Sony issuing lifetime PSN bans to PS3 hackers

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

The firm has warned that those found to be using unauthorised or pirated software will have their PSN accounts permanently disabled.

Sony said in a statement: "Unauthorized software for the PlayStation 3 system was recently released by hackers.

"Use of such software violates the terms of the System Software License Agreement for the PlayStation 3 System and the Terms of Services and User Agreement for the PlayStation Network/Sony Entertainment Network and its Community Code of Conduct provisions.

"Violation of the System Software License Agreement for the PlayStation3 system invalidates the consumer's right to access that system.

"Consumers running unauthorized or pirated software may have their access to the PlayStation Network and access to Sony Entertainment Network services through PlayStation 3 system terminated permanently.

"To avoid permanent termination, consumers must immediately cease using and delete all unauthorized or pirated software from their PlayStation 3 systems."

Sony added that it's taking these steps to "help provide a safe, fair, online environment" for consumers.

Source: http://www.computera...to-ps3-hackers/

[TheLegendOfMart]

Good, that's the catch with having a modded console, you shouldn't be able to cheat against people online, if you want online access buy the games.

[n_K]

It's a shame PC games aren't like this, I'm not saying all server should be no cheating allowed, if you want to have a server with cheating on feel free but when people come on normal servers, cheat, and don't get banned by anyone on or VAC/valve or whatever - it's really annoying.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Yeah MS should ban the accounts as well, not the console (or both). It's the cheaters/exploiters that ruin everything more so than the pirates, it's not even limited to MP, SP games with scoreboards - Sucks seeing scores of 9,999,999,999,999 or something.

I've seen some weird scores in Tokyo Jungle, but I guess it could just be crazy Asian players.

[saltysaltybk]

Good, that's the catch with having a modded console, you shouldn't be able to cheat against people online, if you want online access buy the games.

Modded firmware != cheating.

[HawkMan]

Yeah MS should ban the accounts as well, not the console (or both)..

.

They do.

[TheLegendOfMart]

Modded firmware != cheating.

Never said it was, but if you mod a console you should expect to lose access to the online services to protect the integrity of system.

[Xerax]

Yeah MS should ban the accounts as well, not the console (or both). It's the cheaters/exploiters that ruin everything more so than the pirates, it's not even limited to MP, SP games with scoreboards - Sucks seeing scores of 9,999,999,999,999 or something.

Incase you didn't know, Microsoft are the strictest when it comes to banning (For example, I played the Black Ops 2 Beta a few months back on a developer xbox, on the develpoper version of Xbox Live, and every console and account I own got banned, not just the console I was on).. And the fact leaderboards don't get fixed when the account get banned is because that isn't up to Microsoft, that's up to individual developers, fixing their own systems.

Although, I must say, it's almost degrading calling these kids "hackers". They downloaded something, installed it, and run around like such idiots trying to get attention/profit of other players misfortune. It happened pretty badly on Modern Warfare 2 on Xbox, and I'm glad Sony are starting to take banning seriously.

[saltysaltybk]

Modded firmware != cheating.

Never said it was

Really?

"you shouldn't be able to cheat against people online" - And the context of this conversation is modded firmware.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

In regards to my Xbox account comment, they used to just ban the console for modded firmware/piracy, has that now changed then?

[TheLegendOfMart]

Really?

"you shouldn't be able to cheat against people online" - And the context of this conversation is modded firmware.

It's a security precaution, mod your firmware and you lose access to online services to protect copyrighted material and to stop people from using cheat modded games online.

You can't seriously expect Sony to do nothing about it just because some people will use modded firmware without infringing on copyrights.

[Japlabot]

I tried to play GTA IV multiplayer about a month ago and it was rampant with cheaters. I don't know how they even got cheats onto the PS3 platform, I thought that cheating mainly happened to PC, but I saw it, and it was very clear that they were using cheats of the hacking time. Hopefully these tools got banned by this and it is playable again.

[Xerax]

In regards to my Xbox account comment, they used to just ban the console for modded firmware/piracy, has that now changed then?

Console Ban for just a modded firmware. Console and Account ban for Playing Pre-Release Games on a modded Firmware. Regardless, 99% of the time, you can't hack games online with a modded firmware, only a modded console, as most games have security now.

