Rootkit Roundup: Sony's Hacker Rootkit Phones Home Like ET. Spielberg Changes This Headline To "Radios Radios Radios"

Despite Sony's tee-heeing, the rootkit shenanigans continue. The neck-bearded techies at Slashdot got their claws into it and began doing some Internet detective work. It turns out it gets in touch with Sony and includes an ID for which CD is being listened to, among other things. While creepy on its surface, the rep assures us that it's not collecting any real information blah blah blah enhancements blah blah blah internet. Please. You can't tell me some fatcat record exec doesn't cream his jeans thinking about having the stats on who is listening to what in real time. "TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND PEOPLE ARE LISTENING TO 50 CENT! MAKE MORE ALBUMS!" I might be more charitably disposed towards said rep's statement if, you know, they weren't putting a damn rootkit on people's machines with no notification whatsoever.