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Seeking to restore an unjailbroken balance to the force that is the Sony PS3, a new 3.42 firmware update has disabled the PSGroove, PSFreedom and PSJailbreak USB dongle methods to stop unauthorised access to a world of pirate and homebrew PS3 software.
Just like the cat and mouse games played between Apple, the iPhone Dev Team, Geohot and other iHackers, so too has a similar game been playing itself out in the world of the Playstation 3.
With legal purchases of games being how Sony recoups losses on the PS3 hardware, the recent jailbreaking activity around the PS3 must have been very alarming to Sony, something it has fought long and hard against in the world of the PSP.
After all, jailbreaking isn’t just used for the playing of “homebrew” or personal backup copies of PS3 software, or delivering access to the previously available Linux capabilities of the console, but can also be used by pirates to play pirated copies of PS3 games.
This is despite the PSGroove jailbreak specifically disallowing such capabilities, although the other USB dongle PS3 jailbreaking devices had no such qualms.
So, Sony has delivered a firmware update, 3.42 in very quick time to shut the jailbreaks down until the hackers find a way around the new lock-out. While updating to 3.42 is not mandatory, access to the PlayStation Network is not possible until the update has successfully been applied.
Sony’s PlayStation blog lists Sony’s Director of Hardware Marketing, John Koller stating: “Hi everyone! A minor update to your PS3 system is now available via system software update v3.42 that includes additional security features. For more details and instructions on how to update the system software for the PS3 system, please visit the PS3 System Updates page.”
Commenters at the blog noted that the update was really designed to block the USB jailbreak dongles from working, with the PSX-Scene site issuing the following warning: “NOTICE: To all the PSFreedom, PSGroove, PSJailbreak owners out there! Sony has finally released the Dongle-Blocking v3.42 firmware to all the PS3's around the world! FOR NOW PLEASE DON'T UPDATE YOUR PS3, IF YOU WISH TO FULLY ENJOY IT!”.
The move follows court action in Australia where Sony has successfully stopped OzModChips from distributing the PSJailbreak dongle and forcing it to turn over all PSJailbreak stock.
So… while the jailbreaking scene appears alive and well in the world of the PS3 despite the 3.42 setback, hackers will continue to find yet more ways to break into the system, as Sony works to shut them out.
For the majority of PS3 owners, the entire affair will have passed them by, but for those who really want to jailbreak, you’ll either need to avoid 3.42 and perhaps buy another PS3 to “enjoy” the best of both worlds, or wait until the hackers do their thing once more.
For most it’s all just far too much trouble, but if you’re the type that values the freedom to tinker and hack, the next level of PS3 jailbreak supremacy awaits in what for some is the best real-life PS3 game of all!
David Bass
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