[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jOEbZEkp9A]
It’s been a long time coming, but the video above shows a modchip circumventing the PlayStation 3 security by running a game from a hard drive. The sites Ozmodchips.com which sells the modchip, and psx-scene.com which has confirmed them as working are both unstable right now due to heavy traffic. But here’s what we know. The device is called the PS Jailbreak and can be used to dump PS3 games to the hard drive of a PlayStation3 running the most current firmware (3.41). Dumped games can then be played from the hard drive by selecting them from a menu that the modchip spawns. It’ll cost you though. The current preorder price is $169.99 AUD or $147.47 US dollars with a projected delivery date of August 27th.
[Thanks Charlie via Slashdot]
that’s crazy awesome, but soon all modding will be done wireless-ly.
This is very clever. I really wonder how they did it.
Not sure I believe this one yet. Even if it is true, that kind of sucks… I wanted my Other OS back not the ability to put 1 or 2 games on my hard drive.
Wow. “Long time coming” is an understatement! PS3 did a really good job designing the PS3 to be hacker-proof. Of course we know there is no such thing, but it took forever to crack.
*Sony
Assuming this works, let’s not pat Sony on the back for 4 long years of protected machines just yet. There had been little need to hack the PS3 for homebrew all while it ran Linux and thousands of applications, officially endorsed by Sony way back in 2006. It was only recently that Sony screwed Linux users when they removed OtherOS, so it’s only been a few months in reality.
I find it amusing the first thing we see is the door to piracy. Just watch PS3 sales go now!
I’d like to get hold of one of these USB devices and see what it actually is. I’m not really willing to sink 160 bucks on it though. At that price I could just buy the games I want anyway!
This was on slashdot eariler, and there wasnt that much information at that time, just a buy now link and that video
I am glad a 3rd party checked it out, but like with any console mod, I would wait a few weeks to see how the dust settles
Fuck Sony they deserved this for removing other os for “security reasons” I hope they loose the six court cases that are against them for removing it and loose even more money.
Sadly I will not be spending $150 on a product that sony could potentially block in future firmwares… Either way I am looking forward to cheaper the further hacking of the console =).
Hey, I drive past that shop all the time. Maybe I should pop in and take a look?
Excuse me for going all conspiracy theory on us but Sony at long last make a profit on each console and suddenly they’re cracked driving console sales sky high, seems fishy to me
@KayDat
DO EET NOW!
I heard that it works by emulating a development tool used by ps3 devs for debugging.
wait 2 weeks for a chinese clone of the dongle to come out for $30 if you don’t want to drop that much coin.
Great job hackaday, now sony is going to remove our usb functionality. Seriously though, im glad geohot quit handing out free stuff to ungreatful idiots, he had a good run though. Sony has pissed me off, i kept my ps3 around in hopes somebody will come up with a hack like this.
This is legit and confirmed by various sources that tested the device, in reality is a clone of the USB that is used to put the machine in developer or sat mode that enables it to run unsigned applications.
Look. Modded my ps2 back when chips were required. Modded the xbox before softmods came out. Modded the wii as well, then added softmod. Now the XBOX 360 has the drive hack, and jtag hack. Modchips for all the consoles that had to be modded at the time had cost between $30-45.
These tools making this ps3 device running a pkg file on a $5 usb memory stick are smoking some insane crap to charge $170. Look at the progress that was already done on the PS3, Geohot, these current Spanish hackers/TeamJungle that are working on the ps3 blu-ray drive, they’d never charge a penny, like the XBOX360 drive hack.
I can’t wait if this turns out real, and REAL PS3 hackers like the one’s mentioned dump the code off those memory sticks, and decrypt it, if it’s even encrypted.
@ word its not a usb memory stick, its custom hardware. there charging so much for it cause they know its guna be cloned 2 days after the release so there guna try to make as much money as they can.
off topic from our conversation but i found this funny
PS3 Firmware (v3.42) Update
The next system software update for the PlayStation 3 (PS3) system will be released on August 19, 2010 (JST), and will disable the USB ports that are available on all PS3 systems, launched in November 2006. Due to security concerns, Sony Computer Entertainment will remove the functionality through the 3.42 system software update.
In addition, disabling the USB ports will help ensure that PS3 owners will continue to have access to the broad range of gaming and entertainment content from SCE and its content partners on a more secure system.
