Corel updates WinDVD to stop AACS hackers

Corel Software, who purchased InterVideo last August, have announced that they have issued a mandatory update for all WinDVD owners who wish to continue to use the software to view Blu-ray and HD DVD discs.

The update is being issued to address the recent cracks that have extracted volume and title keys from AACS-protected Blu-ray and HD DVD titles. "Our decision stems from recent reports that hackers have illegally obtained certain software licensing keys and have used them to duplicate copyrighted content without prior authorization," a Corel spokesperson explained in a press release. "Corel takes this situation very seriously. We have been working closely with our partners and other industry organizations to ensure we take the steps necessary to prevent copyright infringement from happening in the future."

The AACS system of copy protection was designed to adapt to hackers figuring out the Device Keys for playback units—these keys combined with the Volume and Title Keys stored on each disc are used to decrypt the content. Compromised Device Keys can be revoked, and all new high-definition discs made afterwards will simply refuse to play on a revoked device.

According to the AACS spec, only titles that are produced after the Device Key has been revoked will fail to play; existing titles should still play back without any problems. However, Corel warns WinDVD users that they should "Please be aware that failure to apply the update will result in AACS-protected HD DVD and BD playback being disabled," implying that no high-def discs will play without applying the update. It is possible that Corel designed the software to check for updates in the background and simply disable Blu-ray and HD DVD functionality if a new update was found but not installed. However, it seems more likely that Corel merely neglected to mention this aspect of the AACS specification.

While the hackers responsible for the AACS cracks did not mention WinDVD by name, it was clear that they were using this software to make their discoveries. Reaction to Corel's announcement has been fairly muted: everyone expected this patch to arrive, and the hacking community hopes that the new Device Key for the updated software will be found soon. The battle between hackers and copy protection developers will continue, with neither side gaining a decided advantage just yet.