Earlier this week, Sony BMG settled a lawsuit with the states and citizens of California and Florida involving malicious rootkit software it installed on the PCs of users who bought certain CDs and played them on their computers. Today, Billboard is reporting that Sony BMG will pay $4.25 million to another 39 states and the District of Columbia in a new settlement.
As with the other settlement, this one apparently only compensates individuals who damaged their computers by trying to remove the rootkit, but apparently not by installing the rootkit. Billboard writes, "Under the terms of the settlement, Sony BMG will place claim forms on its web site and will provide refunds up to $175. Consumers who experienced harm to their computers when they sought to remove the DRM software should go to the website to download a claim form."
Hmmm.... the most common damage people do by removing the rootkit is disabling their computers' CD playing capability, but leaving the rootkit there compromises your computers' security completely. I guess if your computer has been damaged by not removing the rootkit, you're just supposed to download a fix and get on with your life.
The states in question are: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, plus the District of Columbia.
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