Ravn's Rants and Ravings - DRM |
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| Author:
| ravn
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| Submitted: |
19-Jan-2006 20:19:00 |
| Imported From: |
zZine (original author: ravn)
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| DRM. If you're a geek, you already know what it means. If you're not a geek, then you probably don't, but you should. DRM stands for Digital Rights Management. Sounds friendly, right?
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DRM. If you're a geek, you already know what it means. If you're not a geek, then you probably don't, but you should. DRM stands for Digital Rights Management. Sounds friendly, right? Sounds like a good thing, I mean, it has the word "Rights" in it. How can anything involving rights possibly be bad? Unfortunately, the fact is that DRM is not about giving rights; it is about taking them away.
Let's start with a brief explanation of what DRM is and what it does. Essentially, DRM is copy protection, and it is how the record industry tries to stop you from copying your CDs. It generally works one of two ways: either it has special software on the CD, or it has flags on the music tracks. If there is software on the CD (how most DRM works these days) then what happens is that when you put the CD into your computer it automatically (and generally without telling you) installs and runs software on your computer. This software then prevents you from copying the CD, ripping tracks from the CD to your computer, playing the CD altogether, or any one of many other things the record companies programmed it to do. Older DRM just had flags on the songs that told your computer not to let you copy them. Most copying software these days ignores those flags, so they aren't used so often.
So what's the big deal? Their music, their rules, right? No. You see, there is this little thing called "fair use". Fair use means that you can make backup copies in case your CD breaks. It means you can lend CDs to friends. It basically means that as long as you're not doing anything to make money off of it, you can use your CD how you see fit - you bought it. However, fair use is bad for the record industry. They don't want sharing. They want everyone to buy their CD. If it breaks, too bad, you have to buy another one. It is one thing for them to protect their copyrights by trying to stop illegal file sharing/piracy/etc.. but it's another thing altogether for them to try to trample on your fair use rights. It gets better though.
You see, in order for DRM software to do its job, it needs to be able to exert some amount of control over your computer. Because of the way Windows works, in fact, it often needs a LOT of control over your computer. Now, you aren't really given a choice about installing the software. Sure, it pops up a dialog box and asks you to click "ok", but the EULA that it presents is incomprehensible, and only talks about the software it is installing in the vaguest of terms. If you don't agree, it frequently won't let you play the CD. But let's say that you DO install the DRM software. What then? Well, this software was almost certainly NOT developed by the record industry - it was outsourced to some other company. It probably hasn't had a whole lot of oversight. What does this mean? Well, in one recent high profile case (which I won't name), it turned out that the DRM software allowed a backdoor for virii and other malware to run on your computer. Your AntiVirus software would have been rendered completely useless against anyone using this exploit, and who's to say that this isn't a common occurrence?
Surely though, if it is so insidious, it does its job, right? WRONG. One high-profile example of DRM was defeated by coloring over the edge of the disc with a black marker. Another was defeated using Scotch tape. Yet another was defeated by holding down the shift key when you insert the disk. Some DRM systems are so strict that some regular CD players are unable to play the CDs at all! Record companies spend millions of dollars on "anti-piracy" measures (passing on the expense to us, the consumer), and they don't even work! Real pirates never have any trouble getting past these very weak copy protection schemes, so the only people affected by the DRM are the regular folks at home who are simply trying to use the product they bought. It is time for the record industry to wake up and realize this.
However, the regular folks are starting to catch on. They are starting to get frustrated by not being able to use the CDs they bought. This needs to continue! If enough people act (writing letters and making phone calls to record companies and to legislators, or even a boycott), then this DRM monster CAN be defeated. However, everyone has to speak up NOW, before it is too late. The record companies won't give up if their technical solutions don't work - they'll just start buying (more) legislation to make it illegal for anyone to get around it (like the DMCA).
Ravn
This article was originally published by CyberArmy.net in the CyberArmy Library.
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