Things just keep getting worse for Sony BMG. By now, most of you hopefully know about the rootkit debacle -- CDs infected with a certain Sony software package would take over core parts of a customer's system, take steps to prevent detection, destablize the computer and open it to attack by viruses. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Sony recalled the CDs, but not before infuriating its customer base and inviting several lawsuits.

But wait, ladies and gentlemen -- that was just the first Sony malware package. There's another, quite different bit of nastiness still in the wild; and it, too, can do some bad things to your computer. And it's going from bad to worse with real speed.

This other piece of software, designed for Sony by SunnComm, is actual spyware -- it "phones home" to Sony with information about what you're listening to, when. At the same time, it introduces a security vulnerability into users' computers. Easy fix, right? Well, Sony issued a patch on Tuesday which appears to merely make the problem worse. They've since put out another patch, which we've heard fixes the first and second vulnerabilities but can lead to hair loss and indigestion. Oh, and it's still spyware, of course.