iPod's Security Code Hacked

[LoKyBuckeye]

LINK

I've cracked iPod's security code, says 'DVD Jon' hacker
From James Doran in New York

A 22-YEAR-OLD Norwegian hacker known as DVD Jon claims to have cracked the security coding on Apple?s iTunes music store and iPod music player.

Jon Lech Johansen, who runs a software company in San Francisco called DoubleTwist Ventures, said yesterday that his code-breaking programme will fool computers into thinking that any MP3 player is an iPod. Likewise, it will make any piece of music or video downloaded from the internet appear to have been bought from iTunes.

Music bought from Apple?s iTunes online store can be played only on the company?s own iPod devices, and the songs, music videos and movies bought on iTunes contain a security code that prevents them from being played on rival media players. The iPod also blocks music bought from other online services such as Amazon.com or Napster.

Mr Johansen, who is a self-trained software engineer, is one of the world?s most notorious hackers. He was accused of breaking the coding that protects DVDs from being copied ? a hack that Hollywood claimed cost them billions of dollars in lost revenue ? but he was acquitted of all charges after a lengthy trial in Norway.

Apple has yet to respond to Mr Johansen?s claims, but it is understood that the company?s lawyers and software experts are examining them to see if legal action can be taken.

DoubleTwist Ventures said that it had sought legal advice and believes that the hack is entirely above board and commercially viable.

?It doesn?t mean that a big company will not harass us,? Monique Farantzos, the managing director of Double-Twist, said.

?I don?t think we?ll be getting a Christmas card from Mr Jobs,? she said, referring to Steve Jobs, the chief executive of Apple.

DoubleTwist said that it would license the programme to Apple?s competitors.

The company even claimed that Apple might benefit from the hack, as a growing number of governments have questioned the legality of Apple?s own software.

The French Government recently passed a law pressuring Apple to allow music sold by other online providers to be compatible with iPods.

After months of strenuous lobbying, the law ended up containing a loophole that allowed Apple to continue to block music from services other than iTunes.

However, the French case generated a great deal of publicity and other European countries are considering legislation to thwart Apple?s exclusivity.

Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland are considering new laws to govern iTunes, while Britain?s recording industry is in talks with the Government about a similar approach.

?Jon is very passionate about the rights of consumers and choice,? Ms Farantzos said. ?This is a perfect time for this product.?

Apple makes the bulk of its profits from the sale of iPods and content from the iTunes store, which is now branching into films.

The company dominates the market for legal music downloads. However, as films and other video content becomes more popular with users of portable media players, the market for downloads is becoming more crowded.

?Things will get worse before they get better,? Ms Farantzos said. ?If this situation continues, people will just get pirated content with no restrictions.?

iFACTS

# Apple introduced the iPod in 2001 and iTunes, which sells downloadable music and videos, two years later

# Apple has more than 80 per cent of the global music download market and its iPod Nano is the most popular MP3 player

# iTunes? is so popular in the US that sales of individual tracks increased by 76 per cent last year. Tracks cost 99 cents, or 79p in Britain. However, global sales of singles ? online and in stores ? have dropped 25 per cent since 2001

# Illegal music swapping remains rife; some 20 billion songs were swapped or downloaded illegally last year, amounting to 40 illegal downloads for every song purchased legally

# Microsoft will launch its own version of iPod and iTunes next month. Its player is called Zune

 

[BuckeyeFan_InTx]

WOW!!! Thats crazy!

 

[jlb1705]

I would understand the point of this if iPods and iTunes sucked... but they don't. Why in the world would anybody want to use iTunes with a Rio? Or play an iTunes file with MusicMatch? This is dumb. I'm sure he's proud of himself, but if he'd spent all of that quality hacking time pwning n00bs on WoW, it would've been less of a waste time than this.

 

[Hodge]

Music bought from Apple's iTunes online store can be played only on the company's own iPod devices, and the songs, music videos and movies bought on iTunes contain a security code that prevents them from being played on rival media players. The iPod also blocks music bought from other online services such as Amazon.com or Napster.

