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Running “Unauthorized Software” On PS3 Results In PSN Ban

A fitting punishment perhaps?

Last month, a new PlayStation 3 hack came into existence and this has prompted Sony to make an official statement pertaining to the use of "unauthorized software."

It's simple, really- If you're caught using software that violates the Terms of Service that you signed, your access to the PlayStation Network will be "terminated permanently." So that means any services provided by the PSN and the SEN (Sony Entertainment Network) will disappear if they catch you running software you shouldn't be running. If you've already messed up, Sony says you must "cease using and delete all unauthorized or pirated software" from your PS3 system. Obviously, the idea is to be "safe and fair," and they're not interested in allowing various hacking nonsense.

For the life of me, I just can't understand why people have to fiddle. Just freakin' play the games and go on about your business. I have never understood how hacking can be considered "cool."

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frylock25
frylock25
11 years ago

then you havent seen the movie hackers 🙂 lol

i have no use for hacking a ps3. i would much rather just play my games and enjoy the system the way it is.

Ben Dutka PSXE
Ben Dutka PSXE
11 years ago

I have. Didn't get it then, either. 🙂

WorldEndsWithMe
WorldEndsWithMe
11 years ago

Hackers = very young Angelina Jolie

maxpontiac
maxpontiac
11 years ago

If someone has a PS3 that is used for OFFLINE purposes only and wants to mess with it, more power to them.

However…

If the aforementioned person decides to take this PS3 ONLINE, I hope Sony nails to them wall. There are way to many cheats out there as well as many unscrupulous individuals who will jump on any opportunity before them!

sawao_yamanaka
sawao_yamanaka
11 years ago

Yea considering how bad Nintendo was with their online. Anybody jumped online with a modded wii and they could be unstoppable with cheats and hacks. So I'm glad Sony is stepping it up for the sake of our online gaming.

WorldEndsWithMe
WorldEndsWithMe
11 years ago

Kinda silly, if you wanna play pirated stuff you have to make sure you don't connect to the internet. Though it seems more and more games require you to access the internet in order to play at all (Blops 2).

Lord carlos
Lord carlos
11 years ago

iI really couldn't give 2 sh!ts as long as they leave the psn alone.
You want free games ect?fine! just stay away from the psn !!!
Ya cheating C*#ts

coverton341
coverton341
11 years ago

Australian?

Lord carlos
Lord carlos
11 years ago

nope
irish

ethird1
ethird1
11 years ago

I heard unauthorized whinning of gettin tired of jrpgs will not be tolerated either. Heh.

End of Line.

maxpontiac
maxpontiac
11 years ago

Somehow, I don't see that comment being appreciated.


Last edited by maxpontiac on 11/14/2012 1:49:16 PM

Ben Dutka PSXE
Ben Dutka PSXE
11 years ago

I really couldn't care less what you have to say.

Underdog15
Underdog15
11 years ago

I'm sorry…. who are you?

wolfsinner
wolfsinner
11 years ago

I can understand completely why people would fiddle with their hardware. It's fun, it's interesting, and it's educational. It can also be an interesting challenge.
I've fiddled on multiple occasions when I needed things to work the way I wanted them to.

The problem is sharing your results. Homebrew is fantastic, and I think that in an ideal world Sony would benefit from sharing basic SDKs with their users. Unfortunately, there's always that group of a-holes that ruin the homebrew community with backup loaders and software of such nature.

And hacking is cool, but black hats aren't.


Last edited by wolfsinner on 11/14/2012 2:02:07 PM

Underdog15
Underdog15
11 years ago

Nah, it's not cool. 😉 There are some things I love to do that aren't cool. But at least I admit it's a quirk that makes me a lil' uncool. :p lol

slugga_status
slugga_status
11 years ago

Well..I love hacking in general and can't wait to take the CEH test for it..Yet I wouldn't hack my PS3 for free games..I just don't see the reason. If you save/spend your money correctly you can have those..I wonder if Sony will actually ban the system if said hackers get caught? I'd think they would…

TheHighlander
TheHighlander
11 years ago

This could get interesting. A long while ago one of the better known PS3 hackers pointed out that the PS3 carries on a conversation with PSN when you access PSN, it's not just the authentication of your user credentials and system ID. PSN seems to be able to send encrypted queries to the PS3, and the PS3 answers using encrypted replies. From what I can remember, the suggestion was that this was not happening in the basic firmware, but was happening inside the secure processing vault. That's something that they hackers have never penetrated.

The upshot was/is that when a PS3 is actively connected to PSN/SEN it is interrogated to see whether it's running official firmware, and various other telemetry. The hackers claim that the lv0 hack is unpatchable, but if whatever is running inside the SPV has the ability to detect whether the firmware has been modified and can communicate with PSN, Sony may have an easy way to ID any hacked console and permaban the console and user.

