PS3 still down

[Crimson]

Apparently due to some hackers? Don't have alot of info but probably some Xbox users:-\

[RoXer]

probably

[Emperor Smeat]

From what I've heard its between 3 main possibilities:
1) Splinter group not related to the main Anonymous anti-Sony group doing the hacking
2) Sony underestimated the effect of adding Steam to PSN.
3) The outside firm they hired to protect and monitor PSN either has a glitch with their software or something else occurred causing it to conflict with other stuff.

I bet its more likely Steam and Cloud support is causing more problems since it started roughly the same time as Portal 2 console launch. Japan's PSN servers also went down around the same time as Portal 2 but it could also be some issue related to the past earthquake.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

Whatever the reason, it's pretty annoying, since it's keeping me off Netflix. Trying to write a paper w/o having something decent on in the background is going to drive me nuts.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/04/22/update-on-playstation-network-qriocity-services/

Sounds like they were hacked. I'm almost willing to bet there was a risk of credit card info getting stolen, so they immediately pulled the plug to cover their asses.

An external intrusion on our system has affected our PlayStation Network and Qriocity services. In order to conduct a thorough investigation and to verify the smooth and secure operation of our network services going forward, we turned off PlayStation Network & Qriocity services on the evening of Wednesday, April 20th. Providing quality entertainment services to our customers and partners is our utmost priority. We are doing all we can to resolve this situation quickly, and we once again thank you for your patience. We will continue to update you promptly as we have additional information to share.

[Gonzo]

http://art.penny-arcade.com/photos/1261596481_3Fw2MnJ-L.jpg

[What Would Kevin Do?]

Some of the message boards are hilarious. Seriously, get a life people. Wah, you can't play your precious video games online. Go do something productive.

[CSL]

Yeah, tried to sign in earlier and it was still down and my first thought was how many COD lifers are currently probably going through some variety of meltdown

[El Fangel]

Hey, for only 8.99 a month, you dont have to worry about this :D

[LoDownM]

No online gaming is not a big deal for me. Perfectly fine playing single player games.

[El Fangel]

Yeah, gotta agree with LDM. If XBL was down, I might actually finish half the games I have.

[dronepool]

No online gaming is not a big deal for me. Perfectly fine playing single player games.

I only wanted to go online to redeem my codes, I don't care about playing online 9 out of 10 times in most games.

[Emperor Smeat]

A few Capcom games are unplayable in offline or single player due to the DRM Capcom uses but they are only downloadable titles and not disc games.

[G]

No online gaming is not a big deal for me. Perfectly fine playing single player games.

Yup. Plenty of shit I have to play.

Yeah, gotta agree with LDM. If XBL was down, I might actually finish half the games I have.

I'm telling you, put CoD down for a few weeks and you will be surprised of all the shit you get done.

[Matt Gingarac]

Yeah, tried to sign in earlier and it was still down and my first thought was how many COD lifers are currently probably going through some variety of meltdown

Playstation.blog is fun to read atm, bitches complaining they need compensation for a free service. and ps+ users asking for a refund cos they cant go online. peeps that have paid for subs(MLB.tv,netflix etc.) thats fair game

[G]

well they are saying that netflix still works, but i couldn't figure out how

[Boomer]

well they are saying that netflix still works, but i couldn't figure out how

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/HMPM2HWRC_M" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Haven't tried it, but its supposed to work.

[dronepool]

It worked once for me, the second time Netflix had some kind of Error/Retry thing.

[mhirn3]

Hey Sony fix this shit or I will have to resort to binge drinking and hurling insults on the internet to fill my free time

[Matt Gingarac]

lool, people on playstation blog seriously considering trading towards xbox. acting like its the rapture

[#BROKEN Hasney]

What's the issue with trading for a 360? A bet a lot of them traded their 360 for a PS3 after the RRoD fiasco.

[Matt Gingarac]

What's the issue with trading for a 360? A bet a lot of them traded their 360 for a PS3 after the RRoD fiasco.

Aint saying anything bad about the 360, kinda wish i had both. But its the way they are going on with it.

[mhirn3]

http://100gf.wordpress.com/2011/04/24/psn-playstation-network-will-be-back-up-monday-in-japan-tuesday-in-us-and-europe/


Supposedly on tuesday

[Matt Gingarac]

Hopefully sony will confirm it in next 12 hours or so.

[D Mac]

Aint saying anything bad about the 360, kinda wish i had both. But its the way they are going on with it.

It's good to have both. :cool:

[Matt Gingarac]

no new update from sony.....though it was easter sunday

[Seth82]

I've heard it's supposed to be back up and working someday today here in the states

hopefully it's true as I just started using Netflix not long before it went down

[mhirn3]

Sony saying that they can't say if peoples credit cards have been stolen or not

[Emperor Smeat]

Penny Arcade had a nice article saying Sony could avoid a lot of this mess had they been more open to their users of what was occurring instead of leaving them in the dark for too long and then using a vague "external intrusion" as a reason.

An issue like this should, in practice, be an argument against a monolithic service. For example, if Xbox Live were down, you wouldn’t be able to access Netflix, which is still available to users even though the PSN is down. This should have been an incredible first showing for Portal 2, seeing as its richest functionality exists on a robust and venerable parallel network. But Steam access is gated via their warped-ass oculus for some reason, even though other partners aren’t held to the same standard.

