PsJailbreak
Latest
PS Jailbreak gets support for PS3 versions 3.42 and 3.5, is no firmware safe?
The update wars continue, and call us crazy but it sure looks like Sony is on its heels. The PlayStation 3 firmware version 3.50 was supposed to be the one to really protect the console, forcibly installed with Medal of Honor and reportedly the cause of the latest (and last) Gran Turismo 5 delay. But, it was all for naught, with PS Jailbreak announcing downgrade support for firmware 3.42 and 3.50 "and beyond." The only question now is: what's the next firmware version going to be called? Maybe if Sony started naming these updates after delicious pastries we'd be a little less tired of applying them. Update: To clarify, this will not let you play 3.42 or 3.50 games, but will let you downgrade your firmware from those versions to an earlier, more hackable release. [Thanks, Mattias]
Medal of Honor insists on PS3 firmware 3.42, blocks PSJailbreak
Sony's ongoing battle with PSJailbreak seems to have reached the software side, as DigitalFoundry reports that Medal of Honor requires at least PlayStation 3 firmware 3.42 in order to run. DF notes that copies of the Medal of Honor have made it onto the net but "the game is completely unplayable with the hack as is." It seems that 3.42 includes a new decryption key, which is required to run Medal of Honor, while the firmware that PSJailbreak is based on "simply can't read the code." Presumably, this protection will be added to other future releases as well. The article adds that it's possible that existing hacks could be altered to accommodate the change, though it remains to be seen if that will happen and, if so, how long it will take the hacking community to adapt.
PS3 goes the PSP route to thwart jailbreakers: Medal of Honor requires latest firmware
It's not quite a common practice just yet, but it looks like the PlayStation 3 could be following in the PSP's footsteps in order to get around folks jailbreaking the device. As MCV reports, anyone buying Electronic Arts' new "Medal of Honor" game will first have to update their PS3 to the latest 3.50 firmware (conveniently provided on the disc) before playing -- that firmware also, of course, has the convenient side effect of blocking the ability to jailbreak the console. No word on any other games that will follow suit, but we have sneaking suspicion that this is something PS3 users will have to get used to.
PS3 3.42 software update reportedly patches jailbreak, hates fun
Sony just released its 3.42 software update for PlayStation 3 owners. As a mandatory update, PS3 jockeys must accept it if they want to continue accessing the PlayStation Network or PlayStation Store. While Sony's American mouthpiece isn't saying much about the release, Sony Japan says that it fixes a "hardware security issue," and that's it. Sounds like a patch for PSJailbreak and its open-source variants to us. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
PS3 jailbreak adapted to Nokia N900, Palm Pre in wake of Australian ban (video)
Two weeks ago you'd have to pay an Australian importer for a specialized USB key. Four days ago open-source software let you roll your own. Today, there's no need for any of that -- you can hack your PS3 with a tethered smartphone. Working closely with the PSGroove team, hacker Kakaroto adapted the same jailbreak to the Nokia N900, and the open-source community lost no time porting it to the Palm Pre as well. If the videos after the break are any indication, both versions work just as well as the original, and you too can get your game on with downloads and detailed instructions at the source links below. Sadly, the aforementioned Australian importer OzModChips is a casualty of this little story, with all its shipments of the PS Jailbreak dongle seized (and the item subject to injunction) by an Australian court, but we suppose knowing its product has enabled the hardware hacking community thus might somewhat soften the blow. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
PS3 homebrew jailbreak released into the wilds
Poor, poor Sony. First PSJailbreak splayed wide the PS3's security model, now PSGroove has arrived calling itself the "open source PSjailbreak." The code must first be downloaded and installed onto a $30ish AT90USBkey or a $25ish Teensy++ USB development board. After that, homebrew enthusiasts can then execute unsigned third-party apps and games on their PS3. At the moment, the ability to boot ISO files (read: pirated or "backup" games) is temporarily disabled. But we're sure that some of the internet's more nefarious types will find their way around that. Cat, welcome to the world outside of the bag. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Australian court halts PSJailbreak sales ... to anyone but Sony
Now that we've determined that the PSJailbreak dongle is real ... the question of its authenticity has abruptly been made moot. The Australian Federal Court has temporarily enjoined retailers from selling or distributing the devices. The court also ordered that a number of PSJailbreaks are to be "released to [Sony] for such analysis, including destructive analysis, as the Applicants think fit, upon the payment to the applicable respondent of its retail price for each such PSJailbreak Device." If we're reading this correctly, that means that OzModchips and the other named retailers are legally forbidden from selling PSJailbreaks outside of Sony, and legally forced to sell PSJailbreaks to Sony. In any case, once Sony's had a chance to figure out exactly how this thing works, it basically won't matter if the injunction is lifted later, as the PSJailbreak will be rendered useless by a firmware update.