Consumers and organizations that currently use the USB ports can choose not to upgrade their PS3 systems, although the following features will no longer be available;
* Ability to sign in to PlayStation Network and use network features that require signing in to PlayStation Network, such as online features of PS3 games and chat
* Playback of PS3 software titles or Blu-ray Disc videos that require PS3 system software version 3.42 or later
* Playback of copyright-protected videos that are stored on a media server (when DTCP-IP is enabled under Settings)
* Use of new features and improvements that are available on PS3 system software 3.42 or later
Additional information about PS3 firmware updates, including v3.42 (once it becomes available), can be found here: http://us.playstation.com/support/systemupdates/ps3/index.htm
@mick
This must have merit then if their removing USB port functionality, that’s going to seriously piss people off. It’s like when Geohot accessed some areas under Nix, and then immediately Sony removes the OtherOS function.
We can only hope something real comes out of this that’s FREE. Just yesterday TeamJungle (The guys who originally hacked/write all the Xbox 360 drive firmwares) announces their working with these Spanish hackers on the blu-ray drive, they had dumped, and decrypted it the firmware. Then a day later we see this “psjailbreak,” crap.
@mick figures… i wish half the planet had the sense most of the readers here do to not buy hardware that is continually handicapped by the company you bought it from through ‘upgrades’. If that were the case maybe Sony, Apple, and the like would realize they can make more money bye just selling us cool hardware and letting us use it for whatever we want.
the mod is worthless, as its done through the usb port and not directly to the hardware within the system, it will be easier for sony to patch it up and is a complete waste of $150 which is outrageous
Quote from psx-scene: “We’ve heard from numerous sources that their PS Jailbreak clones will be hitting as early as next week. We’ll leave it up to you whether you want to take a chance on something like that. ”
Haha. I wonder what those will cost, $99.00? lol.
@Word, Kyle
I hope to god you are kidding around and can realise that the ‘firmware update’ is only a parody of the otherOS fiasco?
Sony pretty much screwed themselves when they removed other OS now every hacker out there has their number.
the thing i posted earlier about about sony removing the usb’s was a joke
@mick good one hahah
@Mick – funny how nobody questioned it, eh!
People on engadget were saying that this only works on developer boxes, not consumer PS3s.
I just read about the PS3 security there:
http://www.edepot.com/playstation3.html#PS3_Security
This is how asymmetric encryption is properly implemented.
Public key inside the chip, so if you microprobe the running chip to get plain machine code and read the public key from the chip you still don’t have the private key to encrypt plain machine code to encrypted machine code which you can feed to your PS3.
IMHO, the PS3 is only really “hacked” if the private key is somehow found (like in the TI89/Ti200 caes by factorization) or if it somehow leaks from sony
@andrew
Engadget is ran by morons. PS devs all in the scene have said this is real, and that it does work on retail consoles.
well if it lets us run unsigned code does that mean we can use linux again???
if so i know a few universities that will be ordering a few hundred usb stick to get there super computers back up and running lmfao
Flying my pirate flag high today; the next step is using this exploit to install modified firmware, effectively putting the ps3 on par with the psp in terms of ‘unauthorized’ code. Here’s to CFW asap.
The only people who have these things already are morons.
Quote: ” Can the USB Dongle be dumped? Possibly however initial common attempts to dump it have failed. The dongle is detected as an Unknown USB device in windows. It does not show up as a storage device. Trying to raw dump it with programs like Hex workshop also do not detect it since it doesn’t show as a storage device.”
Someone send me one. I’ll dump whatever’s on it, and include pictures of the thing torn apart proving it’s just a flash usb device!
It’s already been reversed. It uses SCE licensed dev dongle code left into debug and retail units. This will be dead in a matter of time which is why they block updates with it.
There is not exploit in it basically..
if people are smart they wont update anymore, the current FW is stable, and they can patch version checks from new disks in current firmware.
Keep ’em coming. I say “F” FONY. I paid for “It only does everything” functionality and they have the nuts to take that away… You can’t stop the people, FONY.