The thing to say on your web is that since PSN is free you can’t really complain about it, and that’s pretty dumb. Maybe you could have said that if you couldn’t play Ratchet and Clank online with your Playstation 2, but that era is fucking over. By “that era,” I’m referring to the one where chains of appliance “islands” exist in millions of discrete universes across the globe. The store, your friends list, these aren’t perks. By 2011, they’re bedrock assertions of the medium. The deal they made with users - one which, for years, was the justification for a gruesome price disparity - was “free Xbox Live,” not “shit happens.”

They have a serious problem here, and as serious as their technology problem might be, it’s not the biggest one they have. Their problem is that they don’t know how to communicate about anything but their legendary prowess. They simply don’t have it. I mean, genetically. They need to find a human being, or hire one, and start an actual dialogue with users.

[JimmyMess]

I rarely play PS3 online, I'd rather have some of my friends over to play games, its more fun, IMO.

But that sucks in general about the whole hacking thing

[What Would Kevin Do?]

Yeah, there is definitely a risk of credit cards getting taken. Not sure if it's totally related, but my Mastercard, which is the one I use on PSN, is getting switched. When I logged into the website today, it actually said that one of their merchant's security had been breached, so they're issuing me a new card and number.

[RoXer]

Ok, I've seen a bunch of speculation of why people think PSN is down, and I thought I should just post what the community knows in comparison to what Sony is telling everyone. The truth is, there was a new CFW (custom firmware) released known as Rebug (http://rebug.me). It essentially turns a retail console into a dev console (not fully, but gives you a lot of the same options that usually dev's only have access to). Anyway, this new CFW was quickly figured out to give CFW users access to the PSN network again via the dev networks. With a little manipulation of the URL's through a proxy server you could get your hacked console back online. Not that big of a deal, right? Well, it also turns out that some people over at NGU found out that you could provide fake CC# info and the authenticity of the information was never checked as you were on Sony's private developer PSN network (essentially a network that Sony trusted). What happened next was extreme piracy of PSN content. Sony realizing the issue here shut down the network. Now, before you go freaking out about the latest information posted about Kotaku, no ones personal information was accessible via this hack. Not to say they couldn't get it, but no one is admitting to it being available. Anyway, that's the real reason for the PSN downtime. Sony is now rebuilding all of it's PSN servers to be more secure and (hopefully) make sure the CFW users cannot get online anymore.

Edit #1: To those of you saying that this is speculation, you are correct. But, it is speculation based on a lot of facts and the outcome seems to make the most sense.
1. Rebug was released on 3/31/11.
2. First guides of how to use the dev network to get back on COD games on 4/3/11.
3. Word of "shady" sites finding a way to pirate PSN content via the dev networks on 4/7/11 (basing this on posts I had to delete on the website). 4. PSN goes down on 4/20/11

Now, you can believe Sony's PR team which has kept you completely in the dark, or you can see the list of events above and come to your own conclusion. Now, this isn't the first time Sony has fought back against the PS3 modders from getting on PSN. A couple of months ago we had a utility called f*ckPSN that changed the necessary header information that was being sent to Sony to allow modified consoles back online. We were able to use it for about a month. Then came the new TOS, the mass e-mail to PS3 customers, and software update 3.56 and 3.60. So, once again, yes this is all speculation, but it is speculation based on previous actions and known facts.

Edit #2: Mathieulh just mentioned that he has been in contact with someone that has official access to the SCE devnet servers and it was posted to them today that only 3.60+ debug firmwares will be allowed on the dev network anymore. All earlier versions will be cut. If you want to retain your access you need to contact Sony and upgrade to 3.60 debug firmware.

[jcmoorehead]

An update from Sony

http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2011/04/26/psnqriocity-service-update/

The latest information on the PlayStation Network service outage.

Thank you for your patience while we work to resolve the current outage of PlayStation Network & Qriocity services. The following email has been sent to all PSN registrants; please read the help and support FAQ for more information.

Valued PlayStation Network/Qriocity Customer:

We have discovered that between April 17 and April 19, 2011, certain PlayStation Network and Qriocity service user account information was compromised in connection with an illegal and unauthorized intrusion into our network. In response to this intrusion, we have:

1) Temporarily turned off PlayStation Network and Qriocity services;

2) Engaged an outside, recognized security firm to conduct a full and complete investigation into what happened; and

3) Quickly taken steps to enhance security and strengthen our network infrastructure by re-building our system to provide you with greater protection of your personal information.

We greatly appreciate your patience, understanding and goodwill as we do whatever it takes to resolve these issues as quickly and efficiently as practicable.

Although we are still investigating the details of this incident, we believe that an unauthorized person has obtained the following information that you provided: name, address (city, state/province, zip or postal code), country, email address, birthdate, PlayStation Network/Qriocity passwords and login and handle/PSN online ID. It is also possible that your profile data, including purchase history and billing address (city, state, zip), and your PlayStation Network/Qriocity password security answers may have been obtained. If you have authorized a sub-account for your dependent, the same data with respect to your dependent may have been obtained. While there is no evidence that credit card data was taken at this time, we cannot rule out the possibility. If you have provided your credit card data through PlayStation Network or Qriocity, to be on the safe side we are advising that your credit card number (excluding security code) and expiration date may also have been obtained.

