I've been reading all this stuff about FairUse4WM and it seems there is a lot of hype and people are really happy about it. But then the guy who puts it up is being sought after for a lawsuit. What does this program do? Here are some links I was reading in the doom9 forum...

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=114916

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=127943

munch, the program removes the DRM from your downloads. So basically, stealing the material. This is a program that probably should not ne discussed on this site!

Basically, it's a tool to remove DRM from wmv files, but you can't use it with newer WMP.

o ok but the guy who made it had a disclaimer saying it should only be used on material you have purchased. So i guess its one of those programs that is made for a bad purpose but can be disguised as something innocent.

"should only be used on material you have purchased."

should being the operative word here.

ok i know on itunes, they have the mp4 format or whatever its called. And i switched from an ipod to a gigabeat which uses windows media player. So my songs wouldnt transfer in to windows media player (most of them). So i converted all of my files in mp3 format and eventually they were all able to transfer to WMP. Is this the same concept as this 'fairuse4wm'?? Or are there other uses for it?

munch, as I said before. This programs "use" is for removing the DRM. I would not be surprised in the least bit if this thread is not deleted or locked!

Yeah i understand its illegal to do that. Im just trying to understand how it works and why it is so illegal to do this. Im not trying to insight people to download this and start doing illegal things. Ive just heard about it in the news and am curious about it.

There is always Google!

From a news article in the paper today:
Seattle, WA: Microsoft reacts to new hack attack:

"This program gives the 'average user' tools to unlock copy-protected digital music and movies."

It is illegal because the material is copyrighted. That means is cannot be legally copied without permission

The latest version of this program allows users to crack the Microsoft DRM for Windows Media audio & video files.

Microsoft has plugged two holes which allow this in earlier versions.

In a word, it is illegal because someone owns the rights to the use of the material. Removing those rights is no different than breaking the lock and entering someone's house in order to steal those things that belong to them. There is no other reason for breaking that lock- (fire and medical emergencies excluded in case of 'house').

Complete story in Google News: http://tinyurl.com/3cnblk

I would have googled it but i would rather have techspot's pov

I just still don't get why this is a big issue. Can't people copy files anyway? Can't you burn it on a cd then give it to someone and they can just import it onto their computer? Or cant you just send someone the file through AIM direct connect or something? I feel like it is a useless program and there are other ways around it, not that i do any of these things. I buy my music!! I like making the rich richer

This issue is that there are some rules on the Internet that are suppose to be followed. Can they be broker? Absolutely, most of the time. If we break the rule, are we doing something wrong? Absolutely, all of the time.

Can I do it anyway? Sure. But stealing is stealing no matter what label you put on it.

Just because a software program exists does not mean it can or should be used, indiscriminately. If it did, none of us would be safe and it wouldn't have anything to do with music.