Brands are obsessed with appearing cool; therefore, they capture and mine youth

Digital locks enable hackers to install secret 
spyware and viruses on your computer.
In the previous blink, we saw just how ineffective 
digital locks can be. But there’s more: they can 
also expose you to hackers and viruses. That’s 
because digital locks enable companies to install 
hidden software on your computer.
For instance, since computers at this point are 
designed to run essentially any program, the 
producers of digital-content locks have to 
prevent computers from running certain 

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programs, like those capable of copying a CD. 
Accomplishing 
this 
requires 
the 
secret 
installation of what’s called a rootkit, which is 
essentially a bunch of software, often malicious, 
that taps into otherwise inaccessible parts of 
your system.
Just take Sony BMG who, in 2005, sent out over 
six million CDs to customers. Unbeknownst to 
these customers, running this CD installed a 
program that prevented consumers from copying 
music off of it.
This program – a rootkit – was an easy target for 
abuse. Essentially, Sony made their customer’s 
computers vulnerable to hackers and virus 
producers, because the rootkit provided a 
gateway for installing malware, which can 
disable a user’s system, and spyware, which 
surveils 
customers’ 
computers, 
stealing 
passwords and other information.
However, Sony isn’t the only one doing this. 
Another huge scandal broke in 2009 when a 
Pennsylvania school gave out 2,300 laptops to 
its students. Installed on the laptops was hidden 
software that enabled the camera to turn on and 
snap photos without the user’s knowledge.
Thousands of unsuspecting students had their 
pictures taken, but it only became clear what 
was happening when the school used 
photographic evidence taken in a student’s 
bedroom to bust him for drug use!