truly odd LG DVD-writer "feature"

[Giles Orr]

2009/12/28 Colin McGregor <colin.mc151-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org>:
> On 12/28/09, D. Hugh Redelmeier <hugh-pmF8o41NoarQT0dZR+AlfA at public.gmane.org> wrote:
>> Clifford told me about this, and I think you deserve to be warned.
>>
>> LG DVD writers have some whacky feature in the firmware.  When the
>> drive is empty and closed, it tells the OS that it has a disk, and
>> that (simulated) disk has a program called "Bluebirds", in MS Windows
>> .exe format.
>
> This is true of SOME models of LG DVD writers, I know as I bought one
> this fall :-( .
>
>> Recommendation: stay away from those drives.
>>
>> http://www.msfn.org/board/lg-gh22ns50-bluebirds-removal-tool-t135300-page-20.html
>> http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1216969
>>
>> There is a firmware update to remove this feature.  But you appear to
>> need Windows to flash the update.  Make sure that your drive is not
>> empty when you boot into Windows: otherwise, I think Bluebirds will
>> install on that machine.  Yikes.
>
> Not quite so simple. I got the firmware update/Bluebird removal
> program up and running under WINE under Ubuntu, pain in the @#$%.
>
> Had I known what I was facing when I bought the drive I likely would
> have gone to another vendor/model. Still, it is a decent enough drive,
> and at least when I was buying this fall the least expensive drive on
> the market (least expensive IF you don't figure in your time to get
> rid of Bluebird...).
>
> Not recommended, but hardly a total loss...

>From a review on newegg:

"This burner has some type of virtual software built into the drive
called 'Bluebirds'. Bluebirds is advertisement linked to the LG
website to get you to buy more LG products. If you choose not to
install the software you will be prompted to install it every time you
close the drive door. If you install it you get the tray icons
pointing to more LG products. If you remove it from the startup it
adds itself back to the startup every time you close the drive door."

I have a friend who likes to go off on verbal rants - recently against
various pieces of software as he sorts out what he wants installed on
Linux, but also against pharmaceutical companies or politicians or
whatever.  I'm usually the guy telling him to tone it down, dial it
back, ease up.  But when he exploded about LG and this little episode,
I was totally in agreement.  When the movie companies put material I
_have_ to watch on their DVDs, I think it's despicable but I still buy
the DVDs.  The difference between that behaviour (which wastes my
time) and the LG drive is that the drive is actively attempting to
compromise the security of my computer system.  Consider: they've put
installation software into a piece of hardware that's not supposed to
have it, and opened up another attack vector on your computer system -
another storage location for malicious software.  Buying their product
encourages this kind of behaviour, and will cause them to expand their
incursions into your system and the reduction of your system security
for their commercial benefit.

The newegg poster mentioned above went on to say that newegg was
awesome because they had immediately and without protest accepted the
return of this defective piece of hardware.  I think that's the only
thing that should be done with them.

-- 
Giles
http://www.gilesorr.com/
gilesorr-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org
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