CD/DVD lower and upper filter unsigned drivers installed silently

> George--
>
> The only way I know that you can practice preventive medicine as to these
> filter values that show up not infrequently behind the scenes with Windows
> is to check for them. Think of it is flossing your teeth in Windows.
> Think of it as one of the many chores you have to do to keep windows
> running correctly versus a Unix based system, and think of IE7 and Vista
> as another era of hotfixes and continual maintainance. If there is a way
> to stop them from showing up, I hope to see it here.
>
> Just save the registry subkey location for this in your reg--and check it
> every once in a while.
>
> From:
>
> CD-ROM drive or DVD-ROM drive appears to be missing after you install
> Windows XP or Windows Vista Beta 2
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/320553/en-us
>
> HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/System/CurrentControlSet/Control/Class/{4d36e965-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}
>
> REG_MULTI_SZ data type UpperFilters
> REG_MULTI_SZ data type LowerFilters
>
> The MSKB should be rewritten to explain that burning software interference
> can be expected in any number of ways at any point in the burning
> process--including opening the software and closing it, and the actual
> steps in burning--and that these filters are not dependent on "an
> incorrect device driver" being installed.
>
> 1) This software will not damage your CD/DVD player or writer--they
> impact the software not the hardware. They don't work on the optical
> drives--they work on the burning software. They make you think they are
> making your Plextor do this or that but they aren't. That Plextor works
> with some burning software from somewhere. It can impact Nero, Plextool,
> Sonic, Roxio, you name it and the filter values can mess with your
> ***burning software application..
>
> 2) They can interrupt any type of DVD ***software at any point in its
> functioning--they are not interfering with your Plextor or any other
> optical drives directly--they can stop the burning software from opening,
> selecting an Iso for example or files to burn, and they can keep it from
> closing.
>
> 4) I'm not following you here but again no software is immune from these.
> You just have to save the location of the keys where these filter values
> show up, and nuke 'em.
>
> You said:
>
> "At least if the software companies offer to install or not to install
> this
> painfull drivers. These are iTunes, Ulead, Pinnacle, Sonic and others."
>
> I'm not sure what you mean by this George. These are not drivers. These
> are registry modifications and those companies you named have no control
> over this and they haven't chosen to do anything. Itunes made by Apple
> does not involve burning in any fashion--although its mp3 collection can
> be burned--and it is the way Ipod transfers music. I have seen Sonic and
> Roxio do this for years.
>
> The software companies don't have control over this--it's a function of
> other software you introduce or install in your equation. They're well
> aware of it--it's been happening as long as Windows, and if they could
> have stopped this they would have by now.
>
> MSFT and driver integrity is a whole other thing. They are well aware
> Device Manager does not work,and have admitted it in Beta chats, and their
> lust for mediocrity has prevented them from lifting a finger to fix driver
> location--DM could assist people installing drivers far more efficiently,
> and driver reliability in Device Manager.
>
> 5) Check with Plextor as to what the context of their firmware updates
> are. It won't impact this but different companies have policies on when to
> use them. Sony's policy is "if it works, leave the firmware alone" but I
> added it and my burning knock on wood with Isos and other material has
> been perfect.
>
> 6) One trick that has helped some people with problems burning .ISos and
> burning in general in Windows is to do these steps which could help and
> are rarely mentioned:
>
> Get to Dev Manager by typing devmgmt.msc in run/win key + pause break or
> Rt.
> click My Computer>Prop>hardware tab>Device Manager if you like 5 steps
> instead of one cmd. If you're set to PMI here change to DMO and if set to
> DMO change to PMI:
>
> a.. Click the + in front of IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers
> a.. Double Click the Secondary IDE Controller
> a.. Click Advanced Settings
> a.. Under Device 1  Next to Transfer Mode choose DMA (or vise versa)
> a.. Click OK
> a.. Reboot your System
>
>
> 7) I have been harping on the fact--ignored by all the Windows/MSFT
> syncophants here who think the company can do no wrong (just wait until
> they see SPP shut down their quad core 4GHx on the floor Vista computers
> when it mistakenly targets them as pirated Windows users and they
> aren't--that's bound to win a lot of friends in and out of the
> enterprise)--that Device Manager does not in Vista or any OS including and
> since Win 95 tell you if drivers work. Here's a prime example--when the
> filter values are blocking your CD/DVD playing and writing Device Manager
> can look perfect and tell you drivers are working. Drivers may be but
> they don't get the chance to work.