For your security, we encourage you to be especially aware of email, telephone, and postal mail scams that ask for personal or sensitive information. Sony will not contact you in any way, including by email, asking for your credit card number, social security, tax identification or similar number or other personally identifiable information. If you are asked for this information, you can be confident Sony is not the entity asking. When the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services are fully restored, we strongly recommend that you log on and change your password. Additionally, if you use your PlayStation Network or Qriocity user name or password for other unrelated services or accounts, we strongly recommend that you change them, as well.

To protect against possible identity theft or other financial loss, we encourage you to remain vigilant to review your account statements and to monitor your credit or similar types of reports.

We thank you for your patience as we complete our investigation of this incident, and we regret any inconvenience. Our teams are working around the clock on this, and services will be restored as soon as possible. Sony takes information protection very seriously and will continue to work to ensure that additional measures are taken to protect personally identifiable information. Providing quality and secure entertainment services to our customers is our utmost priority. Please contact us at uk.playstation.com/psnoutage should you have any additional questions.

Sincerely,
Sony Network Entertainment and Sony Computer Entertainment Teams

Sony Network Entertainment Europe Limited (formerly known as PlayStation Network Europe Limited) is a subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Limited the data controller for PlayStation Network/Qriocity personal data.

[Emperor Smeat]

The FBI has been involved with this situation for the past couple of days but Sony might be in more trouble due to the FBI not being able to confirm some of the stuff Sony has reported as occurring and withholding information of them actually knowing the accounts were hacked 6-9 days before finally telling customers.

Sony also sent urgent messages to all developer consoles and members/studios trying to say the developers side of the servers are "under maintenance" instead of saying the intrusion came from this part of the PSN.

“PSN emergency maintenance.

Please note that PlayStation Network is currently down for an emergency maintenance. Please hold while the issues are resolved.

You will be unable to sign in until the maintenance is resolved.

Apologies for the trouble.”
http://gamrfeed.vgchartz.com/story/85787/psn-outage-get-worse-sony-issues-emergency-maintenance-to-devs/

[alvarado52]

WHERE IS YOUR GOD NOW!?

Seriously though, sucks for PSN users....i mean, beyond the standard suck of PSN anyway.

[ClockShot]

Never used my credit card to make purchases. Everything was bought with scratch off cash.

I should be in good shape, right?

[alvarado52]

Should be. It's a good rule of thumb to avoid putting your CC on anything where possible. I dont do it on PSN, or Xbox Live...

[D Mac]

I used a card to make purchases. Oh well if an unauthorized purchase is made, I will sue Sony for 100000000000000000000000 dollars!

Seriously tho, this is fucking ridiculous.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

Top-drawer PR again by Sony. Let hackers run around with people's card details for a week before telling anyone. Genius.

[D Mac]

I oughta buy a game from PSN when it's back up, then call Sony and say I didn't authorize it and get that game for free! That'll learn em.

[Matt Gingarac]

ijust got off the blower with my bank and there monitoring the situation. I oughta buy a game from PSN when it's back up, then call Sony and say I didn't authorize it and get that game for free! That'll learn em.

yh sounds like a plan

[D Mac]

The odds of them getting my card and using it out of all the people in the world are pretty slim. "It'll never happen to me."

[D Mac]

If they got it they would have used it by now, right? :shifty:

[#BROKEN Hasney]

If they got it they would have used it by now, right? :shifty:

Not really. They'd be stupid to use them now with all the attention and they probably won't use them themselves, just well them underground and make money that way.

It could be years before they get around to charging something.

[El Capitano Gatisto]

Nah, considering the only card I've ever used on PSN is expired, they would need to use this data sooner rather than later. Besides, as someone pointed out: they have tens of millions of users data and it's probably some dickhead who doesn't even know how to apply it.

The main problem here is identify theft, yet that info is so widely disseminated, these sorts of stories don't bother me. I've ordered stuff off small companies on the internet routinely and those should be much more of a worry. Most likely all of our info has been bought and sold plenty of times without us being any the wiser.

In this day and age it's best to assume your info will be stolen at some point and just keep a close eye on your statements. Banks and credit card companies invariably refund you when there's an issue.

[Emperor Smeat]

Sony now hit with a class-action lawsuit over the debacle of waiting almost a week to inform people their credit card and other information was indeed stolen. The lawsuit isn't concerning the hacking aspect of the debacle or Sony shutting down PSN but the recent news of Sony knowing a week before telling anyone the information was stolen.

Yes, this lawsuit has been filed on behalf of angry PSN users who have had their private and credit card information compromised during the attack on the service that has left it inactive since last week. Or as the lawyers more elegantly phrased it, "Failed to take reasonable care to protect, encrypt, and secure the private and sensitive data."

One of the attorneys who filed the suit (Ira P. Rothken) said that the firm brought this case to court on behalf of the consumers who have had their information compromised that want to know the full extent of the breach and just how Sony plans to remedy the situation.

http://screwattack.com/blogs/ScrewAttack-News/Class-action-suit-filed-against-Sony


Also related to the situation is Sony "reviewing" reimbursing paid accounts on PSN (PS+ or the DC Online game) but will not guarantee them actually doing anything regardless of how long PSN stays down.


