Topic: WARNING Trojan for PlayStation Portable and another for Nintendo DS

[Nemesis]

Link to full article

The hugely popular PlayStation Portable games device has become the latest target for computer miscreants, with the discovery of a "Trojan horse" program that renders the machines inoperable.

The PSP is designed to run only approved games and software, but unauthorised codes, or “patches”, can be downloaded and installed in order to bypass these controls. The newly discovered malicious software, or "malware", poses as just such an illicit patch. The problem is that, once installed, it deletes four critical system files, rendering the infected device useless.

Researchers at antivirus firm Symantec say the Trojan, dubbed Trojan.PSPBrick, was found circulating on gaming web sites last week. PSP users who unwittingly install it will see the message "Your PSP 2.0 is hacked, please reboot" pop up on the screen of their console. However, efforts to restart the gadget are likely to end in frustration.

[Nemesis]

Link to full article

The simple Trojan, dubbed DSBrick, overwrites critical memory areas, preventing the console from booting up normally and thereby turning it into an expensive paper weight. Finnish security firm F-Secure reports the Trojan has been distributed in files with names such as r0mloader.zip and taihen.zip that pose as homebrew apps.

[S'Raek]

OK, so the point is that if you don't download illegal or unauthorized files you are fine, right?  I've never been one to feel sorry for folks that illegally modify or other wise screw with their systems. 

Not that I'm above using the occassional cheat code. 

[Nemesis]

OK, so the point is that if you don't download illegal or unauthorized files you are fine, right?  I've never been one to feel sorry for folks that illegally modify or other wise screw with their systems. 

Not that I'm above using the occassional cheat code. 

Illegally modify?  You mean like the way you may modify the car you bought or the house you bought? 

Copying something you have no legal right to I will back you up as something that shouldn't be done and those caught should be punished appropriately.  But modifying something you own no.  I have known of mods for the X-Box for example (I don't own a console) which allow you to copy the games you own to the HD and play them from there.  That should not be illegal, so long as you own a copy of the game and don't allow it to be installed in other machines without deleting the copy first.

[S'Raek]

OK, so the point is that if you don't download illegal or unauthorized files you are fine, right?  I've never been one to feel sorry for folks that illegally modify or other wise screw with their systems. 

Not that I'm above using the occasional cheat code. 

Illegally modify?  You mean like the way you may modify the car you bought or the house you bought? 

Copying something you have no legal right to I will back you up as something that shouldn't be done and those caught should be punished appropriately.  But modifying something you own no.  I have known of mods for the X-Box for example (I don't own a console) which allow you to copy the games you own to the HD and play them from there.  That should not be illegal, so long as you own a copy of the game and don't allow it to be installed in other machines without deleting the copy first.

If someone was really going to modify their system for whatever reason that was really legal I wouldn't care.  But come on man, 99% of the people that I ever knew that modified their Playstations (for example) did it so they could play illegally copied games.  Some guys I used to know, this was at my last duty station, had maybe two legally bought games out of the hundreds they owned.  I think this is the norm rather than the exception.  Personally I've never modified a system because of warranty issues and because I'm afraid that it will somehow fry my system.  And I don't have a ton of time to play games so it's not that big of a financial drain. 

To quote from the first article: 

"For those unlucky enough to install Trojan.PSPBrick, the motivation is a desire to play free games and add new functionality to their gadget. In July 2005, Sony issued a PSP upgrade to make it harder to play unauthorised games. The new malware masquerades as a patch that negates this upgrade. However, software that genuinely removes this official upgrade can still be found online."

The bolded is illegal.  Not sure about the new functionality or what that means exactly.  Basically the way I read the articles is that people that are downloading programs to their PSP so they can play illegal games are getting burned.  That doesn't bother me in the least. 

Oh, and the modifying my house or car comparison doesn't work because having your house or car painted, changing the shutters or wheels or whatever else you can do isn't illegal.  Unless of course I were to modify my car with anti-tank missiles and automatic machineguns, which would be pretty cool.   

[Nemesis]

The bolded is illegal.  Not sure about the new functionality or what that means exactly.  Basically the way I read the articles is that people that are downloading programs to their PSP so they can play illegal games are getting burned.  That doesn't bother me in the least. 

Oh, and the modifying my house or car comparison doesn't work because having your house or car painted, changing the shutters or wheels or whatever else you can do isn't illegal.  Unless of course I were to modify my car with anti-tank missiles and automatic machineguns, which would be pretty cool.   

How about adding a sound system that can be used to generate sound volumes that violate local sound ordinances or allow you to out race the cops?  You may have no intention of ever playing your music that loud or speeding but both allow you to break the law but the modifications themselves are legal.   Why should the equivalent be disallowed on a machine to play games?

Why should a law abiding citizen be disallowed from dong something merely because another person may do the same thing for an illegal reason?  If something has no legitmate reason then yes that modification should be illegal.  But even your quoted article stated  "and add new functionality". 

[S'Raek]

OK, short and sweet to make myself clear.  As far as I know, actually modifying your system is not illegal.  Though it does violate your warranty.

