"This behavior can be verified by loading then disabling MediaMax according to the following instructions:
Start with a Windows 2000/XP system with empty CD drives.
1. Click the Start button and select Control Panel from the Start Menu.
2. Double-click on the System control panel icon.
3. Select the Hardware tab and click the Device Manager button.
4. Configure Device Manager by clicking "Show hidden devices" and "Devices by connection," both from the View menu.
5. Insert the Anthony Hamilton CD into the computer and allow the SunnComm software to start. If MediaMax has never been started before on the same computer, the SbcpHid driver should appear on the list for the first time. However, on some systems Windows needs to be rebooted before the driver becomes visible.
At this point you can attempt to copy tracks from the CD with applications like MusicMatch Jukebox or Windows Media Player. Copies made while the driver is active will sound badly garbled, as in this 9-second clip [10].
Next, follow these additional steps to disable MediaMax:
1. Select the SbcpHid driver from the Device Manager list and click "Properties" from the Action Menu.
2. Click the Driver tab and click the Stop button to disable the driver.
3. Set the Startup Type to "Disabled" using the dropdown list.
With the driver stopped, you can verify that the same applications copy every track successfully. Setting the Startup Type to disabled prevents MediaMax from restarting when the computer is rebooted. It will remain deactivated until LaunchCD.exe is allowed to run again.
MediaMax's protections are ineffective because the driver program can easily be disabled or, depending on the system configuration, it might never be installed to begin with. As a result, audio content is vulnerable to copying in nearly all deployed systems. SunnComm's press release may be technically correct--if their testers always ran the MediaMax application before trying to copy audio, they likely would see protection in every case. However, in practice the software often fails to start, and when it does start, users can manually suppress it. Here are some examples:
* Computers running Linux or Mac OS 9 can't run the MediaMax software at all, so they can always copy the recording.
* Many users disable the autorun feature [11] (autostart on Mac OS), so their systems will be able to copy the disc unless the user manually launches MediaMax.
* Windows users who haven't disabled autorun can suspend it when they play a SunnComm-protected disc by holding down the shift key for a few seconds while inserting the CD. They can then copy the data normally. (This won't work if the driver is active because the user has accepted the SunnComm EULA or because MediaMax ran since the system booted. However, affected users can still copy the disc by manually disabling the driver using a procedure like the one above.)
In all these cases, the audio tracks are left unprotected.
These vulnerabilities will be difficult or impossible to repair. SunnComm's software can't take any corrective action if it isn't started, and all these flaws involve ways that it is prevented from running in the first place. To make matters worse, MediaMax, unlike earlier copy-prevention techniques, works entirely in software. This means a moderately skilled programmer could, in only a few minutes, write an application to watch for and unload the SbcpHid driver, neutralizing MediaMax's copy resistance while leaving all the disc's other features intact.
SunnComm's claims of robust protection collapse when subjected to scrutiny, and their system's weaknesses are not only academic. The Washington Post story [2] notes that a key test of the disc's copy-prevention abilities would be how long after its release the tracks appeared on peer-to-peer music trading networks. I searched Kazaa on September 27, when the album had only been on sale for four days, and already all the songs were available for download. If SunnComm or BMG really believed this disc was difficult to copy, then its actual weakness should be as embarrassing as the discovery in 2002 that Sony's key2audio scheme can be defeated using only a felt-tipped pen [12]. "
http://www.cs.princeton.edu/~jhalderm/cd3/
Wheee, I just violated the DMCA and could go to jail. The Velvelt Revolver CD should copy if you diable auto-play, and then you try to burn the CD. Also, since the CD is not labeled as "copy-protected" but is labeled as a standard CD; you have ever right to return the CD to the store.
Laugh. Burn. Return.