Sony is now trying to distance themselves from yesterday saying they "confirmed information was stolen" to now "we didn't know information was actual stolen" due to the massive backlash they received from the report. The FBI is supposed to finish up their investigation on the hacking situation within the week and Congress might get involved.
http://screwattack.com/blogs/ScrewAttack-News/Sony-says-they-didnt-know-about-the-personal-info-theft

[#BROKEN Hasney]

Sony has informed consumers who have used the PlayStation Network that much of their personal information has been stolen by a person or group of people who broke into the system and made off with the data. What Sony can't (or won't) tell us is whether our credit card information remains secure.

The number of Ars Technica readers who have had issues with their credit cards in the past few days, and have commented, e-mailed, or Tweeted about the issue, is alarming. We may be dealing with a coincidence in timing, but when your inbox is heavy with people saying they're fighting fraudulent credit card charges, it may be the first signs of fire somewhere in the smoke.

What people are saying

Complete PSN hack coverage:
PSN down due to "external intrusion," no news on fix, credit card security
PSN update: Sony isn't sure your credit card data is safe
Sony admits utter PSN failure: your personal data has been stolen
PlayStation Network hacked, data stolen: how badly is Sony hurt?
Ars readers report credit card fraud, blame Sony
Let's take a look at some of the comments and e-mails that have been sent to us. Some people are just now noticing the issues, while others noticed the fraudulent charges last weekend.

"My American Express card was compromised over the weekend," one commenter stated. "This card sits in a drawer in my house for emergencies, but I did use it once on my PSP for an account. Luckily American Express is very good at notifying me immediately after the first fraudulent purchase."

Another reader e-mailed with a similar story. "About two or three days ago, my bank notified me that I had gotten my own [credit card information] stolen, the one I use for my PSN account, and with it a ticket was purchased through a German*airline*for nearly $600," she told Ars. "They are still looking into the fraud charge meaning that right now I have a negative $500 in my account, with no good chance that I'll be getting that back any time soon."

Another reader had a similar issue. "I had a call from my credit card company trying to verify a purchase which ended up being fraudulent. Same card I use on Sony's network. They denied [the charge] and issued me a new card," the reader commented. "Might be coincidence, but with the other security gaffes recently, I'm guessing not. Not sure what my opinion of Sony is right now and what my future is with them."

Let's keep this ball rolling! "I also had an attempted fraudulent charge on my American Express card, about $8,000 going to some Japanese store. This all happened about when PSN started having trouble, so I'm betting this had something to do with it," another commenter said. "My advice: if you have your credit card info on PSN, watch your accounts like a hawk. I'm buying pre-paid cards from now on; you know, if I decide to ever spend money on PSN again."

Here's a response to a complaint of fraudulent charges in the comments. "Probably not a coincidence, I had the same thing happen this weekend. I got an Easter Sunday call from American Express about suspicious charges that began Saturday."

There are more, but they're all variations on a theme. All told, two dozen or so people have contacted Ars with reports of fraudulent or suspicious activity on their credit cards. It's still possible that this story simply caused people to take a look at their finances and find unrelated issues, but in many of the reports the credit card companies are reaching out to them with reports of abuse.

What can you do?

We contacted Sony for comment, but we're not holding our breath: the company has been famously reluctant to share information with angry gamers demanding disclosure. While the PlayStation Network remains down, you can do a search for past e-mails from Sony, sent when you've added funds to your account; this will tell you what credit card you have on file—and that's the card you need to be concerned about.

Be sure to watch your accounts, search for any suspicious activity, and you can contact your bank and ask for a replacement card. Call your financial institutions about fraud protection services, but be sure to research any for-pay solutions.

If you have had issues with your credit card since the PlayStation hack, let us know in the comments. The sooner we receive official word from Sony, the better for everyone.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

A. It's not a class action yet. They've filed for class action status. It hasn't been granted yet.

B. It's pretty premature, since no real damages have been shown yet. Compensatory damages for what? Changing your password? Ordering a new credit card? I'm not saying it's not serious, but I'm curious to see what sort of compensatory dollar amount is given to "private info." In reality though, the only "private info" would be passwords and CC info. Your name, email address, etc, isn't really private.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

A. It's not a class action yet. They've filed for class action status. It hasn't been granted yet.

B. It's pretty premature, since no real damages have been shown yet. Compensatory damages for what? Changing your password? Ordering a new credit card? I'm not saying it's not serious, but I'm curious to see what sort of compensatory dollar amount is given to "private info." In reality though, the only "private info" would be passwords and CC info. Your name, email address, etc, isn't really private.

True. Unless they can prove that anything has been taken, I doubt they'll have an issue in the US.

They will have an issue over here though. If any data is stored insecurely, we could give Sony a £5mil fine.

[Emperor Smeat]

A. It's not a class action yet. They've filed for class action status. It hasn't been granted yet.

B. It's pretty premature, since no real damages have been shown yet. Compensatory damages for what? Changing your password? Ordering a new credit card? I'm not saying it's not serious, but I'm curious to see what sort of compensatory dollar amount is given to "private info." In reality though, the only "private info" would be passwords and CC info. Your name, email address, etc, isn't really private.

It appears the lawsuit is more of Sony not being straight with its responses to the situation because Sony either waited days with no response or gave a vague response (ex. "maintenance", "external intrusion").