It's long been thought that Sony had this capability, but they had not yet exercised it because the firmware remained secure. The thing is that the SPV architecture assumes that the system software including hypervisor can be compromised, it's designed to operate independently of the system firmware. From a system security stand point it would make sense to bake in the ability to remotely interrogate systems in a manner that is not included in the firmware so that if the firmware is compromised, you still have the option of detection and ban.

Either way, expect a wave of permabans that will cause some wailing and gnashing of teeth.


Last edited by TheHighlander on 11/14/2012 2:48:12 PM

WorldEndsWithMe
WorldEndsWithMe
11 years ago

Talk about overkill, jeez.

TheHighlander
TheHighlander
11 years ago

lol, overkill? Dude, the chip was designed by IBM. IBM built the security model, it's almost a textbook case of secure computing. It's not so much overkill as very, very well designed. In fact had Sony not screwed up with the original Encryption bug that Fail0verlow exploited to obtain the METLDR keys, the PS3 would probably have remained unhacked to this day.

Axe99
Axe99
11 years ago

Power to Sony – anyone that wails and gnashes their teeth because they get banned for going online with custom firmware needs some serious reality aligning ;).

firesoul453
firesoul453
11 years ago

Although I am absolutely for sony preventing people from cheating.
I REALLY really wish they would open up the platform.

Imagine if kids got familiar with sony code and architecture at an early age. I truly think microsoft opening up the xbox 360 will help them next generation of consoles as the next generation of programmings are coming into professionals positions.

TheHighlander
TheHighlander
11 years ago

Not going to happen. Sony tried the open approach and the hacking community rewarded that by crapping all over them. First by attacking the system security, breaking the hypervisor, then jailbreaking the PS3 before finally releasing the original METLDR keys.

Sony managed to put the genie back in the bottle once and regained control for a good 18 months, but now the asshats have done it again with the LV0 key release. Imagine if instead of doing all that, the community had been happy to have Linux and a programming interface to the cellBE.

Sorry, but there's no way in hell Sony opens the doors to their system in the way that you describe. To be honest, it's incredibly naive to think it's even possible.

Axe99
Axe99
11 years ago

Totally agree Highlander – Sony were as open as possible and got screwed over by the hacking community. Them going on to complain now would show how divorced from reality they are. If the hacking community can't be relied on not to screw over developers and publishers (which in the long term screws gamers), then they should be fought as best as possible.

SmokeyPSD
SmokeyPSD
11 years ago

The problem is your combative approach and Sony's just feeds into it all and pushes forth both the desire to open the system up and sony to close it even further, everyone losing. It's narrow minded and damaging, just keeping this cycle going for everyone. I'm not going to argue about who came first, Sony closing up, feeling the need to be proud and fight the battles or the Hackers getting aggressive because I don't care. This is the reality now.

Sony doing things this way is not working, it has resulted in absolutely idiotic moves like the file management system for the new Vita for instance and in the end nothing will ever be truly secure and the more closed off our environments get the more we as consumers lose… The biggest damage to us all was the reduction in system activation number. This isn't caused by hackers, or Sony. It's caused by this cycle of negativity of both feeding into eachother. You've got to look at this with a wide angle lense in my view and Sony actually needs to do things like release firmware updates which are worth downloading, with great feature sets. Rather than insular, hurtful to us all so that people don't feel the desire to get creative so much on how can I get back my Linux for instance or activate all my bought games on my owned systems, or make features fully work that should be Sony's job…


Last edited by SmokeyPSD on 11/15/2012 12:12:25 PM

TheHighlander
TheHighlander
11 years ago

Smokey, you're wrong – completely wrong – in my opinion. You're whole foundation is rooted in a skewed view of the issue.

You said "Sony closing up, feeling the need to be proud". It's not a matter of Sony feeling proud. Sony is a platform holder, they answer to their customers and partners for the security of their platform. An insecure platform is not what their software partners want or expect, and customers hardly wish to have an insecure platform when they are using it for financial transactions and online gaming. Security isn't a matter of corporate pride, it's basic nuts and bolts for a platform owner.

This situation is not caused by a cycle of negativity, it's caused by immature entitlement minded haxxors who think that they are entitled to crack a device just because it's there, they don't give a shit about the consequences. It's not about open source or Linux or anything else, it's about their tiny little ego stroking competition to see who can crack something first or who can break something at the deepest level. Then along come the immature entitlement minded free-tards who want everything for nothing, and are more than happy to leech of the efforts of the hackers to get free games through piracy, or cheat online.

This issue is not, and never has been about the use of Linux, homebrew software or any of those other altruistic attempts to justify breaking the security on a device. The issue is basic security of a device in a digital age. for the digital economy to move forward and work, it's necessary for the digital environment to have sufficient security to guarantee the integrity of the environment and transactions. Hackers are a direct threat to that and as such I have zero sympathy for them, or for the leeches that exploit their work.

