I thought I would post it here and see what everyone has to say about this. I was reading articles and it seems sony released their latest firmnware with a rootkit so they can in someway control your PS3. If this is true I am done with sony it sure does not seem right and has to violate some consumer laws. What does everyone think or know about this?
On PS3HAX a security "Expert" is claiming that the Rootkit came out in earlier firmware versions! So Sony has probably been doing it already, and we would never even know about it! I've only just loaded 3.55CFW on mine so don't really care if they have or not, cause I don't use mine on the net! If it gets hooked back up to the net, it'll be running Linux through Graf_chokolo's OtherOS app, which is due to be released soon!
I've seen this bit of "news" posted all over but I've yet to see anything substantiated come out of it. Given Sony's history with rootkits (everybody loves having their drivers fucked with because they paid for a CD instead of pirating it) I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if they did this. Not one bit. However Sony DID receive a huge backlash for that rootkit both financially, legally and from a public opinion perspective. I sincerely doubt they'd be stupid enough to try it again but hey I've been wrong before when it came to Sony and being stupid enough to try something twice expecting different results.
i wouldnt be surprised either. of course we need proof for this, BUT as i said, sony is the one to do shit like that....
Seems like it stretches the definition of "rootkit" to me. Companies checking what your computer's doing when you're playing online is nothing new - Blizzard have been doing it with the Warden for years, and PunkBuster was around a decade ago. If you want cheat-free online gaming (on an "open", insecure platform) you can expect some form of monitoring.
From what I've read on it I think sony is fine for doing it in the first place. It's not going to modify your unit, chances of it being hacked to backdoor your PS3 is slim, yada yada yada. It is just being use to validate the integrity of your PS3 before permitting access to PSN and personally thank god they're doing that. If you want PSN access then don't hack your PS3.
What they are doing is illegal. It is the same as if someone installed a backdoor on my computer. That type of hacking has already been found illegal in courts. Since the PS3 was sold as availible for other OS system it can be argued it is the same as a PC. Their contract you read at download, is an adhesion contract and a reasonable person would not think they are instaling a back door on your system. This would be similar to the last backdoor they tried and lost at. The good way to look at it is after all the lawsuits it will define that a system you buy you do own. up till now this has been grey area and no court case has really set precedent on it.
Skilled hackers should create an modular open source replacement firmware to run Linux and otherOS (like NetBSD on PS2). Tried coreboot.It was a a long way to install but boots a lot faster and has a module called SeaBIOS that provides the usual BIOS functions.
They haven't actually done anything yet, though, right? Just implemented potential functionality. In either case it's hardly clear that what they're doing is illegal. I think this is a very different case to their audio CD rootkit fiasco.
No not really. You have no ownership to the PS3 firmware files. If you don't like it then keep to an older firmware. Sony isn't going to use it to attack a system, it's purely for keeping PSN safe/clean. PSN is a service and not a right to have access to.
Same as a computer OS. you can give functionality but you need to give the owner the right to disable it. As for sony purposes everyone has their own idea and since it can be used for incidious purposes one can argue a valid reason they should not be allowed to do it. Either way should be fun to watchit resolve in the US courts I am sure there will be a lawsuit from it. The argument on older firmware would be great if all games woud use it. I do not go online but you have to upgrade to play newer games or at time to play new blue ray movies and doesn't the newer systems have wifi so theoreticaly even if I do not go online the systems could call home even though I never agreed to it. Not sure if it does but if they do you can easily program a hardware system to do that.
If it comes down to it, there will be hacks made to get around the need for the latest firmware. It happened on the PSP all the damn time. The suppose "rootkit" does not allow it to do that. It's a only when trying to log into PSN. Theoretical BS has no place in an argument.
If you're really that paranoid just disable internet on the PS3, there's a setting for that. That's one of the major differences between this and the audio CD case - Sony isn't forcing you to connect to the internet, or to PSN. Any scanning methods they do end up using will be included in a ToS for PSN. I'd be surprised if this turned into a lawsuit, there's many examples of other game companies who are already doing similar things (and have been for a long time).
Microsoft CONSTANTLY CHECKS for modded hardware as you use xbox love, yet no one complains about that, do they? They can install what they want. They have a privacy policy and will never steal your information. Want to get upset? Don't use them. Or steam Or xbox live. Or any pc game with drm enabled via online checks.
Whose arguing just debating to get to the facts. I would like to know more on what the rootkit really does or does not do. The way I understand this is the checks are happening on my end compared to microsoft on their end. for example, not saying sony is or is not but the root kit has the ability to phone home. all Micorosofts updates check upon validation so I would need to log in to have it effect me. Based on Sonys past I am just skeptical.
Couldn't agree with you more subbie, also don't you have to accept a user agreement when you login to PSN for the first time and get firmware updates, and I bet that root-kit is in the disclaimer that no one ever reads as well . . . -Disjaukifa
I haven't heard of anything saying it can phone home. Far as I read it's when you try to log into PSN the server sends a small piece of code to check your PS3 and sends back a key that PSN verifies if it matches up to what it should be. There are good reasons why the code has to be sent by server. 1. It means they can update it for new hack around with out a new firmware 2. It doesn't embed the code in the fw where hackers can sniff it out and just feed the server what it wants to hear :shrug:
This is all I know about it!! Apparently the Rootkit has been there for a while!! On another source that I read on another website it says that it's all crap so I don't know!!
