(Associated Press via NewsEdge) The much-maligned copy protection program that Sony BMG Music Entertainment put on CDs last year is still posing a threat to computer users running certain versions of AOL or PestPatrol anti-spyware software.
The glitch may cause a computer's CD-ROM drive to be disabled, according to the Texas attorney general's office, which said that the problem was discovered by officials who have been testing the XCP copy-protection technology as part of the state's lawsuit against Sony BMG.
State investigators found that if a CD with XCP technology is loaded on a computer running AOL's Safety and Security Center software, the program's anti-spyware feature will attempt to delete the XCP components, but often while also disabling the CD-ROM's configuration in the PC's operating system.
The same glitch surfaced on computers running CA Inc.'s PestPatrol separately from AOL, the state said.
CA and AOL were informed of the glitch last month and have made a software patch available that fixes it.
In a statement, Sony BMG said it worked with AOL and CA to resolve the issues with their software and noted it has made a software patch and uninstaller program for XCP available on its Web site.
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