NEW YORK (AP) -- Just weeks after recording label BMG released a CD equipped with new copy-protection technology, a Princeton grad student has figured out how to defeat it.
His trick? Hit the "shift" key while inserting the CD.
Alex Halderman, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in computer security, posted his findings on the Internet this week after testing SunnComm Technologies Inc.'s MediaMax CD-3 technology.
Unlike past CD-protection schemes, MediaMax promises more flexibility. Music buyers can play protected CDs on computers and even burn copies onto blank CDs or e-mail trial copies to friends. But songs are coded so they can't be played if circulated widely over file-sharing networks.
In an interview, Halderman said it took him three days to figure out that the "shift" key disables the Windows "autorun" function needed to activate the protection.
BMG knew of the possibility, but "the reality is if we waited for the perfect solution, we wouldn't make any progress," BMG spokesman Nathaniel Brown said.
SunnComm president Bill Whitmore said the technology was more about enabling consumers' rights rather than preventing all copying. By offering flexibility, he said, "Why would you want to steal it?"