>
> The author and MVP of one of the major books on Windows OS's and numerous
> articles for MSFT over the year Ed Bott has taken MSFT to task for their
> sloppy work with WGA repeatedly in the last few months and the same sloppy
> work with SPP and MSFT has had totally ignorant spokes persons speak to
> different questioners that are quoted on Ed's two blogs currently with the
> most inane and no knowledgable defenses of WGA which does not work
> correctly and SPP which will not work correctly immaginable. They are
> making a fool of themselves with the implemenation of WGA and SPP and they
> are going to learn to back off when it hits them in the area they
> worship--their money.
>
> See and note in these articles the inane responses of MSFT
> representatives to the author of one of the best selling major books on
> their major Operating System software and others--one more example of
> MSFT's perception of the public as stupid and their tin ear contempt for
> the public who are their customers and put Windows on 97% of the boxes on
> the planet.
>
> I want people to note this conversation because it speaks volumes about
> MSFT's inane contracted support and MSFT's oversight of it and MSFT's
> attitude as to how little it means when they represent themselves to their
> customers--this is a conversation that Ed Bott had with "MSFT PSS"
> probably Convergys of Ohio contracting:
>
> From Ed Bott at http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=84
>
> "I called Microsoft support to see if there is a hidden option to say,
> "yep, I've got updates turned to manual: it's okay." The rep said, "No and
> why wouldn't you want to get the latest updates to Windows."
>
> I responded with the issues relating to WGA. He spent some time telling me
> that WGA was a good thing, etc. I reiterated that I have accepted all the
> updates except WGA and just want to review the updates before they're
> installed on my machine.
>
> He told me that "in the fall, having the latest WGA will become mandatory
> and if its not installed, Windows will give a 30 day warning and when the
> 30 days is up and WGA isn't installed, Windows will stop working, so you
> might as well install WGA now." [emphasis added]
>
> I'm wondering if Microsoft has the right to disable Windows functionality
> or the OS as a whole (tantamount to revoking my legitimate Windows
> license) if I do not install every piece of software that they send it
> updates.
>
> That can't be true, can it? I'm always suspicious of any report that comes
> from a front-line tech support drone, so I sent a note to Microsoft asking
> for an official confirmation or, better yet, a denial. Instead, I got this
> terse response from a Microsoft spokesperson:
>
> As we have mentioned previously, as the WGA Notifications program expands
> in the future, customers may be required to participate. [emphasis added]
> Microsoft is gathering feedback in select markets to learn how it can best
> meet its customers' needs and will keep customers informed of any changes
> to the program.
>
> That's it. That's the entire response.
>
> Uh-oh. Currently, Windows users have the ability to opt out of the Windows
> Genuine Advantage program and still get security patches and other
> Critical Updates delivered via Windows Update. The only thing you give up
> is the ability to download optional updates. Hackers have been working
> overtime to find ways to disable WGA notification. If WGA becomes
> mandatory, would it mean that Microsoft could prevent Windows from working
> if it determines - possibly erroneously - that your copy isn't "genuine"?
> That's a chilling possibility, and Microsoft refuses an easy opportunity
> to deny that that option is in its plans.
>
> Over at Ed Bott's Windows Expertise, I've been soliciting feedback from
> Windows users who've been burned by WGA. So far, I've received 20
> comments. Here's a sampling:
>
> a.. I have an XP Media center with a promise RAID 0 4-disc array. When I
> installed the WPA it broke the drivers for the array by causing failed
> delayed writes (half of the array just "disapears".) If I do a system
> restore to before the installation of the WPA everything goes back to
> working just fine.
> b.. [S]ince installing WPA : I've had blue screens and a total inability
> to boot. I had to run the XP repair function to get the computer to boot.
> I had a damaged boot sector on the hard drive. I am running two drives on
> a RAID 1 config.
