Though there are no known problems with software, that could change and leave millions of unsuspecting PC users at risk of having their machines taken over by malware, said Ero Carrera, a researcher at F-Secure, a computer security firm.

"The code of the application is not exactly well done," he said. "I would tend to believe there are people already working on finding exploits."

The copy protection technology, which limits how many times a CD can be copied, was included on about 20 titles, including discs from The Bad Plus and Vivian Green, among others.

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Gilliat-Smith and Sony BMG spokesman John McKay said the technology had been on the market for about eight months and there had been no major complaints prior to Russinovich's blog post. Still, a newer, similar technology was in the process of rolling out before the latest controversy erupted.

The patches that reveal the hidden files are being made available to antivirus companies as well as customers who visit the Sony BMG site. They do not remove the copy protection software, however.

McKay said customers can request a program to safely uninstall everything by visiting the Sony BMG Web site at http://cp.sonybmg.com. That site, however, requires a form to be filled out and submitted.

In a test of the form late Wednesday, an e-mail confirming receipt was quickly returned by Sony BMG customer service, but it included no instructions on how to remove the software. The message promised another reply "shortly."

The process is unlike the vast majority of Windows software, which can be easily uninstalled — by the user, without permission — through the "Add or Remove Programs" tool in the operating system's control panel.

The controversy highlights the need for rules as to what content providers can and can't install on PCs to protect their property, said Russinovich, who is co-founder and chief software architect at Winternals Software, which specializes in advanced systems software for Microsoft Windows. (MSNBC is a Microsoft-NBC joint venture.)

"We need to get some formality about what's legal, what's ethical and what's fair — and what level of disclosure there needs to be," he said. "It's fine for Sony to say we're not going to do that now. What kind of guarantee do we have they're not going to do it at a future date or that other companies are not going to do this?"

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