In my experience, everyone that has modified their systems has done so to do further illegal activities - i.e. playing copied or stolen games.

Since these Trojan horse programs only seem to attack modified systems, and since in my opinion most modified systems are done so for illegal reason, I have no sympathy for the people who have their systems ruined.

You pose nice hypotheticals but in experience I don't think many people mod their systems to add sound systems.  (And yes, I know you were talking about cars.)

[Sirgod]

I have a modded PS2, But It is for Jap. Import games, Not to download other games. I know alot of people who also like first dibs on Jap Consol games. of course playing a game in a foriegn Language while Drunk can get entertaining at times.

Stephen

[S'Raek]

lol  I can't even imagine.  Don't know if you have ever been over there but you should try watching their TV commercials.  You don't have to be drunk to get a laugh out of those things. 

And on topic, I don't really care if people modify their systems for one reason or another.  You paid for it.  But anytime you change something from the manufacturers specs you have to be willing to take the good with the bad. 

[Nemesis]

OK, short and sweet to make myself clear.  As far as I know, actually modifying your system is not illegal.  Though it does violate your warranty.

The Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) in the U.S. and similar laws in other countries prohibits violating copyright protections.  It also prohibits owning tools to break copyright protections.  The methods used by consoles (such as the X-Box) to block piracy and other "unauthorized" uses of the consoles are copy protection mechanisms. 

I know at least one person who bought an X-Box to run Linux (and the Linux version of Seti at home).  To do so he had to hack the machine, defeating the copy protection mechanisms.  The X-Box is a general purpose computer limited by hardware and software to act as a console.  There are ways to hack it and use it as a PC but they all violate the DMCA and are illegal under the DMCA.  By hacking the hardware you can attach a USB mouse and keyboard and other things (such as larger HDs).  By hacking the software you can load other software including Linux.

There is at least one project I have heard of to allow the Nintendo DS to by used as a PDA with a better screen than most.  However that means beating the copy protection mechanisms and is illegal.  Again this mean running a version of Linux and defeating the copy protection systems.

There were already laws before the DMCA to punish people for copyright violation the DMCA only allows companies to unilaterally take rights away from the owners of hardware and software.

Because there are legitimate reasons to hack your system it should not be made illegal.  The mere fact that some even most who hack the system do so to commit copyright violations should not be used to prevent people from legitimately using the systems in ways not planned by the manufacturers.   Punish people for violating copyright not for violating EULAs or modifying hardware and software that they own.

[S'Raek]

OK, I'd never heard that actually modifying your system was illegal.  Obviously there are things you can do with it once you mod the thing that are illegal but just messing with your system shouldn't be.  Of course, as I have stated before, I think that the majority of people do intend to do illegal things but you can't punish everyone for what other people do. 

And that is a good idea, Nintendo should come out with a "game" that allows you to use the DS as a PDA.  I bet it would sell. 

[Nemesis]

Most of the stories that show the illegality involve people who are also pirating and I have a limited time to do research but here is a link to an article

But mod chips aren't just for gamers. A coalition of hackers across the world is using mod chips to run something perfectly legal: Linux on the Xbox. Andy Green, cofounder of the Xbox Linux Project, says the project is, in part, an act of protest against Microsoft's continued attempts to lock out alternative operating systems. "The Xbox is not a gaming console," Green contends. "It's a Windows-only PC." Michael Robertson, head of Lindows.com-developer of a Linux version called Lindows-even put up $200,000 for the first person who could accomplish the task.

The laws surrounding mod chips are nebulous. Last year, a judge in Australia ruled that the chips do not violate copyright protection laws. In the United States, however, the DMCA has been interpreted in a different way. Passed in 1998, this law bans not only the circumvention of copyright protection, but any technology that enables such a circumvention to occur. This prohibition applies even if the copyright protection is being bypassed for a legal application, such as running Linux or playing a CD copy of a game made by the purchaser.

Here is a 2nd link.  This article is about a site that was taken down in the U.S. for selling chips to mod consoles.  It also hosted forums that talked about piracy.

The site's owner, David Rocci, fell foul of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which makes it a crime to distribute tools that can be used to circumvent copyright controls on digital products.

The site did not contain illegal copies of video games, software and movies, but instead featured message boards where people could share tips about pirated material.

But the site was also used to market modification, or mod, chips. These have been a headache for game hardware makers for years,

Mod chips are grey-market add-ons that, once soldered to a console's main circuit board, defeat security systems and allow people to play games originally sent to different geographic markets, backup copies and bootleg discs.

[Nemesis]

And that is a good idea, Nintendo should come out with a "game" that allows you to use the DS as a PDA.  I bet it would sell. 

Why though should you only be able to buy or otherwise acquire one from Nintendo or an authorized retailer?  Why should you not be able to use a program you self created or which someone else created and distributes freely?  Linux for example.

Nintendo and other console makers sell their consoles at a loss and make their money off the games that they and others make so outlawing mods benefits them.  However it penalizes you the owner of the console.  You trade a cheaper console price for limitations on the games (programs) you can use and higher prices for them.