PS3 Hacked

[Seiryuki]

Geohot (pictured above) is famous for hacking the iPhone, and now he has made a statement on his blog since Friday 22nd January 2010 that he has done the very same to the PS3.

If what he says is true (most likely it is true, based on his record) then that would make it, according to his blog, "3 years, 2 months, 11 days" that the PS3 has lasted as a super-secure gaming console.

While years ago I may have been interested in buying a modified PS3, I decided to support Sony because of their obvious poor launch and for fear of being banned from the PSN. PlayStation has always been my brand for the best, top-class games with a vast array of original, unique, quality and genre-defining experiences that is even worth our money and attention today (thanks to the PSone Classics on the PSN and the long-lasting PS2).

So, while I'm still happy to have a modified PSone and a modified PS2, I'm gonna keep my PS3 original.

Maybe this can be a turning point in Sony's 3rd place (although Sony has had a successful 2009 in sales) which would boost sales of the console even further, though game-publishers/developers would suffer.

Anyways, here is the hacker's blog: http://geohotps3.blogspot.com/2010/01/hello-hypervisor-im-geohot.html.
I recognise his great achievement and I hope he can use his amazing skills in another way that is legal worldwide.

[SlyGuy]

I also think I'll never hack my PS3. Just like you, I modified my PS1 and PS2 and bought a crapload of pirate games from Nanan's. lol. Remember the Nanan's bundles? 4 Games for $200...etc.

[Seiryuki]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8478764.stm
A BBC report of the hack.
For Sony's sake, I really hope they come out with a patch.

Here's how the exploit works for the less-technical:
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-ps3hacked-article


On his blog, George Hotz has released the exploit as a zip file. I guess we're gonna start seeing modification attempts in the close future. I downloaded the file just for keepsake as I have that natural collector's instinct....you know a Pokémon-guy.

[Seiryuki]

Sony apparently has decided to disable the "Install Other OS" feature as a security measure, a possible response to the recent news of the hacking of the PS3.

http://www.ps3news.com/PlayStation-3/ps3-firmware-3-21-coming-april-1st-disables-otheros-feature/

[Seiryuki]

And...Geohot fights back with claims to attempt "Custom Firmware".

http://www.ps3news.com/PS3-Hacks/geohot-dont-update-to-3-21-promises-ps3-custom-firmware/

[The_Apprentice]

hmmm interesting.
As I had posted on GATT I simply installed Linux just to give it a try.
For me the removal of the feature isn't a big deal.

The security concern could be more than the exploits the geohot guy is seeing.
It could be that Sony is opening a security wall in place due to the install OS feature being there in the first place, with intention of improving functionality later on?

Anyhow in a nutshell...Install other OS was a great feature..But I won't be missing it.

[Seiryuki]

OtherOS feature returns (in v3.21) by means of Custom Firmware, courtesy of GeoHot.

http://slumz.boxden.com/f453/ps3-custom-firmware-implemented-geohot-otheros-returns-1359381/

Here's his blog posting on it:
http://geohotps3.blogspot.com/2010/04/otheros-supported-on-321oo.html


And here's his video supposedly demostrating this claim:


I really hopes this doesn't work or else we're gonna see a disastrous war between Sony and GeoHot and I don't think it will be in favour of that very talented young boy.
On the other hand, his exploits can help expose weaknesses to console developers which would in turn help in creating a more secure system next time.

Congratulations to GeoHot on his achievement, but I sure hope he changes his illegal attitude, even if he means well.

[Seiryuki]

Working PlayStation 3 Modchip Is 'Not A Hoax,' Australian Retailer Says
http://kotaku.com/5616952/australian-retailer-says-their-working-playstation-3-modchip-is-not-a-hoax

An Australian seller of Wii, PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 modchips has posted video showing the famously impregnable PlayStation 3 running "back-up" copies of disc games saved in the hacked console. It's the real deal, they tell Kotaku.

