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What qualities do people look for when buying movies and music? 1. The content they want. 2. Quality (i.e. resolution, bitrate, etc.) 3. Reliability (it actu
by beloch 13y ago
What qualities do people look for when buying movies and music?
1. The content they want.
2. Quality (i.e. resolution, bitrate, etc.)
3. Reliability (it actually plays)
4. Low annoyance (no ads, warnings, etc.)
5. Safety (guaranteed freedom from malware, etc.)
The movie and music industries haven't done a perfect job of delivering #1-4. Region coding means the content users want is frequently only available through pirate channels. Lower quality releases (DVD vs Bluray) are also often all that is available in some regions. Bluray is not reliable if users don't keep their hardware/software up to date. Nearly all DVD's and bluray discs on the market are utterly infested with annoying advertisements and warning screens.
#5 was the one thing that legally purchased media had an undeniable edge in over pirated media. If users lose trust in the safety of legally purchased media they will be driven to piracy in unprecedented numbers.
It is tempting to give RIAA and MPAA the rope to hang themselves with, sit back, and laugh. However, let's not forget that every piece of code they write and every root-kit they successfully deploy will soon be taken advantage of by black-hats, quite probably in ways that will cause damage to systems completely unrelated to media playback of any sort. The only way I can see to let the MPAA/RIAA proceed is to require them to post a significant bond (in the billions) to pay for damages their rootkits will cause. Managing how damages are going to be awarded is going to be a legal nightmare though, since this will not affect only U.S. systems and citizens. If the U.S. permits this, I sincerely hope other nations hold the U.S. government responsible for damages, so the U.S. had better make sure Hollywood is ready to foot the bill.
- shmerl 13y ago#5 Safety (guaranteed freedom from malware, etc.)... was the one thing that legally purchased media had an undeniable edge in over pirated media. Disagreed. Sony rootkit was on the legally purchased media. DRM on streaming services can do all kind of stuff without users consent. DRM built into hardware with cameras can do even weirder stuff (just note the crazy DRM idea patented by Microsoft regarding detecting the people in the room). Since DRM is a black box, you never know what it can do. There is completely no reason to trust that it will respect your privacy and rights. Therefore DRMed media has no edge over pirated media at all. Safety requires transparency (for the user), as well as trust in the used technology. DRM by its very definition is non trustworthy and non transparent, it's the antithesis of that. It's totally opaque precisely because it attempts to hide something from the user. Because ironically, DRM proponents don't trust the user! User is treated as potential criminal by default. How can users in situation when they aren't trusted, trust the DRM vendor in return? They can not, and they should not! Trust can be only mutual. I.e. DRM always implies something shady and risky. DRM proponents should be treated as potential criminals by default in return. And what do such criminals usually hide in their code? Malware.
- troels 13y agoI think that was the OP's point really. But you're right in that it has already happened with DRM - rootkits are just the natural next step in this direction.
- shmerl 13y ago"It has already happened" means it was discovered. Since DRM is by definition obscured, we don't know what wasn't found. Insecurity and malicious code is to be expected from it. Their attempt to legalize it only reveals their original intentions.
- Vivtek 13y agoYeah, but it's relatively restricted right now, to the point that the vast majority of consumers have no idea it exists. If this is enshrined in law as a bona fide policy, it will become much more widespread - perhaps to the point that Joe Public notices. So this is different - in degree if not in kind.
- TeMPOraL 13y agoI think OP was talking about average-Joe's understanding of safety. The "if I buy original version, it won't have viruses on it that break my computer". This is true so far, DRMs or not, and people trust legal media. But the moment this trust gets broken, there will be little reason to go to shop instead of Pirate Bay.
- rst 13y agoActually, there's been at least one instance of legally purchased media installing spyware, the Sony rootkit scandal that's already come up in this discussion: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_copy_protection_rootkit_scandal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_copy_protection_rootki...
- marcosdumay 13y agoYeah, and there are lots and lots of instances of illegaly gotten media installing spyware. You don't need a perfect track record to be the safest option.
- spindritf 13y ago> It is tempting to give RIAA and MPAA the rope to hang themselves with, sit back, and laugh. However, let's not forget that every piece of code they write and every root-kit they successfully deploy will soon be taken advantage of by black-hats Wouldn't it be the opposite? Like a free pentest? Malware they come up with would be widely available (included in the price of any movie) for dissection. BTW Next release of Qubes[1] will need an "entertainment" AppVM. [1] http://qubes-os.org/trac/wiki/QubesArchitecture http://qubes-os.org/trac/wiki/QubesArchitecture
- TeMPOraL 13y ago> However, let's not forget that every piece of code they write and every root-kit they successfully deploy will soon be taken advantage of by black-hats, quite probably in ways that will cause damage to systems completely unrelated to media playback of any sort. It will be stupidly easy to execute; if the malware shuts down computer when it detects illegal download, the only thing an attacker needs to do is to trick the computer/user into downloading illegal content. And that's it. Though this simple trick doesn't let them steal data or take control of the computer, there are many uses an attacker can find for just killing the machine. Blackmailing, social engineering, or just disturbing some crucial business operations. I can even imagine 4chan folks trolling people like this for fun.
- dasil003 13y ago4chan yes, but remember most black hats are operating for profit. They don't want to shut down your computer. They want to root it so they can use it in their botnet, or maybe log your passwords and credit cards.
- TeMPOraL 13y agoYou're right, though there is some profit in shutting down computers. Even right now there's a proliferation of ransomware[0] [1] that locks out machines. I've removed several of those from computers in last two years and even once been paid to do this. Moreover, if computer-locking DRM malware becomes commonplace, a market for cheaper-than-police unlocking will emerge, with incentives favouring hacking the DRM to then earn money on fixing it. [0] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ransomware_(malware) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ransomware_(malware) [1] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue_security_software http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue_security_software
- rednukleus 13y agoYou left out one important point: 6. Convenience. I believe that the content industry is relying on a sufficient number of people still finding it easier to buy a DVD/Bluray rather than pirate. For technical people, pirating is already sometimes more convenient for reasons that you stated. There is also a 7. Ethics Some people do not find pirating ethical under any circumstances, and will inconvenience themselves to avoid it.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- aylons 13y agoEthics is really important for me, but rootkits makes the official distribution as ethical as the pirated content.
- Swizec 13y agoSome people also think using animal products isn't ethical and inconvenience themselves to avoid it. But you probably don't want to build a mass market business on that. For the record, I don't pirate music anymore. Spotify has made pirating too inconvenient.
- namdnay 13y agoI'm not sure the comparison is just. Using animal products isn't illegal.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]