That hiss you hear is the RIAA snooping program sending your particulars off to their database.... The program is seeded onto files all over the p2p networks... The music works for more than 20 seconds because the courts have decreed that MORE THAN 20 seconds are needed for copyright violation, as less than 20 seconds is considered "fair use" as it is with other copyright materials (a paragraph from a book, for critical review or a quote, for example). The fact that you have got MORE THAN 20 seconds of copyright material is noted by the program and reported back to the RIAA (that is the hissing sound) - they did it that way coz only if you d/l AND play the track they can trace you..... If the program "phones home" with your details, you MUST have illegally d/l AND PLAYED more than the minimum (20 seconds) that is legally allowed. It sends your IP address, your username and password, a list of all MP3s and any other personal data it can find (like stuff from Outlook express - your email address & email addresses of your friends, what networks you connect to, your bank account details (if they are on the computer), stuff like that!!!! Some of the figures knocking around indicate that they are sueing for between $1500 and $15000 for EVERY song on your machine...... Even if cases are settled out of court, it seems the lowest figure is more than $17000 (a 12 year old girl from the projects - you may have heard of it). I wish you luck <GRIN>
I am SO glad you noticed the <GRIN>... Ah well... _X_X_X_X_X_[small]Life is just more of the same:[/small]
(drchips: see my edit!) I've heard that the leaked Win2k sourcecode has been used to create mp3s that cause buffer overflow in Windows Media Player resulting in any code in the mp3 being executed. Maybe you're talking about this.
Aha! I appreciate it when someone takes the time to investigate technical stuff. It used to be a given that a datafile (MP3 in this instance) could not execute code, we cannot rely on that any longer!!!! I have a very strong technical bias (me a techie geek) and security is one of my pet subjects - I secure EVERYTHING... So, let the pirates sweat!!! They aren't safe anymore!!! Have Fun...