The whole lawsuit is probably going to be determined by what the FBI has for its results of the investigation since it will either prove what Sony has been saying or prove Sony really knew it lost the information and waited over a week to inform their customers.

There is even a few rumors of Sony using the downtime to add non-security features to PSN and don't want the public to know in case of more negative backlash (ex. in-game party chat).

[What Would Kevin Do?]

It appears the lawsuit is more of Sony not being straight with its responses to the situation because Sony either waited days with no response or gave a vague response (ex. "maintenance", "external intrusion").

The whole lawsuit is probably going to be determined by what the FBI has for its results of the investigation since it will either prove what Sony has been saying or prove Sony really knew it lost the information and waited over a week to inform their customers.

There is even a few rumors of Sony using the downtime to add non-security features to PSN and don't want the public to know in case of more negative backlash (ex. in-game party chat).

Even if it's about Sony's response, it still doesn't matter until there's damage. If the lawyers can't prove that Sony's late response actually caused harm to people, the suit will fall flat.

Basically the two theories are:

1. Sony was negligent in it's security, info was stolen.

2. Information was stolen, and Sony negligently waited to tell people about it


Either one of those theories will work. The issue is that a price tag has to be attached to the "harm." Thus far, all that has been confirmed as stolen is names, addresses, email addresses, and I think maybe passwords. The harm there is VERY small (granted multiplied by the affected base, it's bigger.)

Now if they can prove credit info was stolen, that's worth more. Even then though, the only way anyone is going to see a big payout is if someone can prove identity's were stolen, or credit cards were fraudulently used. I mean, yeah, Sony can definitely be found liable, that's not the issue. The issue is damages.

[El Capitano Gatisto]

Credit card companies refund fraudulent transactions anyway so I'm struggling to see what damages the public can actually claim out of that.

[OssMan]

I literally got the email from Sony 10 minutes ago

[Vastardikai]

I got it this morning...

[#BROKEN Hasney]

Sony have waddled onto their blog and said that personal info was stored in an unencrypted format.

Generally a stupid move as they can now be fined by the UK, max £5mil. Probably a few other companies with data protection laws too.

[Lara Emily]

Wow, encryption probably wasn't cost effective lol, they'll come and say in order to keep PSN free they couldn't afford encryption. That's some fucked up shit right there.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

http://psx-scene.com/forums/images/news/plaintext.jpg

http://psx-scene.com/forums/images/news/everything.jpg

http://psx-scene.com/forums/images/news/SonyIsntGoodWithComputers.gif

[Jeritron]

I don't think I have used any active cards to purchase anything on PSN. I do have a Netflix account though.

Interestingly enough, I've had the failed login cues that don't work for a while, but I'm still able to get onto Netflix and use it.

I guess I'll just keep an eye on my statements. So far I don't know of any problems.

[El Fangel]

Just a heads up, Xbox Live has had no problems.

[D Mac]

Just wait, PSN will be not be free in the future.

[El Fangel]

And it will likely still suck monkey nuts.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

It's alright guys, they don't have your full credit card details because PSN never asked for the CVV code on purchases. (http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/04/27/qa-1-for-playstation-network-and-qriocity-services/)

http://bulk2.destructoid.com/ul/199973-header.jpg

O shit...

[Jeritron]

Why have I still been able to use Netflix? When it cues me to sign in, it wasn't working but I just ignored it since it still let me use Netflix and I haven't been playing anything online lately.

I wouldn't have even known about this all if not for this thread. I never check the email I used for PSN

[What Would Kevin Do?]

I'm guessing the Netflix service isn't tied in with the Playstation Network, just the internet itself. It's probably the same reason you could receive PS Updates, set up a LAN, and I think browse the internet too.

[Seth82]

I haven't been able to use Netflix on mine

[Spaff]

I haven't been able to use Netflix on mine

so

[LoDownM]

Just a heads up, Xbox Live has had no problems.

:roll: And I suppose it's because you pay for it right? Because nothing you pay for can ever get hacked or have downtime right? As a former WoW player, you should know that's not even true FA.

[Requiem]

I trust Microsoft's xbox to have better security than I do Blizzard's battle.net or WoW.

[Emperor Smeat]

Banks might potentially sue or try to reclaim losses from Sony due to people swapping for new credit cards.

A new card costing about $3-$5 to make and activate in the system with some estimates putting the total cost being close to $300 million for worst case scenario. This goes on top of "lost revenues" from the interest and charging rates because people are not using the cards.

http://kotaku.com/#!5796935/if-the-psn-attacks-have-you-thinking-of-a-new-credit-card-know-this

[The Rogerer]

Sony confirmed that CC information was encrypted and there is no evidence it was accessed. The sue happy people will have to sue the news sources who incorrectly claimed that the info had been accessed.
I trust Microsoft's xbox to have better security than I do Blizzard's battle.net or WoW.Are you joking, have you seen the amount that people's hotmail accounts get hijacked.

[Spaff]

PSN back up in North America as of 11:33 gmt

[CSL]

Not getting the 'Undergoing maintenance' message anymore but still won't sign in. Guessing it's 'on the way'.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

Not getting the 'Undergoing maintenance' message anymore but still won't sign in. Guessing it's 'on the way'.

I've heard they're going to patch it so you have to update your password before you can sign on.

