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Zune DRM Cracked

Journal written by hanzblinx (1128183) and posted by CmdrTaco on Sun Jul 15, 2007 09:57 AM
from the that-took-a-bit-longer-than-epected dept.
Microsoft
An anonymous reader noted that Zune Scene is reporting that the Zune DRM has been cracked with software now available that strips the DRM from Zune Marketplace tracks and those shared with WiFi.
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  • Microsoft is thrilled by this news (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 15 2007, @09:58AM (#19867221)
    It means someone bought a Zune.

    • Re:Microsoft is thrilled by this news (Score:5, Funny)

      by CSHARP123 (904951) on Sunday July 15 2007, @10:14AM (#19867399)
      No wonder, They sold the sixth one now.
    • Actually, it might even increase sales, which all goes to show how DRM isn't good for hardware sales.

    • Re:Microsoft is thrilled by this news (Score:5, Funny)

      by Divebus (860563) on Sunday July 15 2007, @11:12AM (#19867977)
      Wow. It took this long for someone to care.

    • Re:Microsoft is thrilled by this news (Score:4, Funny)

      by uncoveror (570620) on Sunday July 15 2007, @11:41AM (#19868183) Homepage
      A lot of people bought Zunes as gifts for kids and grandkids. Old people believe slick salesmen who say "it is the same as an iPod." Both of the kids that didn't return their Zunes and buy an iPod should be happy the DRM has been cracked.

      • Re:Microsoft is thrilled by this news (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Liquidrage (640463) on Sunday July 15 2007, @02:13PM (#19869575)
        Shoot. I liked mine better then the iPod's at the time it was released.

        Not really sure why anyone would total diss it other then hype/marketing/backlash/etc.. It's not like iTunes was a DRM free happy land when the Zune was launched either.
        Interface was no worse then iPOD (seriously, I'd love to see someone that has actually used both try and claim the interface sucked or was somehow worse), storage for the price point was the same, Zune had bigger screen which was a feature I wanted since I use it for carrying around photos and listening to the radio as much as MP3's.

        It was a decent product, sales have been so-so but nothing special. But it just gets too much flask IMO because it's MS and not Apple.
        Hell, apple could probably launch a $600 phone with virtually no 3rd party apps and that can't even send pictures in text messages and people would probably buy it.

          • Re:Microsoft is thrilled by this news (Score:5, Insightful)

            by Liquidrage (640463) on Sunday July 15 2007, @05:01PM (#19870863)
            I didn't say it as anything has changed.
            And seriously. You opinion on the interface was very convincing. It sucks because it sucks. What does it actually do worse.
            If you pick the thing up you can navigate through songs/albums/artists/media/etc very quickly and easily. Hence, it doesn't suck.
            Everyone's going to have a preference (though 90% of the ones I'm going to read about the zune I can rightfully dismiss as people that have no clue what their talking about). But I've yet to see the race between zune and iPod users finding music or using the device in other ways.
            Oh yeah, and the better screen. I guess the specs are arguable. But "better" in most cases is subjective. Never had a problem with my screen, and bigger is better on a device of similar size. It's easier for people to see pics of my dog/cat/wife/car/whatever on the zune then it would be on a comparable iPod. In fact, I really wanted to Zen Vision W, but it was just a tad too big to be carried around.

            But I know I know. Apple is great, MS sucks. Your statements were very thought out.
            • It's much larger and heavier than an iPod. The interface is not as simple or intuitive, but clunky.

              Even aside from that, at time of launch it cost more than a simmilar iPod!

              The only thing the Zune ever had going for it was WiFi. And Microsoft botched that up so bad it's ridiculous (why no Zireless sync? Why no wirless purchase of music?)

              The fact that they went to the trouble and expense to include WiFi but not include these basic features people would WANT it for is ridiculous. and indicates they did not do

                • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

                  by Liquidrage (640463)
                  Yeah, heaven forbid anyone actually use the device. Or actually be able to describe what's not to like about it IN DETAIL.

                  It's a rebranded Toshiba MP3 that is actually a very nice piece of hardware, the software ontop is just fine. The music store isn't a great, but outside of that it'll ignore DRM completely. Meaning like most MP3 players your stuff off of CD or other MP3/AAC(without DRM)/etc just plays no questions asked.
                  It's fucking pathetic that people like you and the AC write crap like that becaus

  • At last... (Score:5, Funny)

    by darien (180561) <darien.gmail@com> on Sunday July 15 2007, @09:59AM (#19867231)
    This is the announcement that's been so desperately needed to kickstart Zune sales...

