RTV71 used our news submit to tell us "I guess these characters can"t learn by example." Here's
some further details of the actions that can be expected if you are unlucky
enough to put a Settec Alpha-DVD protected movie DVD in your PC.
 This
copy protection is known as Alpha-DVD. The main application receives a
different name on every install, using inconspicuous names such as
"win32k2.exe" and "msxhtml.exe". Its file properties characterize it as a
"System PTHelper". The executable launches as a cloaked process which
Process Explorer. The copy protection also loads a DLL file into memory
(hadl.dll), which becomes a child process of all running executables. In
the system registry, Alpha-DVD sets itself up as "SystemManager" and
armors this entry in such a way that it is restored on every
reboot.
With the prompting of hadl.dll, all applications begin
to query the OS for ASPI and ASAPI drivers as well as a DLL supplied with
various products by Slysoft, a company specializing in DVD copying and
"ripping" tools. According to Kinowelt, the German distributor of the
copy-protected DVD, the purpose of these sweeps is to hinder the
duplication of the DVD. It's supposed to become active only when the
protected DVD is found in one of the optical drives. If the protected
title is located, Alpha-DVD is meant to block the execution of common
ripping tools.
However, in web forums German users soon complained
about irregularities. Several of them reported that after inserting the
copy-protected disc, CD/DVD writing applications could no longer locate
optical and virtual disk drives removed from the OS. Neither of these
claims could be verified as of yet. However, c't magazine found that
Alpha-DVD would not stop polling for drivers if the protected disc was
removed from the drive. Even worse, the continuous sweeps seemed to have a
negative impact on CD/DVD burning in general.
On two different test machines, the DVD writer kept
speeding up and slowing down during the burning process. In instance, this
resulted in a destroyed DVD-RW medium. The copy-protected disc was not
time. c't can not confirm whether the application actually blocks DVD
ripping tools since the use of copy circumvention devices is prohibited
under German copyright law. |
Well here we go again! More malware for the end user
that thought they were just buying a movie. It's bad enough to have to put up
with copy protections, but when they become this intrusive it seems that
something needs to be done about it. In order to read the English article in
it's entirety from the source, just visit
this link at Heise. In the meantime, just say "no" to autoplay in
Windows.
Source: Heise
