Sony Blocks Hacked PS3s From PSN

[Logan Westbrook]

Sony Blocks Hacked PS3s From PSN

Having your cake and eating it - also known as hacking your PS3 and still going online - has suddenly gotten very expensive.

Hackers are a resourceful bunch, and despite Sony's best efforts to stop them, they've still found ways to connect to PSN, even with jailbroken consoles. But now it seems that those halcyon days are over, as Sony has patched the holes in its fence that were allowing hackers to get in.

This isn't the same thing as Microsoft's annual sweep [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/96037-Microsoft-Bans-up-to-One-Million-Xbox-Live-Accounts] for modded Xbox 360s, as Sony doesn't seem to be blacklisting consoles. Instead, it appears that Sony has fixed the exploits that were allowing owners of hacked and jailbroken PS3s to use PSN. There were apparently two main methods of getting online with a hacked console. The first method involved manually changing the domain name server settings on the PS3 and routing authentication requests through a web server with a hacked verification file. The second method was similar, but diverted the requests to a proxy server via a PC instead.

Sony seems to have been able to render both methods ineffective. PS3 hacking forums are suggesting that people with jailbroken consoles do one of three things: buy a second PS3 and use it for going online, get rid of the hacks and update to the latest firmware, or wait it out and hope that someone comes up with another way of getting online. None of them is an ideal solution, obviously, but that's the risk you take - or one of the risks, at least - when you jailbreak your PS3.

Source: Game Politics [http://www.gamepolitics.com/2011/02/09/sony-blocks-hacked-ps3s-psn]




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[IamQ]

As one of the few who supports Sony in this, I say: Huzza!

 

[archabaddon]

More and more, jailbreaking a PS3 seems like a lot of work for so little gain. As much as I miss the OtherOS feature, at this point it's simply easier to build another system than to jailbreak a PS3.

I feel for the homebrew audience, but understand the issues the Sony has with blatant piracy.

 

[SnipErlite]

Hm, good on Sony I guess. So much for them fighting an inevitable loss. Actually doing pretty successfully (Y)

 

[Cursed Frogurt]

This is why I'll most likely never mod any of my devices. I prefer forgoing some benefits for the consistency of my devices working as they should.

 

[farmerboy219]

finally things could be normal again. hacking is cheap

 

[Andy Powell]

VERY, VERY GOOD NEWS indeed! I was starting to get very worried for the PSN in general with these hacks (trophies system, and the possibility of everyone's personal info being comprimised). This is very promising indeed.

Take THAT hackers!

 

[ImprovizoR]

Hackers will find a way. They always do.

 

[Monshroud]

This is why I don't mod my consoles. The amount of effort that goes into it for very little in return, at least for me. I can run Linux on any of my PC's, don't need it on my PS3. I don't suck at most multi-player and actually believe in working hard to get better. Lastly, I usually have enough money to buy any game I want, so I don't need to bother with downloading hacked copies.

 

[Pendragon9]

Good on them.

Hackers can be very persistent, but so can companies.

The circle of life.

 

[Waaghpowa]

I never really understood the reasons for modding a console. When you get banned for modding what do you do, get a new one and start over? If your goal was to save money, pretty sure that's counter productive. At least that's how I was told it was done with Xbox's.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

I don't really understand why anyone would mod their console, I mean, eventually you're gonna piss off the company and they are going to go after you. I guess it would make sense if you have a ton of money you don't mind throwing away just to keep buying new consoles to mod.

Even though I think the hackers are going to find ways around it, but good on ya Sony.

 

[Modus Operandi]

This is misleading and is not news. These exploits always work for a time when a new update comes out, and then get closed off again. People used it to try to keep their Linux, people used it to go online with 3.41 when 3.42 was already out, and every time after a while they got cut off. When 3.56 came out, the exploits worked again, and now it's cut off again. This article makes it sound like the hack has always worked and now has been finally patched, for which there isn't the slightest evidence, considering the history.

 

[Lord_Gremlin]

Thank god. Finally.

 

[James Raynor]

Don't worry, it'll be rectified next week.

 

[Royta]

<youtube=zqVsdVtE-uw>

That is all.

 

[Baresark]

Haha, it was only a matter of time. I sure am glad I never listened to friends about jailbreaking my PS3. I mean, this won't stop tries by people.

I'm not for them banning consoles. But it would seem to me that you only need to do something like a fake sign check in order to get onto the network..... So, the game shall continue I would imagine. Should be fun.

I always find enjoyment in this back and forth. I mean, think about it, while Sony has security personnel working on blocking the system, how big do you think that team is? Meanwhile, there are usually hundreds, if not thousands of folks all over the world trying to break the security. If Sony was smart it would give Waninkoko and the other fellas a high paying job, instead of suing them. You conquer by bringing people into the fold of your society, not by enslaving them and subjugating them.

In the words of Offspring, "Dance, fucker, dance", haha.

 

[AdumbroDeus]

Take a page from extra credit, Sony, you do NOT mess with people who install Linux on their PS3s. You are wasting your time.


It will be hacked again in a way that Sony can't stop in short order and people will use the holes that this reveals to pirate.

More and more, jailbreaking a PS3 seems like a lot of work for so little gain. As much as I miss the OtherOS feature, at this point it's simply easier to build another system than to jailbreak a PS3.

I feel for the homebrew audience, but understand the issues the Sony has with blatant piracy.

Here's the issue though, this is a can of worms that Sony opened up on their own. With the other OS feature enabled the system already did what most people wanted with the system and while there were still people who wanted to pirate, it wasn't a large enough community for the PS3 to be hacked. Note how the PS3 is about as difficult to hack as the x-box 360 and the PS3 got hacked a LONG time ago.

But what happened when they disabled the other OS option? Everybody had an incentive to hack it, and the holes in security that allowed hacks allows piracy. If they had left the other OS option on, then they'd have fewer piracy issues.