They broke DVD encryption, so why would the Napsters of the world be any different? Actually, this is Microsoft's bad - their DRM protection called "PlaysForSure" powers Napster and numerous other music download sites, and it's been hacked up twice now, with version 1.2 of Fairuse4WM tool designed to circumvent an emergency hack Microsoft put in place.When you consider that the actual providers need some time to implement whatever patch Microsoft gives them, and the rental model of Rhapsody, Yahoo Music et al. could allow for unlimited downloads ripe for DRM removal, well, it must be like being back in college with the O.G. Napster for some folks right now. Conspiracy theorists might say Microsoft "allowed" their own DRM to be broken to make their upcoming "Zune" music project an appealing alternative, but that's on some X-Files nonsense. Perhaps.
We can confirm (just for test purposes, of course), that the tool was working on Rhapsody and Urge files as of Monday still. Apple fans, don't fret - rumor has it there's an updated QTFairUse that will work on your iTunes collection too (this after Apple patched things up against the original tool).
Don't ask us where to download this stuff - you know how to Google, people.
[...] The PlaysForSure standard also has support for music “rental”. You pay a monthly subscription fee, and can download as much content as you like, giving you the capability to play it on a computer or transfer it to a compatible device. You don’t own the content; you must continue to pay a monthly fee or the license will expire and you will no longer be able to play the media file. Staunch anti-DRM advocates oppose this scheme as well, but it seems like a much more sane approach for rights management. Users may temporarily access music they might only intend on listening to for a month or two, and can then discard the tracks. This scheme allows for a broad access to musical catalogues, so those interested in exploring new music they might not normally encounter can load up their players as they see fit. Of course, the more these schemes get hacked, the less likely the industry may be to continue supporting it. [...]