The two digital rights management technologies most consumers are familiar with belong to Microsoft and Apple. Apple’s FairPlay technology is the DRM used for songs sold on iTunes, while Microsoft’s PlaysForSure DRM is used by almost every other legitimate download service, including Napster and Real Networks.

Of course, Microsoft has always been somewhat of a target for hackers. Most computer viruses target machines running Microsoft operating systems, and the company’s Internet Explorer browser always seems to be in need of another security patch from the home office. So it’s no surprise the company’s DRM has become another target for coders with way too much time on their hands.

Called FairUse4WM, the program not only removes the anti-copy controls PlaysForSure embeds on downloaded tracks, but also frees tracks obtained through music subscriptions.

Unlike songs purchased outright from online stores, subscription tracks cease to play once the subscription runs out. Needless to say, keeping the PlaysForSure DRM technology safe and secure is one of Microsoft’s top priorities.

But keeping FairUse4WM up and running apparently is someone’s priority. The third version appeared on the Net July 13th, sporting a simple drag-and-drop interface. As expected, Microsoft is working hard to defeat the anti-DRM program.

This isn’t Microsoft’s first run-in with FairUse4WM. Past attempts to defeat the program included filing a lawsuit against the program’s authors in federal court, but Microsoft ended up dropping legal action when it couldn’t identify the programmers.

“We knew at the start that no digital rights management technology is going to be impervious to circumvention,” said Jonathan Usher, a director in Microsoft’s consumer media technology group.