OzModChips.com has posted three videos to YouTube showing the alleged hack, marketed as PS Jailbreak, which purportedly is executed by plugging a $170 (Australian) USB stick into the PlayStation 3. The legality of console modchips differ by region. They are not legal in the U.S.

Such a hack would enable PS3 users to run back-up copies of games, homebrew and, of course, pirated games, something which Sony has long successfully blocked on its home console.

Kotaku has reached out to PlayStation's U.S. division for comment about this alleged hack and will update this story with anything we hear back.

The narrator of the first video says the modchip arrived at their office in Australia this morning, August 19. A follow-up video shows what appears to be a PS3 that has its disc drive occupied with a copy of the game Uncharted while it runs a saved version of Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction. This is proof, the site maintains, that their new "PS Jailbreak" product will work. With the hack working, PS3 users would not need to possess a disc copy of a PS3 game to run it, a potential piracy nightmare for Sony.

Kotaku has no access to the USB stick and can't verify whether the stick works. But we have been talking to a representative of OzModChips.com who tells us that the stick "is not a hoax."

The rep, who would not provide his name and asked to be called "Mr. OzModChips", pointed Kotaku to a new video that, unlike the Ratchet clip, shows a TV and PS3 in full view for the entirety of a demonstration of the hack. The video was made to quiet skeptics who think that today's original clips were not proof of a working hack but simply hype and video editing trickery.

In this newer video, a disc copy of God of War III is inserted into the console. Navigating to a "backup manager" on the PS3, the video's narrator flicks through a list of games saved to the system's hard-drive and loads PS3 game Infamous. (Infamous may not have been the best choice to defuse skepticism that games ripped from discs are running on the hack, since that game is available for full digital download through the PlayStation store. But the backup manger does list other games, including LittleBigPlanet and Ratchet & Clank Tools of Destruction, a sign that other games have been ripped and saved onto the console.)

Some skeptics have said that the videos show the hack running on a debug PS3, but Mr. OzModChips tells Kotaku he is using a retail system.

Mr. OzModChips told Kotaku that the chip stock originates from China or Hong Kong but declined to say who designed the chip or where they are based. His site reports that "apparently 150 games have been tested on" the chip, which he tells us is information gleaned from direct contact with the chip maker. As for how this hack works, given that Sony's machine has been essentially uncrackable for four years, he told us in an e-mail: "I think it tricks the ps3 into thinking its a dev unit, but I don't know to much technical info about it."

The OzModChips website indicates that this chip will be available by the end of the month and works with PlayStation 3s that run firmware 3.41, the current firmware for the console. It is possible that a future Sony firmware update could seal any cracks a modchip exploits in the machine.

Sony's PS3 has long been secure from modchips which are seen as a pathway to piracy. The PlayStation Portable, however, was cracked early in its existence. For several years, Sony and hackers have engaged in a war of firmware updates and new hacks: Sony regularly issues new PSP crack-sealing firmware that gamers are required to install in order to play new PSP games; hackers respond with new software exploits that re-open the device to backup copies, homebrew software and pirated games.

The Xbox 360 and Wii have been cracked for years, and publishers and developers alike complain that some owners of those consoles can and do run pirated copies of disc games on the machines illegally.

Some suppliers of console, such as OzModChips, publicly state that their services are intended only for legal backing-up of games and running homebrewed software.

Mr. OzModChips said that this PS3 hack USB device has been sent to other modchip sellers and that we can expect more video to be popping up about it online.

Just remember guys, if this is real and it arrives in Trinidad and Tobago...it doesn't make sense modding your PS3. The_Apprentice has told me that half of the gaming experience is online and after getting a PS3 and a broadband connection I realised that that is true. In other words, mod your PS3 and you will be blocked by Sony from enjoying the free wonders that the PSN offers. But having two PS3s is a different story.

[SlyGuy]

But having two PS3s is a different story.

True. One for pirated SP games, and the other for games with online MP.

However, don't expect to be able to download patches. I just hope developers don't start to tack on online aspects hoping that persons buy the original.