  • And yet... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by The One and Only (691315) * <phil@philwelch.net> on Sunday July 15 2007, @10:01AM (#19867251) Homepage
    No one cares. Breaking AACS, iTunes, or even CSS was a big (albeit inevitable) deal, but I suspect most of us just shrug this story off for one simple reason--Microsoft, with its ill-thought-out strategy of expanding into every conceivable market at once, at whim, and with no controlling strategy has made itself an irrelevant bit player in multiple markets.
    • You cant blame Microsoft. This crack was a really long time coming all things considered. I guess if it was more popular somebody might have cared to crack it sooner. I still think congratulations are in order for surviving this long. Also, even if buying a Zune seems somewhat silly, this provides an interesting statistic on the ongoing failures of DRM.

    • Re:And yet... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by AusIV (950840) on Sunday July 15 2007, @10:26AM (#19867523)
      This strikes me as somewhat different than breaking AACS, FairPlay, or CSS. If you bought something restricted by one of those formats, it's plausible you want to remove the DRM so you can play it on a platform that is technically capable of playing it, and restricted solely by the DRM. You've paid for the media, and you want to play it on another platform.


      The difference with the Zune's DRM is that it effectively allows music "rentals" through WiFi sharing. People can "squirt" each other a song then remove the DRM, effectively getting the song for free. Not much different than pirating off of p2p networks, but it does mean Microsoft has created an incredibly effective piracy device.

      For the rest, I agree. Microsoft has tried to over expand, making itself irrelevant in quite a few markets. In the process, they've half-assed their position in their original market, alienating a lot of customers. I've had several more technical friends switch to Linux, and less technical friends switch to Macs in the time since MS has started focusing more on running everything than making a solid OS. Microsoft needs to seriously reconsider their priorities if they want to avoid becoming irrelevant in all of their markets.

      • Re:And yet... (Score:4, Insightful)

        by EMeta (860558) on Sunday July 15 2007, @10:43AM (#19867699)
        "...since MS has started focusing more on running everything than making a solid OS."

        What is this magical, mystical time period you're talking about where making a solid OS was a successful MS priority? '99-'02? Hadn't they already started with the branching then? (e.g., MSN?)

          • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

            by petermgreen (876956)
            but this is exactly the problem - rather than try and create a solid OS, they've looked for ways to lock customers into Windows.
            Afaict microsofts main profit centers are windows desktop and office. MS therefore ttries to crush anything that threatens those products. Maybe this is a bad strategy long term but the stock market only really cares about the short term.

            Looked at in this light IE (particularlly free IE) and MSN are reaction to netscape and googles threats to make the desktop OS irrelvent. The XBO
      • Windows is a solid OS.
        It's so bloated and uses so much memory it would sink like a stone...

  • Alright! (Score:5, Funny)

    by LordKaT (619540) on Sunday July 15 2007, @10:04AM (#19867295) Homepage Journal
    Now I can listen to music that I didn't buy for the media player I didn't purchase on an MP3 player that I don't possess!

    Isn't technology awesome?

  • Look here. (Score:5, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 15 2007, @10:08AM (#19867341)
    http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=127943 [doom9.org]

  • It doesn't solve the problem (Score:5, Interesting)

    by dalmiroy2k (768278) on Sunday July 15 2007, @10:19AM (#19867441)
    We hardcore and tech savvy users usually crack, mod or unlock any device we got ours hand into (Ipods, cell phones, DVD Players, Apple TV, etc) but it doesn't solve Six pack Joe's DRM problems. He will get a Zune, won't bother or know how to crack it and play along MS and MAFIAA's rules.
    The same thing will happen with our parents and most people. The solution is buying products that are open and DRM free in the first place.

    • It might (Score:3, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Does this mean I'll be able to play my Microsoft PlaysForSure tracks on my Microsoft Zune now?

  • Marketshare and cracking (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Infonaut (96956) <infonaut@gmail.com> on Sunday July 15 2007, @10:22AM (#19867493) Homepage Journal

    For years now we've been hearing that Mac OS X is less vulnerable to viruses and cracking because it has a far smaller marketshare than Windows. The argument is that nobody bothers with OS X because of the smaller marketshare. Although Zune DRM is being cracked for a different purpose, it does make me wonder if marketshare is much of a factor in decisions regarding which systems crackers attempt to defeat.

