Can a PSP get a virus?

[HotShooter]

Sorry if this has already been made but I didn't see any.

So can a PSP, or any console for that matter, get a virus.
Many systems now adays have internet access and the internet has viruses. Recently I have been on some, uh...... adult websites that may have contained viruses with my PSP. I am now afraid to connect it to my computer because it might get infected if my PSP is. I have noticed it shutting off and random times so that may be a virus or something else. So I was just wondering what you people think, if there is a cure if it can get a virus, or if you have had any experience with a problem such as this.

 

[Cpt Morgan]

I'm sure they can get viruses. Try taking it to Best Buy. I'm sure a geek squad member can help you out.

 

[Zani]

Well they got some anti-virus software for them so I would guess so.

 

[oliveira8]

Yes it can catch virus. Theres even virus just for consoles and other devises with internet connection.

Nothing is safe from virus.

 

[thatstheguy]

Just about every device can get a virus. Maybe you could send it to Sony if the warranty is still good.

 

[GodsOneMistake]

Mines got tons of em, Damn whore

 

[ThrobbingEgo]

Can they get a virus? Yes, but it's not going to happen. A virus is something that infects your computer and then infects others. Unless PSP users send eachother files from their PSP to other PSPs, there's no vector for an infection to spread across.

Now a trojan, a malicious program designed to look like a good program, can and probably does exist for the platform, but you'd have to install it or go on some sketchy site that targets PSPs to get infected.

Not all malicious software are viruses.

 

[Knonsense]

If there is a way for malware to be profitable for a platform, it will exist. I'm not sure how you make money with making viruses for PSPs, but I'm unacquainted with the platform.

 

[aww yea]

Yes it can catch virus. Theres even virus just for consoles and other devises with internet connection.

Nothing is safe from virus.

so thats what happened to my microwave

all this time i thought it was the dial

 

[oliveira8]

Yes it can catch virus. Theres even virus just for consoles and other devises with internet connection.

Nothing is safe from virus.

so thats what happened to my microwave

all this time i thought it was the dial

Your Microwave has net connection? : O

 

[Gruthar]

I'm sure they can get viruses. Try taking it to Best Buy. I'm sure a geek squad member can help you out.

I do hope that was a joke. D:

OT: Yes, you can get a virus on a PSP. You can get a virus on any computerized system, provided there's a way to run/install it. There is at least one PSP virus, but it's pretty hard to get. That particular trojan you had to explicitly install, and it would brick your PSP instantly. It was supposedly disguised as a program that let you run homebrews, but I've never heard of anyone actually downloading it. Given the relatively small market share of PSPs, though, I sincerely doubt anyone is going to bother writing a more sophisticated virus for it.

Your PSP and computer also use entirely different operating systems and hardware, so there's zero chance of "cross-contamination."

 

[Soxafloppin]

Ive heard it can. One that makes it a brick.

 

[I III II X4]

so thats what happened to my microwave

all this time i thought it was the dial

Wait, one of your appliances got infected too?

Funny, because I just got this really nice dish washer...yet it doesn't have any buttons on the outside, it has to be operated from a computer through the internet...

 

[doctorjackal777]

Probably I wouldn't know. I try not to download stuff for my PSP. If I want a game, I go out and buy a copy from a store. Downloading games is a gimmick, and is only really useful if the game doesn't exist anywhere else, or if you're really lazy.

 

[Sixties Spidey]

You can brick it, but I'm not tooooooo sure about a virus.

 

[Azhrarn-101]

Anything with datastorage can in theorie catch a virus. Now, the run of the mill virusses probably won't affect it, as a PSP is a very specific piece of hardware with its own proprietary OS (I think).

So unless someone specifically wrote a virus to attack the PSP-OS you should be ok, I doubt it could catch the regular internet sniffles a PC needs to deal with.
Same goes for the PS3, proprietary OS, not based on any conventional OS, so pretty safe.

The Xbox may be another matter since it essentially runs on a heavily modified version of windows CE, but I have no idea how vulnerable that is to conventional windows attacking viruses.

 

[Serendipitay]

Anything with datastorage can in theorie catch a virus. Now, the run of the mill virusses probably won't affect it, as a PSP is a very specific piece of hardware with its own proprietary OS (I think).

So unless someone specifically wrote a virus to attack the PSP-OS you should be ok, I doubt it could catch the regular internet sniffles a PC needs to deal with.
Same goes for the PS3, proprietary OS, not based on any conventional OS, so pretty safe.

The Xbox may be another matter since it essentially runs on a heavily modified version of windows CE, but I have no idea how vulnerable that is to conventional windows attacking viruses.

Write a virus in assembly (ASM) and it's capable of killing everything off, no matter which OS? At least, that's what I thought, I could be wrong but that seems very logical.

 

[Azhrarn-101]

Write a virus in assembly (ASM) and it's capable of killing everything off, no matter which OS? At least, that's what I thought, I could be wrong but that seems very logical.

well I'm sure it's possible to write a virus that can attack anything, probably by nestingling it into the boot sequence or bios, but most viruses in the wild today are pretty specific against MS Operating systems, and rarely affect Linux or Mac OS'.

There's a reason Apple loves to flaunt their "virus security" and removes advice for an anti-virus program from their website. Security through Obscurity basically. There aren't enough viable targets to bother writing a virus for it. But given the growth of Mac use in recent years, that may change.