Gurney -

Sony claimed that their first rootkit was on disks that were sold "only in the US" then later admitted "some in Canada." Early reports indicated many in the UK, although Sony denied distributing it there. One investigator has tracked "returns" from the program with more coming from China than from anywhere else, but with returns - indicating distribution of that particular program - from nearly all countries. There have been many claims that China is responsible for quite a lot of counterfeiting of CDs and DVDs, so it's possible that Sony has no idea where their crapware has been distributed.

Their "second attempt" actually gives a warning that it is about to install something, and you can decline the installation. Unfortunately, before it asks it creates a security breach that it does not remove if you tell it not to finish the installation (or if you let it install). This is closer to the "Mac version" DRM program that was on the first disks, although the second round produced a slightly different - and more dangerous - Mac version.

The original root kit that Sony used has been found on "hacker" websites, and can be fairly easily incorporated into other malware by any slimeball teenager with a "virus cookbook."

John