    • I actually believe that Zune was an opportunity for someone to get attention. Since no one cared to crack it(looking at you DVD jon), it gave someone else the opportunity to show off. Regardless, it is good because when m$ discontinues the Zune, the people who bought music will still be able to play it.

    • Re:Marketshare and cracking (Score:5, Insightful)

      by MBCook (132727) <foobarsoft@foobarsoft.com> on Sunday July 15 2007, @10:36AM (#19867639) Homepage

      I don't think so. That may have been the case when 10.0 or 10.1 came out, but at this point Macs are more common. Combined with the perception of security (and the Apple ads touting such), the Mac is a very nice target. If someone was able to make a good Mac virus that didn't require security authentication or other such things, they could get a lot of press (and probably a very easy shot at a good position in computer security). I'm sure there are plenty of people trying.

      The Zune took so long because most people don't care. The average consumer doesn't care (or doesn't know that they should), and they bought an iPod anyway. The average techie (who does care) either bought an iPod, or probably doesn't buy DRMed music. Doing this is an interesting challenge, but it doesn't have the motivation behind it of cracking the DRM on the largest selling player and music store.

      The market share thing for OS X is a myth. It's not perfect, but it is more secure by design than XP (Vista was supposed to improve that, I don't know how good a job it really did, I haven't looked). The Zune just wasn't a very temping target, so this took a while.

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by RzUpAnmsCwrds (262647)

        If someone was able to make a good Mac virus

        Viruses are no longer common. People who exploit systems today do it for profit. The days of some kid sitting in his room and cracking Windows are over. That kid is either cracking DRM (and there are oh so many targets, from the iPhone to the TiVo) or getting paid to run spam zombies.

        My Linux box encountered some 100,000 dictionary-based SSH attacks per day before I disabled password authentication. Run a packet sniffer on a public network some time. You may be su

  • Here are the links to the FairUse4WM :

    FileSend [filesend.net]
    zUpload [zupload.com]
    Files-Upload [files-upload.com]
    zShare [zshare.net]
    QuickSharing [quicksharing.com]
    SendSpace [sendspace.com]
    ShareBee [sharebee.com]

    MD5 hash 0d5eaa7f8010e1293221a320943adb7e
    Via:
    http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=127943 [doom9.org]

  • Nice try Microsoft (Score:5, Funny)

    by Statecraftsman (718862) * on Sunday July 15 2007, @10:30AM (#19867567) Homepage
    No, cracking your own DRM won't allow you to reach your Zune sales goals either.

  • oh no! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by friedman101 (618627) on Sunday July 15 2007, @10:35AM (#19867621)
    DRM exists entirely for the protection of the RIAA, not Microsoft. This will only increase the popularity of the Zune. An mp3 player that can share files over wifi with no restrictions, sign me up. I can't see Microsoft being too proactive about locking down the DRM again.
  • As much as i hate Itunes, its actually a nice program (just programmed like complete shit on the PC) But anyways... the Windows Media Player is HORRIBLE. It mangled all of my music and i had to do all my tags. I do like WMP's ability to show the controls on task bar though. Other than that.. i'm not a fan of WMP right now. Eww yuck..

    Oh yeah DRM cracked? Who didnt see that coming? DRM is dead. Its a stupid idea to rally your share holders around. The real truth is, the people have spoken and we dont want DRM

  • Anyone emailed them yet? (Score:5, Funny)

    by NitroWolf (72977) on Sunday July 15 2007, @11:29AM (#19868091) Homepage
    Has anyone emailed the 4 people who own Zunes yet and let them know?

    I think two of them were non-techies, so they may not know.

  • yay (Score:5, Funny)

    by artifex2004 (766107) on Sunday July 15 2007, @02:39PM (#19869783) Journal
    I'll bet Zune owners are celebrating with a circle-squirt.

  • pros and consequences (Score:3, Interesting)

    by aapold (753705) on Monday July 16 2007, @06:55AM (#19874833) Homepage Journal
    Given the zunepass subscription model, someone could effectively grab a ridiculous amount of free music for any player (including ipods). Heck, you can even download the zuneplayer without owning a zune, but don't think it will let you subscribe without one. And then cancel the zunepass subscription when they are done. Given sheer logistics, its probably impossible to grab the entire marketplace, but you probably could grab just about everything you wanted, at least until they patch this and i'm sure they have people working overtime on this. Because the danger is that the RIAA would pull their stuff out of the marketplace if they don't feel confident microsoft can protect their content, they're already overly nervous about something like a subscription and wifi sharing, to the point where they'd crippled much of the device's potential.

