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Release Date: August 05, 2009
Genre: Games
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iTunes New Music Releases

Release Date: September 29, 2009
Genre: Rock
Release Date: September 20, 2009
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Release Date: April 22, 2009
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Discover New Music

  • Pressure Chief

    • 6 out of 10
    • Cake
    • Pressure Chief, Cake's latest album, didn't immediately grab me. In fact, it took perhaps half a dozen listens before I started truly enjoying it. Any

  • The Last 5 Years (2002 Off-Broadway Cast)

    • 10 out of 10
    • Jason Robert Brown
    • The soundtrack to this moving off-broadway musical is heart moving. The lyrics follow a couple in a relationship for five years, one point of view going forward in time, and the other tracing time fr
  • Guero

    • 10 out of 10
    • Beck
    • Beck is the modern master of the groove, and Guero is merely the latest example of this. From the opening power chords of "E-Pro," to the Pac-Man cuteness of "Girl," to the dirge-like lullab

  • Perverse

    • 8 out of 10
    • Jesus Jones
    • When you think of Jesus Jones, chances are you can't remember them at all, or you vaguely remember "Right Here, Right Now" because it has been use

  • Another Day on Earth

    • 10 out of 10
    • Brian Eno
    • In his first proper solo release since 1996's relatively cold "The Drop," Brian Eno has constructed a whimsical and ecclectic masterpiece which is arguably one of the year's strongest records thus fa

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News

Sony Settles with U.S. FTC on Music CD Rootkits

In a five to zero vote of the U.S. FTC on Tuesday, a consent agreement was approved in the Sony music CD rootkit case. Sony agreed to clearly disclose limitations on future music CDs and pay customers up to US$150 for damage to their computers.

The incident started when a Windows security expert discovered last fall that music CDs from Sony BMG silently installed and concealed a program called "XCP" on the customer's PC. The rootkit compromised the PC's security.

The U.S. FTC filed a complaint against Sony which said, " the installation of software without consumer consent that exposed consumers' computers to security risks was unfair and violated federal law." The FTC also asserted that "hiding the software and failing to provide a way to remove it were also violations of U.S. law."

As part of the agreement, Sony will make its removal program available for two years. Customers will be able to take their infected CDs, purchased prior to December 31st, back to a retailer for replacement, and Sony will allow the FTC to monitor their compliance with the agreement.

While this PC rootkit did not directly affect Mac OS X users, Apple customers have continued to monitor this case closely and its implications for both Windows and their own Mac system security.

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