PSJailbreak is real, is sold out, and is likely to get your console banned for using it
When we first wrote about the PSJailbreak tool – the latest in a series of purported hacks intended to circumvent the PlayStation 3's robust security precautions – we suggested that it might be a hoax. Notably, the screens shown to illustrate the tool at work were straight from a debug PlayStation 3; the same kind of PS3 that's designed to run un-signed code off of things like hard drives and the like. It turns out we were partially correct. The always excellent Digital Foundry has weighed in on the topic and the takeaway is simple: "the PlayStation 3's much vaunted security has finally been completely and unequivocally compromised." And how is it compromised? DF writes that the presence of the debug options "suggests that elements of the bespoke system updates used on the debug PS3s are being injected into the memory of the retail unit." That coupled with the USB stick, which DF posits was likely reverse-engineered from the same "USB-based tools Sony uses to test and recover PS3s with corrupt firmware."
USB modchip device claims to enable PS3 game backups [update]
Since its release, the PS3 has put up a strong wall against hackers. The piracy problems that have plagued other systems -- including Sony's own PSP -- just haven't been an issue. Now a group purports to have designed a USB plug-and-play device that defeats Sony's copy protection. The PSJailbreak device is intended not only to allow retail PS3 games (and not Blu-ray movies, DVD movies, or backward-compatible games) to be played from a hard drive, but can also block Sony's mandatory (and frequent) firmware updates, effectively protecting itself against obsolescence. For players with an interest in opening up their consoles for homebrew development, and not necessarily swashbuckling, it also enables the use of homebrew games and applications. (Seriously, don't be a pirate.) At least, that's according to PSX-Scene and OzModchips.com, the latter of which posted a video of the technology in action (seen after the break). The technology's effectiveness hasn't been definitively proven and Sony has yet to provide comment. Perhaps that comment will come in the form of a new PS3 firmware update? Update: The OzModchips video appears to use a debug PS3 system, which has the capability to run unsigned code (including code from a USB drive) and load games from the hard drive without the use of any USB dongle. This doesn't mean that the claims of PSJailbreak's effectiveness are untrue, but it certainly calls them into question. Why use a debug system to prove functionality that already exists in a debug system?
PS3 modchip claims to finally allow backing up games without invasive console surgery (video)
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/playstation/PS3_modchip_claims_to_finally_allow_backing_up_games_without'; Who needs George Hotz anyway? A USB modchip for the PS3 has emerged from the mists this morning, purporting to allow the dumping of games onto nearby storage -- the console's internal HDD and external drives are both a-ok -- as well as the subsequent playing of said games without the need for the original disc. Could it be the backup/piracy nirvana Sony loyalists have been awaiting for so long? Well, there's a video showing the little USB device apparently working, and the PSX-Scene team say they have personally verified that it does what it claims to do, but skepticism remains advisable here. The PS3 has been a fortress of hacker unfriendliness, so we'd rather kick back, relax, and wait for some braver souls than us to do the testing. For now, the video awaits after the break. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
