Shift Key May Break CD Copy Locks
A Princeton graduate student said he had figured out a way to defeat new software intended to keep music CDs from being copied on a computer -- simply by pressing the Shift key.
In a paper posted on his Web site, John Halderman said the MediaMax CD3 software developed by SunnComm Technologies Inc. could be defeated on computers running the Windows operating system by holding down the Shift key, disabling a Windows feature that automatically launches the encryption software on the disc. Computers running Linux and older versions of the Mac operating system are unable to run the software and are able to copy the disc freely, he said.
The CD, Anthony Hamilton’s “Comin’ From Where I’m From,” was released by BMG’s Arista label in late September.
A spokesman for SunnComm was not available to comment on the report. A spokesman for BMG, a unit of Bertelsmann, said the company viewed the software as a “speed bump” to prevent mass piracy of the disc.
From Reuters
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