[Jeritron]

Why are Xbox and Playstation owners competitive about their online service?

[LoDownM]

It's kinda like "my dad is better then your dad!" kid shit. I don't really care either way, I barely use PSN, and I'm 98% sure that if I had live, I would barely use it as well.

[Crimson]

Im still getting the maintnance message

[G]

I don't know what you guys are talking about, but I'm playing Black Ops right now.

[Matt Gingarac]

Still getting maintenance message

[Funky Fly]

Why are Xbox and Playstation owners competitive about their online service?

The debate will rage on forever. My personal stance is that you have a right to be upset about personal info being stolen, but not about a free service going offline. PSN+ guys are free to be pissed off.

[dronepool]

Why are Xbox and Playstation owners competitive about their online service?

They have nothing better to do and think that their opinion matter.

[Seth82]

yeah I am still getting the maintenace message as well

[#BROKEN Hasney]

The debate will rage on forever. My personal stance is that you have a right to be upset about personal info being stolen, but not about a free service going offline. PSN+ guys are free to be pissed off.

Disagree. It's a feature on the box and has sold consoles on the premise of free online gaming. It's hardly "free", just cheaper than live.

[Funky Fly]

And I'm sure if you read the fine print somewhere deep in the ToS, you'll probably find that Sony has the right to terminate online services indefinitely and without notice or compensation to end users.

I'm not saying it's cool, I'm just assuming the worst about a company that clearly only cares about money.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

Don't get me wrong, I don't think Sony will do anything about it. I just think people have the right to be aggrieved.

[St. Jimmy]

I joined a class action suit. :y:

[Splaya]

How can I join :shifty:

[What Would Kevin Do?]

From Kotaku


PlayStation Network, down since April 18, will return "this week," said Kazuo Hirai, the second-in-command for Sony Corp., at a news conference today in Tokyo.

When PSN comes online, users will face a mandatory system software update that requires all PSN users to change their account passwords before they can sign into the service. That password can be changed only on the same PS3 that activated the account, or through a validated email confirmation, Sony said.

Sony has also created a new chief information officer position to oversee security, in the wake of the massive data breach that exposed 77 million account holders' personal information. A "Welcome Back" program offering free content to all subscribers, and a free 30-day subscription to PlayStation Plus members, will also be implemented.

Hopefully the email confirmation thing works well, since I don't have the PS3 I authenticated my accounts on.

[Vietnamese Crippler]

Sony will also be giving everyone access to Playstation Plus for one month.

Which means nothing, of course, since once that month is up you lose anything you've downloaded :o

[G]

Pretty much, unless you buy a game that's been discounted. I wonder how they're going to handle it. If they automatically switch every single account over no questions asked, or if they make you sign up with a credit card so they can automatically renew.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

A "Welcome Back" program offering free content to all subscribers, and a free 30-day subscription to PlayStation Plus members, will also be implemented.

I think the free 30 days for PS+ is only if you're already a member. I think other people are just getting free stuff in general. Hence why it says free stuff for all subscribers, and free subscription to members.

[Vietnamese Crippler]

Sony announced its "Welcome Back" program worldwide, giving all existing PlayStation Network users 30 days of PlayStation Plus for free. Current PlayStation Plus members will receive 30 days of additional service at no cost. Sony will also provide "selected PlayStation entertainment content" for free to download. Details for each region will be announced at a later date. Additionally, Music Unlimited subscribers (in countries where the service is available) will receive 30 days free service.

- http://ps3.ign.com/articles/116/1165399p1.html

That's where I got my info from :-\

[G]

Joystiq also has it implied that everyone will receive it.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

Hmmm. Interesting. But yeah, what's the point really, besides the discounts, since all of it will go away after a month? Better off just giving people free stuff in general. Also, the free stuff better not be crap for Home...

[#BROKEN Hasney]

I think the free 30 days for PS+ is only if you're already a member. I think other people are just getting free stuff in general. Hence why it says free stuff for all subscribers, and free subscription to members.

All existing PlayStation Network customers will be provided with 30 days free membership in the PlayStation Plus premium service. Current members of PlayStation Plus will receive 30 days free service.

Does smack of marketing that though. Have this content for 30 days then we'll rip it away.

The free content could be nice though.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

<iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/oF29asqCv4Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Penner]

Excuse my ignorance, but what is Playstation Plus?

[Vietnamese Crippler]

http://us.playstation.com/psn/playstation-plus/

[Matt Gingarac]

this is starting to grind my gears

[#BROKEN Hasney]

http://www.destructoid.com/elephant/ul/user/8/8423-jimfacejpg-avatar.jpg (http://www.destructoid.com/elephant/index.phtml?a=8423&nav=)
The PSN Facebook Page: Your new source of facepalm

