[loulug] Re: [IP] Re: Apple embeds email address in DRM-free downloads

  • From: Errol Sayre <errol@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: loulug@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Fri, 1 Jun 2007 09:28:50 -0500

As far as I'm concerned the real question is "can you play these files in other media players?" The answer is yes.
I tested Mplayer, VLC, RealPlayer, even exporting a "pass through" of the file via Quicktime Pro, all these things worked, which is WAY better than the previous itunes songs...
Interestingly, the original m4a from iTS had my name and my appleid (which is my email...) but the passthrough quicktime encode had only my name (which appears to be embedded within the audio track encoding)
Also, for some reason the original file when played in vlc and mplayer caused the volume to freak out, but the passthrough mp4 file played just fine... 

On Jun 1, 2007, at 8:53 AM, Errol Sayre wrote:
Well, this is pretty much exactly what I expected. It's not preventing you from using the content anywhere, but it does provide accountability for how you use what you purchase.
I.e. You can just share a purchase with everyone willy nilly unless you want to slap your name all over it.
However, it's possible there will be an easy way to remove this information and make the song unidentifiable. 

On Jun 1, 2007, at 8:34 AM, Tobin Maginnis wrote:




Begin forwarded message:

From: Joe Touch <touch@xxxxxxx>
Date: May 31, 2007 11:06:22 PM EDT
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [IP] Apple embeds email address in DRM-free downloads

FWIW, email is NOT embedded (ARS Technica never said email was, BTW);
your AppleID and billing name are.

Results of two tests are shown below.

Conclusion: your AppleID is tied to the song; the song won't play
without it.
While you can create a bogus billing name, your AppleID is tied to your 
credit card info. Apple won't issue an AppleID without a valid credit
card.

So, AFAICT, "iTunes Plus" is *not* DRM free. They're managing digital
rights if they force the tag to remain in the song, IMO.

Joe

---------

TEST 2: "Free song of the week", under "iTunes Plus" (DRM free)

I tested:
        - downloading the "free song of the week" (DRM free)

I found:
        - my AppleID
        - my name (as part of my billing address under my account)
I did not find any other information associated with my account, e.g., I 
did NOT find:
        - my email address
        - my street, city, state, or zip code
        - my phone number
When I zeroed out the AppleID and name above, the song would no longer play - iTunes was happy trying, but acted like the file was corrupt, and 
played only a half a second or so.

Conclusion: "free song of the week" is not DRM-free

-----------------
TEST 2: "Free song of the week", not under "iTunes Plus" (not DRM free) 

I tested:
        - downloading the "free song of the week" (not DRM free)
                NB: there is no indication that this is DRM-free

I found:
        - my AppleID
        - my name (as part of my billing address under my account)
I did not find any other information associated with my account, e.g., I 
did NOT find:
        - my email address
        - my street, city, state, or zip code
        - my phone number
When I zeroed out the AppleID and name above, the song would no longer 
play - iTunes reported that I needed to authorize my computer to play
songs owned by the blanked-out ID.

Conclusion: the non-DRM "free song of the week" not DRM-free
(to be fair, they never assert that it would be)

----

David Farber wrote:



Begin forwarded message:

From: "Steven M. Bellovin" <smb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: May 30, 2007 5:38:47 PM EDT
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Apple embeds email address in DRM-free downloads

According to Ars Technica, Apple's iTunes site embeds account
information, including full name and email address, in all purchased
songs.  This includes the DRM-free songs available starting today.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070530-apple-hides- account- info-in-drm-free-music-too.html 


(I have not yet independently verified this.)


        --Steve Bellovin, http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~smb


--
----------------------------------------
Joe Touch
Sr. Network Engineer, USAF TSAT Space Segment


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