oh, microsoft…

Microsoft skipped the whole Patch Tuesday circus and took only 3 days to get a patch out the door for a ‘vulnerability’ in its PlaysForSure DRM system. Basically, the patch is aimed at blocking the FairUse4WM program that can strip the DRM from protected Windows Media 10 and 11 files. Bruce Schneier lays out quite clearly what matters to Microsoft:

Now, this isn’t a “vulnerability” in the normal sense of the word: digital rights management is not a feature that users want. Being able to remove copy protection is a good thing for some users, and completely irrelevant for everyone else. No user is ever going to say: “Oh no. I can now play the music I bought for my PC on my Mac. I must install a patch so I can’t do that anymore.”

But to Microsoft, this vulnerability is a big deal. It affects the company’s relationship with major record labels. It affects the company’s product offerings. It affects the company’s bottom line. Fixing this “vulnerability” is in the company’s best interest; never mind the customer.

So now it’s blatantly obvious what Microsoft cares about. I’m not surprised. Needless to say this patch has already been bypassed by the FairUse4WM people.