.com. Halderman, J. Alex, and Felten, Edward. "Lessons from the Sony CD DRM Episode" (PDF format), Center for Information Technology Policy, Department of Computer Science, Princeton University, 2006-02-14. Wikinews: Sony's DRM protected CDs install Windows rootkits Gartner: Sony BMG DRM a Public-Relations and Technology Failure Bush Administration to Sony: It's your intellectual property -- it's not your computer - 2005-11-12 MP3 Newswire article External links Academic article examining the market, legal, and technological factors that motivated Sony BMG's DRM strategy List of titles affected by MediaMax List of titles affected by XCP List of titles included