^^ That's the problem. People are purchasing mp3's (more likely m4p's) from iTunes and Apple is telling them what they can and can not do with their mp3's. It's like buying a movie and having Universal Studios tell you that you can only watch the movie on a Samsung DVD drive and nothing else.

 

[craigblitz]

About time... I am glad to see this and I hope to Itunes being played on other devices other then IPOD.

 

[jlb1705]

^^ That's the problem. People are purchasing mp3's (more likely m4p's) from iTunes and Apple is telling them what they can and can not do with their mp3's. It's like buying a movie and having Universal Studios tell you that you can only watch the movie on a Samsung DVD drive and nothing else.

Well, that's because people are stupid and don't realize when they're buying something that's proprietary. If you want something that's universal, buy it from another provider. I have a good-sized music collection, with music and files originating from a variety of sources. I've NEVER had a problem getting a song to work on my iPod. Of course, I also work in consumer electronics, and realize there are people out there buying mp3 players that don't know how to work an AM/FM radio.

 

[Muck]

Well, that's because people are stupid and don't realize when they're buying something that's proprietary.

No the problem is that manufacturers/content providers want to have complete and utter control of what you purchase. They view "Fair Use" laws as anethema and want to prohibit consumers from using items that they own in any way beyond what the manufacturer desires.

The audio & video source material are not proprietary media and instituting manufacturer based limitations on them runs counter to the court decisions won by consumer advocates over the past 30 years. Companies want to tie media & platforms together to force consumers to rely soleley on a single corporation.

Would you pay for HBO if it only was viewable on a Sony TV or Cinemax if it only worked on a Mitsubishi?

The industry is based on an outdated model that is doomed to fail...the sooner it does so the better as far as I am concerned so we can get back to a world where the consumer is actually encouraged to spend money rather than punished for it.

 

[jlb1705]

No the problem is that manufacturers/content providers want to have complete and utter control of what you purchase. They view "Fair Use" laws as anethema and want to prohibit consumers from using items that they own in any way beyond what the manufacturer desires.

The audio & video source material are not proprietary media and instituting manufacturer based limitations on them runs counter to the court decisions won by consumer advocates over the past 30 years. Companies want to tie media & platforms together to force consumers to rely soleley on a single corporation.

Would you pay for HBO if it only was viewable on a Sony TV or Cinemax if it only worked on a Mitsubishi?

The industry is based on an outdated model that is doomed to fail...the sooner it does so the better as far as I am concerned so we can get back to a world where the consumer is actually encouraged to spend money rather than punished for it.

I don't disagree with that - but my point (I think) is that most people are too feeble to actually shop wisely or find out the options and limitations of the things they purchase. People with iPods buy music from iTunes because the product is convenient and the consumer is lazy. It's not until AFTER people get a library full of proprietary media that they usually want to start complaining about it. If you take steps to become informed and get screwed, then I'll be sympathetic. If you don't make the (small) effort to realize that there is a multitude of channels to get any reasonably popular song in a universal format as opposed to iTunes' proprietary format, then I don't care.

Besides, it's not like you can't burn an audio CD from your iTunes purchases and then turn around and rip them to mp3s using the VERY SAME PROGRAM. Some code I just cracked there, huh?

 

[Hodge]

I agree, it seem that we are just arguing different points. I'm just saying it's shady at best that Apple does what it does with iTunes. I agree completely with the inexperienced/uninformed consumer, but it's possible that they are being misled by Apple in the first place.

 

[marcus]

There is a much easier soulution. Take the songs you purchased with iTunes and using iTunes, burn them to CD. Then import the CD that you just burned. You will now have 2 copies of the song. The ACC version from apple and the one you just imported. You can copy that anywhere you want to. BTW, all iTunes music is orginally done in 128K.

 

[Hodge]

Actually it's even easier than that. Instead of the whole burning/ripping process, all you have to do is select the songs you have, go to the "Advanced" tab in iTunes and click on "Convert Selection to mp3."