DRM-free Itunes files have your number
FRUITZILLA'S NEW, supposedly 'enlightened' Itunes format brands its files with your ID.
Itunes Plus, as Apple calls it, doesn't have digital restrictions management (DRM) features, and Itunes addicts boast that Apple even lets you remove copy protection from tracks you'd already downloaded for the paltry fee of 20 pence (30 cents) per tune.
That sounds good, right? Well, there's more to it than that. Itunes Plus files have the email address that you registered with the Itunes Store hidden in every file. You can find it with a basic text editor, like Windows Notepad or anything similar.
The untrusting might be apprehensive that marking Itunes files with the downloaders' email addresses might be used to facilitate tracking you down should you share any of those tunes with a few thousand of your closest friends.
Jobs' mob might not be into that, but there's another mob of thugs in suits who work for the Big Music MAFIAA that most certainly might, and indeed, can almost be counted on to try it.
We think it'll be merely a matter of hours now before someone figures out how to remove or obfuscate those email fingerprints and adjust any related internal file size and hash fields to produce Itunes Plus files that are really free, man. µ
L'Inq
Cnet
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This is nothing new. iTunes Plus has worked this way from the start. I don't see a problem with it -- I want my files to be DRM free so I can use them on any device I like, not to share them on the internet.
Since I am the only user of the files I purchased, there is no reason to "worry" about my email address being "revealed".
And if you *are* paranoid, look here: http://blogs.tech-recipes.com/professoripod/2007/06/04/itunes-plus-remove-personal-information-and-email-address/
Is this what passes for news these days?
As pointed out by Jor, this has been the case since the introduction of iTunes Plus. Clicking on an iTunes Plus track from within iTunes and selecting 'Get Info' would have revealed such information was associated with the track for anyone stupid enough to excessively share or P2P the track in the first place.
Holy smokes in The Inquirer behind-the-times on this one - as previous commenters have posted this is absolutely nothing new for iTunes Plus.
As far as I'm aware (although I haven't tested it) using a 3rd-party piece of software to convert a file from M4A to MP3, for example, should strip all the extraneous (ie, implicating) stuff out. But if someone wants to check that and report back that would be handy too.
The point is, I can edit those email addresses, change them all to CharlieDemerjian@inquirer.net and upload them all to BitTorrent..
What I am saying, is like any editable data file, it would not stand up in a court of law...
I think it would be amusing to set the email address in the files to steve.jobs@apple.com & set them loose on the p2p networks...
sed -i 's/my@mail.address/xy@abcd.1234567/g' /path/to/mediafile
Honestly, I don't mind about this myself. The whole point is, that without the DRM you can actually use the file as you want - legally. You still don't have the legal right to redistribute, however. At least you'll be able to legally play the files back on something besides an iPod now.
If you click on an iTunes Plus track in iTunes and click File- Get Info, you can see your e-mail address is part of the file.
I don't really think this is "hidden" and doesn't require you to load the file into a text editor to see it.
We weren't going to give copies to our friends, were we? Nor were we planning on upping said files to various torrents? So these files will only ever go onto one's own Pod/PC/luggable correct?
What is problem?
You don't mind if we implant a chip under your skin that monitors your behavior and can be accessed if we suspect you of a crime, do you? After all, you wouldn't break the law, would you? Then what's the problem?
Why yes, actually, I *would* mind having chips implanted in me. However, that is quite a different thing. This is more like the name tag stuck in the inside pocket of my suit by those nice people at Aquascutum. People cannot access it unless you let them. That is, if you run an operating system that gives you a say in the matter. Either way, we have worse things to worry about than Apple "hiding" an email address in their wares that says who they sold it to.
What if your computer were stolen and whoever ends up with your machine is a fan of torrents?
What if you took your computer in for repair and an unscrupulous technician decided they wanted a copy of your iTunes library?
There are lots of reasons why it's bad, but to be fair it's understandable. And as has been shown there are ways to get rid of it (although makes me wonder if that's ALL that's in there - can you say "unique serial number") ?
If your computer were stolen, then you would have reported this to the police, and be able to present evidence of this if the Mafiaa comes knocking. If you don't trust the technicians in the shop, then save your important files to an external drive, and leave it at home. Either way, I cannot imagine that if my computer were stolen, or corrupt technicians would be helping themselves to my files, the first thing that would go through my mind would be "Oh no! My personalised MP3s might end up on a bittorrent." Perspective, people. There's much more damaging stuff on my harddisks than MP3/OGG files.