[muglo] Wired News :Have iPod, Will Secretly Bootleg


A note from Tim Kearn:

   Anybody else heard of this?
   Never realized that it could be done!

============================================================

 From Wired News, available online at:
http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,50688,00.html

Have iPod, Will Secretly Bootleg  
By Leander Kahney  

2:00 a.m. Feb. 28, 2002 PST 

When Apple introduced the iPod, the company was aware that people
might use it to rip off music from the Net or friends' machines. Each new iPod, 
in fact, is emblazoned with a sticker that warns, "Don't Steal Music." 

But it is unlikely that Apple imagined people would walk into computer
stores, plug their iPod into display computers and use it to copy software off 
the hard drives.  


See also:  -
Software to Connect IPod to PCs  -
Apple's 'Breakthrough' iPod  -
MacCommunist: Smash the iPod  -
Apple's New Toy: Portable Music  -
Apple Gives Tech Good Name  -
Join the Cult of Mac  -
Tinker around with Gadgets and
Gizmos



This is exactly the scenario recently witnessed by Kevin Webb at a
Dallas CompUSA store.  

Webb, a computer consultant from Dallas, was browsing his local
CompUSA when he saw a young man walk toward him listening to an iPod. Webb 
recognized the iPod's distinctive ear buds.  

The teenager stopped at a nearby display Macintosh, pulled the iPod
from his pocket and plugged it into the machine with a FireWire cable. 
Intrigued, Webb peeped over the kid's shoulder to see him copying Microsoft's 
new Office for OS X suite, which retails for $500.  

When the iPod is plugged into a Macintosh, its icon automatically pops
up on the desktop. To copy software, all the kid had to do was drag and drop 
files onto the iPod's icon. Office for MacOS X is about 200 MB; it copies to 
the iPod's hard drive in less than a minute.  

"Watching him, it dawned on me that this was something that was very
easy to do," Webb said. "In the Mac world it's pretty easy to plug in and copy 
things. It's a lot easier than stealing the box."  

Webb watched the teenager copy a couple of other applications. He left
the kid to find a CompUSA employee. "I went over and told a CompUSA guy, but he 
looked at me like I was clueless," Webb said.  

Unsure whether the kid was a thief or an out-of-uniform employee, Webb
watched as he left the store. "I thought there's no point in getting any more 
involved in this imbroglio," Webb said. "Besides, this is Texas. You never know 
what he might have been carrying."  

CompUSA representatives didn't respond to requests for comment.
Neither did Apple officials.  

The iPod is perfect for virtual shoplifting. It is designed as a
digital music player, but its roomy 5-GB hard drive can be used as portable 
storage for all kinds of files, even the Macintosh operating system. In fact, 
it can operate as an external drive, booting up a machine and running 
applications.  

The iPod's FireWire interface -- one of its most important but
undersold features -- allows huge files to be copied in seconds. The iPod 
doesn't even have to leave the user's pocket.  

And while the iPod has a built-in anti-piracy mechanism that prevents
music files from being copied from one computer to another, it has no such 
protections for software.  

Ironically, Microsoft has pioneered an easy-to-use installation scheme
on the Mac that makes its Mac software relatively easy to pilfer. The company 
is known for its sometimes heavy-handed, anti-piracy mechanisms in such 
products as Windows XP.  

When installing Office, users simply drag and drop the Office folder
to their hard drive. Everything is included, including a self-repair mechanism 
that replaces critical files in the system folder.  

By contrast, a lot of software on the Windows platform relies on a
bunch of system files that are only installed during an installation process. 
Simply copying an application from one machine to another will not work. 

Plus, getting a copy of the software application is only half the
battle: most software won't work without a registration number. Usable serial 
numbers, however, are readily available on Usenet, IRC, Hotline and 
applications like Hacks and Cracks.  

"This is the first we have heard of this form of piracy," said Erik
Ryan, a Microsoft product manager. "And while this is a possibility, people 
should be reminded that this is considered theft."  

While the iPod may be ideal for a software-stealing spree, there are a
number of other devices on the market that could also be used by virtual 
shoplifters. As well as any external FireWire drive, there are now a number of 
tiny key-chain drives that plug into computers' USB ports, like M-Systems' 
DiskOnKey and Trek2000's ThumbDrive.  

Most key-chain drives work with both Macs and PCs. Some are available
with up to one gigabyte of storage space. However, USB ports are a lot slower 
than FireWire, requiring the virtual shoplifter to hang around while the 
ill-gotten gains are transferring.  

CompUSA and other computer stores could take a few simple steps to
prevent software from being copied, said Mac expert Dave Horrigan, who writes a 
syndicated Macintosh column.  

Any Mac can easily be configured to allow changes only by
administrators, he said. Also, a system profile tool logs all peripheral 
equipment, but it must be running to log an iPod. For Macs running OS X, a 
locked dummy file in an application's package will protect the entire file from 
being copied without a password.  

But Horrigan didn't think the iPod presents a serious piracy threat to
Microsoft, and doubted the company would take special measures to prevent 
in-store copying.  

"If Microsoft puts in protection it almost always screws up and causes
problems for them or their legit users," he said.  

Dennis Lloyd, publisher of iPod fan site iPodlounge, also said this is
the first time he'd heard of an iPod put to such use.  

"I can see how easy it would be to do," he said. "It's a shame someone
has stooped this low to bring bad press to the insanely great iPod."   

Related Wired Links:  

Champagne Speakers Are Bubbly  
Feb. 23, 2002 

The Round Mound of iMac Rebound  
Jan. 9, 2002 

New iMac Armed for Success  
Jan. 7, 2002 

No Sleep 'til Macworld  
Jan. 7, 2002 

iMac Unveiled Before Its Time  
Jan. 7, 2002 

Apple Gives Tech Good Name  
Jan. 7, 2002 

iWalk Looks More Like iWish  
Jan. 3, 2002 

Latest From Mac: the iHype  
Jan. 2, 2002 

I'll Be Hacked for Christmas  
Dec. 7, 2001 

LCD iMacs Due at Macworld  
Dec. 5, 2001 

Software to Connect IPod to PCs  
Nov. 16, 2001 

MacCommunist: Smash the iPod  
Oct. 23, 2001 

Apple's 'Breakthrough' iPod  
Oct. 23, 2001 

Apple's New Toy: Portable Music  
Oct. 19, 2001 

Tomorrow Never Looked So Cool  
June 23, 2001 

Copyright (C) 1994-2002 Wired Digital Inc. All rights reserved. 





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