Microsoft will Remove Sony Rootkit

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Microsoft announced that its upcoming update to Windows Defender will remove Sony's audio CD copy protection system, which has been categorized as spyware due to its use of a rootkit. This rootkit, typically associated with malicious software, was employed by Sony to prevent CD piracy. A list of infected titles has been released by Sony, and users who have played these CDs on their computers will need to take action to remove the rootkit. Additionally, there are discussions about the broader implications of spyware and the role of Internet Explorer as a common entry point for such threats.
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After dithering for a few days over whether to categorize Sony's new audio CD copy protection system as spyware, Microsoft on Friday announced that the next update to its antispyware package would indeed remove the Sony code from users' PCs. Microsoft will include the removal code in an update to the recently renamed Windows Defender, formerly Windows AntiSpyware. Sony's system is based on a rootkit, typically used by malicious hackers to keep their malware hidden. Sony was using it to prevent users from pirating its CDs.
http://www.windowsitpro.com/articles/index.cfm?articleid=48441
 
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http://cp.sonybmg.com/xcp/english/titles.html has released a list of all those titles infected with the rootkit. If you've played one on your machine you'll need to fix it.
 
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MS releasing a patch to stop spyware? I am guessing that the patch also removes Internet Explorer right? I think IE is probably the #1 way spyware enters a computer.
 

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