> c.. I purchased a SEALED OEM copy of XP Professional. WGA said the
> license key was already used. I called MS and they said I should uninstall
> and buy another copy. I told them I wasn't made of money and hung-up.
> d.. Microsoft rejected the product key that came with the ThinkPad I'm
> using. I had to call in and they gave me another code to enter which
> supposedly worked but now I get the blue screen of death about every other
> time I reboot. I've also lost all internet connectivity.
> e.. I sent my Compaq Presario notebook for service repair, and it fails
> the WGA check. I have a legal version of windows xp professional on it.
> But I have no way to correct this problem.
> What's most disturbing about this whole saga is Microsoft's complete lack
> of transparency on the issue. And before the ABM crowd jumps in with
> predictable "What did you expect?" comments, let me argue that Microsoft
> actually has a fairly good track record on transparency issues in recent
> years. Windows Product Activation is very well documented, and when a
> similar uproar occurred in 2001, it was squelched quickly by some fairly
> prominent postings from high-level executives who provided details without
> a lot of spin. Likewise, the Microsoft Security Response Center has done
> an exceptional job at providing quick responses to security issues. (Just
> ask Adam Shostack.)
>
> Currently, no one at Microsoft is blogging about this fiasco. No executive
> has been quoted on the record about it. There are very few technical
> details available, and those that have been published are being tumbled
> through the spin machine and spit out as press releases.
>
> If Microsoft really does plan to turn WGA into a kill switch in September,
> be prepared for an enormous backlash."
>
> From Ed Bott on October 5, 2006:
>
> UAC Good; SPP Not So Good
> http://www.edbott.com/weblog/
>
> "SPP, on the other hand, is the successor to Windows Genuine Advantage.
> Both initiatives have in common a reliance on Orwellian language that
> appears to be in the customer's benefit but is actually a horrible
> inconvenience and potentially a nightmare. Despite Microsoft's attempts to
> spin the new program, there's no advantage for the Windows customer, and
> the only thing being protected is Microsoft's revenue stream."
>
> Guess there will be a WGA "Kill Switch After All"
> Published October 4, 2006 by Ed Bott
> http://www.edbott.com/weblog/?p=1495
>
> Is Microsoft about to release a Windows "kill switch"?
> http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=84
>
> Search on WGA
> http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/
>
> October 4, 2006 For Vista, WGA gets Tougher
> http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=148
>
> Ed Bott Blog Readers Burned by WGA
> http://www.edbott.com/weblog/?p=1370#comments
>
> WGA is a Mess
> http://www.edbott.com/weblog/?p=1476
>
> Microsoft Kill Switch in Windows Vista and threat to disable Windows (the
> so-called Microsoft Software Protection Platform)
> http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=84
>
> Microsoft's Software Protection Platform: Protecting Software and
> Customers
> from Counterfeiters
> http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/f...rotection.mspx
>
> Best and good luck,
>
> CH
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> "George Valkov" <a@b.com> wrote in message
> news:%23pm5A6i6GHA.4996@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

>>I am borred from all those programs that install upper or lower filter
>>driver for my DVD burner. How do I prevent this installation?
>> Thsese are always unsigned drivers, but windows will not display the
>> 'Unsigned driver installation' warning.
>>
>> These filters make my Plextor PX-760A dvd-recorder behave like a cheap
>> drive. Erasing a DVD+RW @4x takes more that 1 hour, performance is low,
>> 1000 buffer underruns for 1.5 GB burn @4x while my harddisk can do 150
>> MB/s. Slow performance, long delays and so on.
>>
>> Question:
>> Can these software damage my recorder? I don`t care about the wasted
>> medium, but the recorder is very expensive.
>>
>> I have a second windows installation for testing software. If I really
>> need it, but it uses upper/lower filter, I will (backup, install, restore
>> the SYSTEM registry hive). I`m borred from this nightmare! And most of
>> these software offer me CD/DVD burning features that I will never use. I
>> can always burn the produced CD/DVD image file with PlexTool or Nero.
>>
>> At least if the software companies offer to install or not to install
>> this painfull drivers. These are iTunes, Ulead, Pinnacle, Sonic and
>> others.
>>
>>

>
>