SmokeyPSD
SmokeyPSD
11 years ago

So are you saying I'm wrong, things are getting better for us, the end user? Really? My money is on more on the horizon being taken away from us with the next big upheaval in terms of security penetration. The hackers are going away the more Sony steps their game up? Really?
I get it, you hate them… So what? If that somehow makes you feel better getting screwed that's ok, all the power to you. I don't feel that way. This is bigger than that. There is more going on in my opinion than "entitlement" Sony is in the wrong here too. Linux was taken away before the major PSN breach, I don't think it takes a stretch of the imagination to think of a influx the hacking community happening due to the act of taking away Linux. Of course security is an integral part of a business but the hubris in Sony is losing sight of the customer in their pursuit of this security. They have lost their balance of priorities. Are they maybe even justified in that? The end justifies the means, even losing customers? Maybe in general but Sony has prided themselves until recently in being open…

Do you have to agree with something to see a pattern? No. Is this message an endorsement of these hackers? No, there's no freaking harm in using your head…

It's business as usual this journey down the rabbit hole of this fighting. I would much rather this somehow stop. Solutions rather than just further detrimental measures which in the end, won't even work. That's what it comes down to. No matter what Sony does these guys are good, they rise to the challenge. The Vita will eventually be hacked, so it was irrelevant having a broken system of file management just as it was it didn't matter removing OS support. The next device that comes out just might not be worth buying with digital management, insular functionality and overboard mechanics will have taken too much hold with it in every foreseeable corner of it. Gaming will seize to be an interest for me then. I would rather that tide end, wouldn't you?


Last edited by SmokeyPSD on 11/15/2012 1:35:27 PM

TheHighlander
TheHighlander
11 years ago

If there is no freaking harm in using your head, then I suggest you start doing so on this issue since you're so far off base.

Mr_Sterg
Mr_Sterg
11 years ago

Good

Axe99
Axe99
11 years ago

I don't judge whether things are "cool" or not – if someone does something they enjoy, that doesn't hurt other people, that's all good.

Problem is that hacking, when used for piracy, destroys livelihoods and hurts gamers. Given most jailbreaks and the like end up this way, it's very hard to support people that do it. It'd be like hobby biologists who looked into viruses, but this work had the side-effect of releasing nasty illnesses into the world. Just because they didn't mean it to happen, doesn't make it morally appropriate.

Hackers who keep their work to themselves and don't engage in piracy – go for their life, they're just having fun. Those whose work ends up enabling people to steal from dev and gamers should be shut down. Shutting down people using CFW online is only one part of this, but a sensible and appropriate part.

Ydobon
Ydobon
11 years ago

Some hack things to either steal or to do more stuff with it. Hacking a system does not equal bad all the time. If they are not going online or/and stealing stuff then I care not.

BikerSaint
BikerSaint
11 years ago

Hmmm,
When Sony strike's it's ban-hammer down on these guys(or gals) in one massive fell swipe, watch a sudden mass of used PS3's on auction sites going for dirt cheap soon afterwards, just like after those 3 times M$ banned a million+ xboxers.

___________
___________
11 years ago

not really a fitting punishment because most people dont care!
if your on CFW you would have been without PSN access for quite a while now just recently did newer keys release allowing newer FW to be transferred.
so i really cant see this doing much.
until $ony goes busting into another guys house accusing him of assorting with the devil like they have the last few times…………….

SmokeyPSD
SmokeyPSD
11 years ago

Well if Sony didn't continuously make it more tempting to open up your system by closing it up then yeah, people would feel less inclined to. The fact is we've been losing functionality slowly.

Example is regionfree playback for film, you could do that through Linux when we had it. What about Remote Play which we can use across the board? I don't know a thing about programming or reverse engineering but I understand the mentality of people who want to arrest back control of the stance Sony has taken to close off holes rather than have an open environment in the first place….

It is a really simplistic dialog to have on this issue to just talk about piracy.

TheHighlander
TheHighlander
11 years ago

Sorry, but that's a really shortsighted and simplistic view.

"if Sony didn't continuously make it more tempting to open up your system by closing it up"

Really? I mean really? So you're saying that anything that is closed up and locked is simply asking to be broken into? Like say, a home, or a bank, a credit card database or PSN/SEN? I'm sorry, but the justification you're applying to people cracking the PS3 security applies to everything else too. So you're essentially saying that if we lock our doors we're asking for people to break them open.

I think you're sounding almost as short sighted as the hackers and the pirates that they enable.

RICHIECOQUI
RICHIECOQUI
11 years ago

Are they also talking about the new game genie for ps3 as well? does anyone??


Last edited by RICHIECOQUI on 11/15/2012 12:02:21 PM

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