While I *do not* like closed systems, I understand that content developers will not develop or release content into a venue that has been compromised. A very unfortunate situation… : (
@Java
Unless the universities you are talking about updated their PS3s to play online and chat with their friends, they are unaffected. I still run OtherOS because I haven’t updated, however I can not log on to PSN.
i hope this works on my OOS unit still :) could care less about the PSN, hoping though that there will be a free/less spendy route to getting this running, i’m hoping that it will be mass released through some avenue (not sure on legality since i’ve read it was partially developed using a leaked SDK from Sony (much like UMDTools for PSP)
so far it’s only reports though, i do trust the longstanding veterans of the scene that have tested this, and sure it’ll probably be somehow changed by a future FW (maybe) but either way, when this comes out, sony will make a boat load from increased console sales.
Plenty of people have avoided buying Ps3’s for the sole purpose is it isn’t hacked like the rest of it’s family.
Hope people have fun w/ this.
ps removing OOS was utter bullshit anyway.
@Hitek146: If I got investors to give 10+ million for a project(cost for most commercial game titles now) I wouldn’t either. Studios don’t start making money till investors and a few other things are paid, plus server costs for multiplayer which are all on OC upsteams(very very expensive monthly).
This may sound anti-social, but I can’t afford the credentials to work at any of these companies. I have no problem seeing all these hardware and software DRM implementations getting destroyed. I could of done the PS3 where it’d take years of chip reversing with only firmware changes. This didn’t even take work, this dongle is based on a lightly modified SCE tool, 99% of the code is SCE API and even extracted blocks from dev kit binaries..
It doesn’t take brains to work in the IT industry, you think the fact all consoles are now defeated is sad, You can still rebuild SecuRom 7.42 with tools from SecuRom 7.3x(~3 years old), it’s the same VM and jump bridge xD. This is the most complex software only DRM in the world..literally, and x86 protector dongles aren’t any better.
Well, hehe… That should have been expected. Yet I’m still not buying it until I have a linux running on bare hardware with no hypervisor. And it doesn’t matter whether it is vendor supported, or hacked.
“While I *do not* like closed systems, I understand that content developers will not develop or release content into a venue that has been compromised. A very unfortunate situation… : (”
@Hitek146 – 360 not already been hacked for over 3 years, your statement might have an ounce of truth. Fact is, it still has the highest attach rate of any of the next gen consoles. I certainly don’t condone piracy but if this takes off, Sony are going to be selling a whole bunch of consoles very quickly – that’s not a bad thing for them.
Sorry, should have read “If the 360 had not already been hacked”
Dear Sony,
That’s what you get for taking Linux away from us.
Now die.
:-)
@Xb0xGuru
I remember some icons documentary on G4 (yeah I know) that Microsoft knows about hacking during the time of the development of the 360. Their idea was to not stop it but manage it. Unlike sony’s, that take the apple approach and keep everything lockdown unless said so.
M$ understands the power of word-of-mouth and likes the idea that free software to someone that is pirating it is kind of like free rented games at gamestop if you worked there. Tell your friends. They buy it, hack it, and tell their friends. Some get banned from xbox while others don’t. Lots just buy the game to just play with their friends on xbox live(that they have to pay points for). I would call this a negative free advertisement as the piraters just basically paid to advertise xbox!
Anyone that works with USB knows that anything that uses it for communication is not secure. All it takes is about $20 in hardware and the proper software. You tap the usb data lines and record the traffic. Using winhex and windows to reverse engineer a dongle is not the way to get things like this down. This is why most companies have abandoned dongles. Anything that can be connected to an external interface is vulnerable.
Sony makes money, the people who make money off games and sale bandwidth to download them lose money..mmm trivial economics
I’m sure someone is going to try to say that just because nobody buys stuff doesn’t mean the seller is losing money. My response is you may want to go back to grade school and retake basic mathematics.
Also this dongle isn’t a hacke. It can easily be patched from updates, blocked from game servers and even updated disks. Someone sold a “JIG” and someone else paid someone to reverse it then they manufactured it in some country..
Dongles are easy to secure. The host simply asks the dongle to sign a random number. The dongle then dose this (ideally with a one-time pad, but practically public key encryption is fine) and sends back the result. Eavesdropping or spoofing the communication doesn’t help. Theoretically you could physically read the key from inside the IC on the dongle, but it could be extremely hard in practice.
Dongles on the PC have been abandoned because it is trivial to patch the software to ignore the results of the check.
meh, sony will just disable the usb drive. they will go as far as bricking the ps3 to prevent piracy.