(http://www.destructoid.com/the-psn-facebook-page-your-new-source-of-facepalm-200121.phtml) If there's one thing I've learned from this whole PlayStation Network downtime (http://www.destructoid.com/psn-back-up-this-week-playstation-plus-free-for-30-days-200107.phtml), it's that console fanboys, stupid as they are, can always get more stupid. This has been proven on the PlayStation Network Facebook Page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/PSN/115422133118), which has been a terrific source of free entertainment since the PSN went offline.
Actually, scratch that. It's not free, per se. It comes at the cost of your sanity and faith in humankind. However, that may be a negligible price to pay if you're a big fan of watching idiots embarrass themselves online.
Something dumb is written on this page at least once every six minutes. What follows is a mere example of choice cuts.
dear playstation, yur still better than a white green box that happens 2 get a red ring if played 4 2 hours, take yur time cleaning yur system, at least we dont have 2 pay 4 online. XBOX = fail PS3 = # Winning
Where to start? The grammar? The use of #winning weeks after it stopped being relevant? The direct comparison between a system not working and an entire network of 77 million users with compromised personal data? It's all gold!
HAHAHA NORTH AMERICA WILL BE ON FIRST BECAUSE OF THE AMOUT OF USERS LOL!!!! FUCK YOU REST OF THE WORLD
A common theme on the page is an amazingly mercenary attitude exhibited by the users. Most of them seem to delight in the idea of PSN not being available to certain people, be they in Japan, Europe or North America. So much for a united front.
xbox 4 kids you know not 4 us the psn ......................... you know
There are my favorites. The one where you feel the poster just had a car crash in his head, and this one mangled sentence was all that had been recovered from the wreckage.
I think he's trying to say that the Xbox is for children and the PSN is for adults, but the fact that he has not exhibited a single shred of adult-grade intelligence with this post seems to indicate otherwise .............................. you know.
R U FUCKING SHIT PSN U NEED TO GET SUM NEW EMPLOYEES CUS IF UR WORKING 24/7 UR A BUNCH OF SLOTHS AND U CAN FINGER UR DADS BUMOLES
It's not just pro-Sony fanboys who are clogging up the page with their gibbering insanity. Occasionally, you get a wonderfully angry post from someone who doesn't feel Sony should be exonerated of all responsibility. Unfortunately, their levels of eloquence are indistinguishable from the other side of the debate, so you get posts like this. Now excuse me while I finger my dad's bumhole.
like this if u think sony should give us psychatrist to remove all the frustration we have gone through this 11 days
These ones, I like. The ones that truly give us a glimpse into the fractured, frail psyche of a fanboy. To some, the PSN downtime is more than an inconvenience -- it's an emotional ordeal. Only Facebook Likes will be able to repair their shattered soul!
Without PSN life is Boring! Without PSN life is Boring! Without PSN life is Boring! Without PSN life is Boring! Without PSN life is Boring! Without PSN life is Boring! Without PSN life is Boring! Without PSN life is Boring! Without PSN life is Boring! Without PSN life is Boring! Without PSN life is Boring! Without PSN life is Boring! Without PSN life is Boring! Without PSN life is Boring! Without PSN life is Boring! Without PSN life is Boring! Without PSN life is Boring! Without PSN life is Boring! Without PSN life is Boring! Without PSN life is Boring! Without PSN life is Boring! Without PSN life is Boring! Without PSN life is Boring! Without PSN life is Boring! Without PSN life is Boring! Without PSN life is Boring! Without PSN life is Boring! Without PSN life is Boring! Without PSN life is Boring! Without PSN life is Boring! Without PSN life is Boring! Without PSN life is Boring! Without PSN life is Boring!
Go outside. Read a book. Play Angry Birds. Masturbate. Talk to some real human beings. That's just a small sample of things one could be doing while the PlayStation Network is down. I just tried to imagine a world where PSN is the sole source of entertainment in the world, and I cried.
U FUCKING PRICKS, GIVE ME THE COD MAP PACKS AT LEAST U FUCKING MUSLIMES
Muslimes?
http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/200121-the-psn-facebook-page-your-new-source-of-facepalm/muslime-620x.jpg
hey sony fan boys! You guys are fucking losers. How can you defend a company that had its security coded by a 12 year old? You also don't mind that Sony lied to your face for a week when it failed to mention the cause of the attacks. And you guys defend them. Have your free downloads this week because you guys have no fucking content anyway. You pay for nothing, and you shall receive nothing my friends.
Like I said, the anti-Sony side of the debate is no more intellectual than the pro. While this guy started with a potentially valid question about people defending an almighty screw-up, he just gets dumber and dumber until any sense that his argument could have made are lost in the mire.
I like to imagine he started out with a brain, but the more he typed, the more stupid he became, infected by the rampant idiocy already prevalent on the page. PSN's Facebook page is where sentient thought goes to die.
PSN !! :OO
It's Been 2 Weeks ! :O
i Need you N Miss you Moore than any Chick !! :O :P
Wanna Play BLACK OPS N hot Pursuit Online ! :D :)
PSN, better than chicks.
funny how the day binladen dies psn network is goin up thr next day ... i think binladen is the leader of the cyber attacks and al quieda:')
A huge number of posts are talking about Bin Laden's death, most of them echoing the already tired, "See what American can do when PSN is down" joke. This one was just adorably moronic though.
PEOPLE THAT DONT EVEN OWN A PS3 CAN GTFO THIS PAGE N GOOO F**K YOURSELVES......LAME ASSES......MUTHA FUCKA JUST PISSED CAUSE THEY PAY FOR CRAP....AND GETS NO FUCKIN FRE SHIT....X-BOX IS A F**KIN JOKE....
I love the ones who feel the need to swear in all-caps, but have the good grace to censor themselves. Except when they say MUTHA FUCKA. Apparently that's cool.
PSN DIDNT GET HACKED THEY SHUT THE SERVERS DOWN SO THEY WOULDNT GET HACKED
Logic bomb, bitches!
psn can suck on chinese nuts xbox is better
Much to my chagrin, I have never sucked on Chinese nuts. That delicacy has, thus far, eluded me. If anybody reading this has sucked on Chinese nuts, can you please let us know if they taste somehow worse than the nuts of any other nationality?
I'm trying to see what effect the Chineseness of the nuts will have on the experience of the sucker.
People said it would be back on today but there just chat shit to make them selfs look good fuking fat neerdy vergins! why lie
Apparently this dude really loves the letter "e".
I THINK IT WAS THAT LITTLE BIEBER CUNT WHO HACKED IT HE CANT SING SO HE HAD TO TRY GET MONEY SOME HOW
Because not being able to sing has been a big barrier to making money out of the music industry in recent years. Seriously though, there's a significant amount of Bieber hate on the page, leading me to wonder if they legitimately think he had something to do with it. Wouldn't surprise me if they did, at this rate.
Every one calm down, it will be back later this week but in the mean time find some thing fun to do like shooting gays and smoking pot.
That's Andre Goldson there, being a homophobic little fuckpuppet.
60 year ago America would have just kicked off invaded Japan took pSN for themselves and it would have been back on line in 4 years
What is this I don't even ...
im leaving this page now but evryone in here are no life dumb fags who no shit and go of there own thoughts instead of looking things up and they have sheep following them behind
Of course, while he wrote this, he was still technically on the page, therefore he too is a no life dumb fag who no shit go of there own thoughts instead of looking things up and he has sheep following him behind. Wait, what?
Hey God shits
I did not know this about God. Learn something new about the guy every day.
I hope the person who hacked psn hacks xbox live but for twice as long!!
Like I said earlier, the mercenary attitude is quite amazing, and the fact that someone hopes that other gamers get fucked over on the same level as PSN users is pretty damn sad. Not least for those with both PSN and Xbox Live accounts who would then be double fucked. It's pretty sad that gamers wish for bad shit to happen to other gamers. Truly, have we gone away from having simple fun with our videogames when we get into that kind of miserable behavior.
ben laden was killed himself because psn is down since too long time
This? This may be the greatest fucking sentence ever written in the history of human civilization. Seriously, I think that pretty much says everything that needs to be said.

