DRM on hard drives??

[Gritz]

I have read that Western Digital and Seagate are building DRM into their hard drives now and that I may not be able to move files such as mp3s across my network if I were to purchase one. Also indicated is that I cannot play movies that I have backed up to my hard drive, or play DivX movies .... or even short video clips from such a hard drive to my monitor if I were to buy one of these. Can anyone shed some light on this?

[thecoalman]

Well that's one I would have chalked up to rumor if Google didn't tell me otherwise: http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/12/western-digital.html

Seems it only affects the 1TB model and can be bypassed.

<begin rant>
As most people know I generally side with companies to be able to protect their content anyway they feel fit, doesn't necessarily mean I agree with it. However this is pure bullshit, the drive is assuming just because of the file extension it's pirated. This is going to have a lot of people pissed.
<end rant>

[Ai Haibara]

I don't know if it assumes it's pirated, so much as the server software doesn't allow anyone to move/download it/whatever. But then, if someone's setting up a server, don't they just use Apache or Windows server software, anyway? (Not sure.)

Here's a previous discussion on VH: https://forum.videohelp.com/topic341787.html

[thecoalman]

I don't know if it assumes it's pirated, so much as the server software doesn't allow anyone to move/download it/whatever.

If you own the drive, you should be the one that decides that.

[Ai Haibara]

You'll get no argument from me.

I thought I read that you did have to use WD's server software (specific to that type of drive?) in order for it to block the filetypes, though, and was wondering if someone could just get around that by using, say, Apache or the Windows server software. At any rate, it shouldn't be too hard to find a different drive to use, either. :I

[CrayonEater]

As I pointed out in the WD post, I will no longer do business with WD, nor any other manufacturer that forces this upon users. In fairness, I do feel it is possible that this is actually a security feature; it is quite easy for files (potentially-copyrighted files) to be shared accidentally, or even intentionally, on a corporate network, and this is a means of protecting against such activity and preventing corporate users from being exposed to the militant litigation and harassment of Hollywood. Again, as a security consultant, I do know that security isn't just about protecting yourself from hackers; it's about protecting the company from user's own stupidity, be it accidental or intentional misuse of computers.

Nevertheless, I don't like the fact that this feature is effectively "enabled by default", even if there are workarounds available. It is not the place of hardware manufacturers (or software, for that matter), to determine what I can do with my data. If this were a purely optional, disabled-by-default, or so-called "value-added" feature, I wouldn't have a problem with it; indeed, I'd use it in most cases. But this is bad news, and sets a bad precedent insofar as how WD is going about implementing it. And this is why WD has lost my business permanently.

[Gritz]

Thanks guys .... I appreciate the responses. Seems there is a workaround but the mere fact that many will just install the software as a normal part of the package and then later discover this thorn, is troubling and I suspect a cause for many returns and a blot of WD's reputation, and rightly so. Myself, I'll just avoid buying WD drives at this point as a matter of policy.

[oldandinthe way]

This applies to Western Digital Network Servers (Drives with an Etherrnet Connection, processor and software). Not to hard drives.

The author of the article in wired is an idiot. This only applies to MyBook World Edition.

It will cause no returns and no bad will from people who buy WD products, because none of them will buy the server with or without DRM.

[Gritz]

Ok .... got an official response from WD. From WD and your responses it appears that I was misunderstanding the limitations it places on your network IF you use their software. (Which you would think is the logical intent). Seems to me like a better pr route would be to make this an additional "optional security feature" that one could purchase separately for an few extra few bucks. In this way a prospective purchaser would read up and it would become quite clear what it does and does not do and if it's even necessary. IMHO anyway. But I still fault them for not being more up front and clearer about the software.

Thank you for contacting Western Digital Customer Service and Support.

None of our hard drives contain DRM. You may have seen an article recently stating that the My Book World drive limits certain media types from being accessed when using a different Mionet account. The Mionet software that comes with the My Book World drive prevents other users from accessing media files on the drive. The Mionet software does not have to be used with the My Book World drive but it was intended to be used with it. If the My Book World drive is accessed without the Mionet software there are no restrictions to file types that can be accessed. The Mionet software prevents you from sharing your media files with others but lets the owner of the drive still access them.

Sincerely,
James G.
Western Digital Service and Support