DavidR,
I respectfully disagree. Here is a quote from http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=27426
"The prefix 'mal-' according to Merriam-Webster means 1) bad 2) abnormal 3) inadequate. -ware is short for software. This means malware is defined as bad software."
"If you look at the Sony rootkit, it does several things. It strips you of your rights, it potentially causes your computer harm, it breaks your computer if you remove it, and eats your CPU time. All of these things are bad, no question there. It also does the end user no good in any way, shape or form, not even by the most demented stretch of the imagination. It only hurts those who spent money to buy it."
I think this certainly qualifies as bad and abnormal.
You can disagree if you wish, I have no problem with that; you only need read my previous posts about this to gage my feeling about this issue and see I'm no supporter of Sony.
However what they have done shouldn't be classed as a rootkit virus, my use of the word malware is generic for thing picked up by anti-virus programs and in this context an AV I don't believe should pick it up.
It strips you of your rights, it potentially causes your computer harm, it breaks your computer if you remove it, and eats your CPU time.
None of which can be considered reason to be classed as a virus, after all that is what an AV has to do. Your rights aren't stripped (you have a choice, don't use Sony music or products), removal is only a problem if you install it in the first place (if you did you are accepting it), CPU time as I see it would only be used when you try to do something that is likely to be classed as piracy, e.g burning copies of the CD, etc. (so if you don't do that the hit on CPU time would be negligible).
It doesn't really matter if it is bad or abnormal, what matters is if it qualifies as a virus for an Anti-Virus program to do something about it. Not to mention if an AV did remove it incorrectly, it could screw up your system as been reported by a number of the articles. Then people would be all over the AV for screwing up their system.
So I guess we will have to agree to disagree.