Protect PS3 from hacking and sabotage
SOS. I just loaned my PS3 to an acquaintance of dubious integrity (for reasons of diplomacy and political correctness. Please don't ask. Long story.) Is there any way that I can determine if my unit has been tampered with (aside from examining the exterior for physical damage)? Is it possible to install self-destructing software or malware, virus, etc. on a PS3? Can my PSN account be hacked through the unauthorized use of my PS3? How can I protect my unit?
Best Answer
The PlayStation 3 is meant to be secure from hackers as being able to hack it would allow people to play pirated games. Unfortunately, a few years ago a gaping wide hole in the PS3 defences was exploited to allow custom firmware to be loaded. However, since the purpose of this custom firmware is to allow playing pirated games, it's meant only to harm game publishers, not gamers yourself. It should also be fairly apparent that the console has been modified this way, as the custom firmware has no reason to try hide itself from the user.
In theory the person you lent your PS3 could have made his own custom firmware that did something malicious to specifically harm you, but this would require a fair bit of programming expertise. It also would be a lot of work, when it would be simpler to just hand you back a broken PS3 and blame you for it.
Your PSN account is a different matter. If you saved your password on the machine than he could used your account to buy games or do something that would get your account banned. He probably can't have changed your password without knowing the password, but you can find that out soon enough. If you didn't remember to erase your password from the machine before you gave it to him, you should log on to Sony's website and change it there.
One that thing in particular can get your PSN account banned is having custom firmware installed on it. When you get the PS3 back you should check the firmware version (Settings -> System Settings -> System Information), and see if it says something like "Version 4.65 CFW". Any letters after the version number indicates that it's using custom firmware, if there are no letters (eg. "Version 4.66") then it's probably still using Sony's official firmware. If you find custom firmware on it, you should be able to restore the official firmware through the standard methods.
Other than that the only things he can do should be fairly obvious. He can delete any saved games you have on the console, along with any music, videos or pictures you may have copied to it. If he has access to your PSN account he can impersonate you and make you look bad to anyone you know online.
Any sort physical hardware hacking would be impractical. He'd have to be very knowledgeable about electronics, and it would be huge amount of work and a significant expense to do anything more harmful or more sophisticated than smashing it with a hammer.
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Can someone hack your PS3?
Jailbreaking allows you to install mods, cheats, third-party applications, and games that you normally can't use on the PS3. Keep in mind that jailbreaking your PS3 is against Sony's terms of use, so you won't be able to go online while the jailbreak is active without risking being permanently banned.Can you lock a PS3?
Next, you want to go into Settings->Security Settings->Parental Control It will ask you for a passcode, enter one (make sure you remember it). Set the parental control level to 1 (the strictest) and when prompted, check the box that says "Restrict Starting a game with no Parental Control Settings" and click OK.How do hackers get personal information?
One way is to try to obtain information directly from an Internet-connected device by installing spyware, which sends information from your device to others without your knowledge or consent. Hackers may install spyware by tricking you into opening spam email, or into \u201cclicking\u201d on attachments, images, and links in ...27c3: Console Hacking 2010 (en)
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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