[Axel]

Wouldn't bother me. My PS3 just sits there collecting dust playing the occasional bluray. Would love to make it do something USEFUL like run XBMC :p

[saltysaltybk]

It's a security precaution, mod your firmware and you lose access to online services to protect copyrighted material and to stop people from using cheat modded games online.

You can't seriously expect Sony to do nothing about it just because some people will use modded firmware without infringing on copyrights.

I still don't understand how modding firmware opens the door to cheaters. Unless they can reverse engineer the code on the disk, recompile, resign and run then it won't happen on consoles- and that only loosely has a connection to modded firmware as the "cheat" disk would be burned rather than pressed.

[TheLegendOfMart]

I still don't understand how modding firmware opens the door to cheaters. Unless they can reverse engineer the code on the disk, recompile, resign and run then it won't happen on consoles- and that only loosely has a connection to modded firmware as the "cheat" disk would be burned rather than pressed.

Um, with modded firmware you don't need to resign anything, I remember playing on modded MW2 servers hosted on Xbox consoles.

With JTAG Xbox and CFW PS3 firmware you could potentially hack the game and play it without having to burn to a disc, but Microsoft cracks down swift and hard against JTAG modded Xboxes to try and combat it for this exact reason, they don't want cheaters and glitchers ruining Xbox Live.

[saltysaltybk]

jtags cannot connect to XBL, nor RGH- well they can but are booted off.

Anyway, its a moot point. Modding firmware does not imply cheating.

[TheLegendOfMart]

Exactly, Microsoft crack down on it to stop people modding/cheating games.

I already said it doesn't imply cheating but they are banned from the respective online services as a precaution against such use.

I get it, you think modding firmware is great, good for you, you don't have to keep trying to justify the reasons you use it for.

[saltysaltybk]

I'm not justifying anything- so there's no need to read something in to the posts that isn't there.

They're banned for using non-MS firmware, not because they can cheat. If you look up the T&Cs, there's nothing there about cheating:

We may, among other things: (i) restrict or limit access to the Services; (ii) retrieve information from the Authorized Device and any connected peripheral device used to log onto the Services as necessary to operate and protect the security of the Services, and to enforce this Agreement; and (iii) upgrade, modify, withdraw, suspend, or discontinue any functionality or feature of the Services, or any hardware or software associated with the Services or with an Authorized Device, from time to time without notice. We may do so by the automatic download of related software directly to your Authorized Device, including software that prevents you from accessing the Services, playing pirated games, or using unauthorized hardware peripheral devices

[forster]

Anyone who connects a modded system to an official, internet-based store or service deserves to be banned.

[TheLegendOfMart]

Why are you so vehemently defending it then. Obviously they are banning it to stop people pirating as I already said a page ago. But one of the byproducts of being able to run unsigned code is being able to mod games to cheat, it happened with Xbox 1 and Xbox 360.

[Colin McGregor]

If your stupid enough to go online with a modded console you deserve to have your account banned.

[saltysaltybk]

Why are you so vehemently defending it then. Obviously they are banning it to stop people pirating as I already said a page ago. But one of the byproducts of being able to run unsigned code is being able to mod games to cheat, it happened with Xbox 1 and Xbox 360.

Again, no one is defending anything. There is a huge leap of faith to believe that someone running a modded firmware is cheating. If you use RGH or JTAG, you will get immediately banned (and I don't think you can go online to XBL with FSD anyway). The chances of playing in a modded lobby nowaways is tiny, if at all.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

The simple fact is there is no way to efficiently monitor a whole load of "we'll promise to be good" custom firmware users - Everyone is simply lumped into the assumption of if you use custom firmware and connect to our network alongside legit firmware owners you may cause damage to us (us being Sony) or them (that being us legit FW users).

I think these days everyone with a reasonable thinking brain understands that if they want to modify their console, they're giving up the ability to use proprietary servers they do not own. If you use workarounds or non-standard ways to connect, again, that is your risk and as it cannot be monitored efficiently you have no real ground for complaints if you get shut off.

I fully agree that no police or any other person should come chapping on your door if you modify a piece of hardware you bought (unless you turn it into a nuke), but connecting to a server that you do not own is a completely different ball game. Strict network T&C are there to try and make sure everyone has the same experience (country by country laws taken into account), if you do not agree you have to find another service.

[shinji257]

I think this is the second wave of this that I'm aware of. I'm not sure but I don't think much came of the first wave and was simply a scare tactic. Unless someone comes forward and shows that they have actually been banned from PSN then I think this is more of the same.