    I use a zune, mainly for the subscription model, the player is nice for some things but there are times I'd rather use my sony ericsson phone because its a lot smaller, heck, i use it sometimes although that's limited to my none-zune marketplace content... My zune is more used in my car and at my desk. But I take it with me elsewhere at times because of the greatly expanded content I have access to on it. at least till now, where this would allow me to listen to it on that device. I'd happily keep paying my subscription fee if I had a means to listen to it on the device of my choice. You know, like that playsforsure concept...

    • Breach of Their Contract (Score:4, Interesting)

      by blankaBrew (1000609) on Sunday July 15 2007, @10:07AM (#19867331)
      I recall Steve Jobs claiming back in February that if iTunes Fairplay was cracked, they were under contract with the Record Labels to repair the crack within something like 24 hours. He used this as a reason why Apple couldn't license Fairplay to third-parties. Do you think M$ has a similar agreement? Maybe the Labels will have to wait until Patch Tuesday.

    • Re:Is Secure DRM Possible? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Iphtashu Fitz (263795) on Sunday July 15 2007, @10:14AM (#19867405)
      In a word, No.

      The problem with DRM, in a nutshell, is that you ultimately have to provide the keys for accessing the content to the end user. All DRM, no matter how it's designed, is at the most basic level just security through obscurity. Since decryption keys have to be provided to the end user it's just a matter of time before one of the (potentially) millions of users worldwide manages to find those keys and figure out how to make use of them. Companies spend more and more on trying to restrict access to those keys, and now to revoke compromised keys (think AACS), but even that's a losing battle. Companies spend tons of money and some teenaged hacker in Russia still manages to crack the encryption fairly quickly. It's a no-win battle for the companies. They just haven't admitted defeat yet.
      • It's even more simple than that. If one person can write it another will crack it. No piece of code is unbreakable, some just take longer than others. None of these companies are going to spend the kind of money that NSA does on this issue.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by DarkJC (810888)
      All that effort to make a post and you didn't even bother making it semi-useful by including a link..

    • Re:Beyond Me (Score:5, Interesting)

      by PopeRatzo (965947) * on Sunday July 15 2007, @11:04AM (#19867901) Homepage Journal
      I guess it's the consensus around here that the Zune is a horrible piece of junk. The place I work bought some Zunes and some iPods and some other portable media players and I got a chance to take each home for a few weeks.

      I really kind of liked the Zune. To my surprise it wasnt' that ugly brown color. All my (non-DRM) music played just fine, and I even kind of liked the way the Zune sounded with a pair of the $40 JBL 210 reference ear pods. The videos played well and the interface was acceptable. Battery life was pretty good.

      I didn't try the wifi stuff, but the unit I tried compared nicely with the 30gig iPod.

      I'd never buy one myself because I make a concerted effort to avoid giving Microsoft my business, but it wasn't the horrible crap that I'd been led to believe by that group of people who only seem to post at Slashdot when the issue turns to something having to do with, or competing with, Apple. I have heard that if you look at those people out of the corner of your eye you only see a black silhouette of a dancing gen-Y'er with fake dreadlocks.

      • Re:Beyond Me (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Lumpy (12016) on Sunday July 15 2007, @11:44AM (#19868217) Homepage
        you are incorrect. It's the consensus here that the Zune is a great piece of hardware. everyone agrees it has a fantastic screen awesome power and is overall a incredible device.....

        that was turned into a turd by the software that it runs. They took the decent software inside and then shoved DRM in by the heaploads. Making it a turd.

        That makes it the horribly piece of junk.

        Once it's cracked and a 3rd party firmware can be installed to run it, I'll be buying 2 or more of them. In it's current DRM and windows Locked state, nobody wants it.

        Microsoft catered so hard to the RIAA and MPAA organized crime families that they ruined the product.

        it's like the microsoft keyboards, they are actually awesome, but nobody would own one if they refused to type words or phrases that were on a banned list.

    • Re:Beyond Me (Score:4, Funny)

      by macdaddy357 (582412) <macdaddy357@hotmail.com> on Sunday July 15 2007, @11:44AM (#19868215)
      I don't know why everyone keeps bashing the Zune. I love mine! It is the perfect size to shim up that old table in my den with a short leg.

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