[D Mac]

ben laden was killed himself because psn is down since too long time

lol

[The Jayman]

ben laden was killed himself because psn is down since too long time

BDC?

[Matt Gingarac]

Does anyone know what order and when they will start turning servers back on?. btw that facebook psn page is pure gold

[Emperor Smeat]

Sony shuts down their Online PC Portal for fears it might have been hacked as well but Sony can't confirm it. An issue during their investigation of PSN might have shown something similar was going on in their PC Portal services.

We have had to take the SOE service down temporarily. In the course of our investigation into the intrusion into our systems we have discovered an issue that warrants enough concern for us to take the service down effective immediately. We will provide an update later today (Monday).

http://kotaku.com/#!5797619/sonys-online-portal-goes-down

[G]

Does anyone know what order and when they will start turning servers back on?. btw that facebook psn page is pure gold

Sony doesn't even know

[Matt Gingarac]

Hope psn comes back online and not keep it off cause of SOE breach

[#BROKEN Hasney]

It's beginning to look like this was a semi-inside job, or at least former employer. They laid off 200 SOE employees just days before the PSN hack and a lot of their security teams were shared.

[Matt Gingarac]

Beyond a joke now...

[Matt Gingarac]

Today, the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing in Washington, DC on “The Threat of Data Theft to American Consumers.”Kazuo Hirai, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sony Computer Entertainment America, submitted written answers to questions posed by the subcommittee about the large-scale, criminal cyber-attack we have experienced. We wanted to share those answers with you (click here).In summary, we told the subcommittee that in dealing with this cyber attack we followed four key principles:Act with care and caution. Provide relevant information to the public when it has been verified. Take responsibility for our obligations to our customers. Work with law enforcement authorities.

[Matt Gingarac]

We also informed the subcommittee of the following:Sony has been the victim of a very carefully planned, very professional, highly sophisticated criminal cyber attack. We discovered that the intruders had planted a file on one of our Sony Online Entertainment servers named “Anonymous” with the words “We are Legion.” By April 25, forensic teams were able to confirm the scope of the personal data they believed had been taken, and could not rule out whether credit card information had been accessed. On April 26, we notified customers of those facts. As of today, the major credit card companies have not reported any fraudulent transactions that they believe are the direct result of this cyber attack. Protecting individuals’ personal data is the highestpriority and ensuring that the Internet can be made secure for commerce is also essential. Worldwide, countries and businesses will have to come together to ensure the safety of commerce over the Internet and find ways to combat cybercrime and cyber terrorism.

[Matt Gingarac]

We are taking a number of steps to prevent future breaches, including enhanced levels of data protection and encryption; enhanced ability to detect software intrusions, unauthorized access and unusual activity patterns; additional firewalls; establishment of a new data center in an undisclosed location with increased security; and the naming of a new Chief Information Security Officer.

[Matt Gingarac]

sorry bout mutliple posts, using my ps3 to do this with

[Jura]

I got an email from SOE from when I signed up there like 6 years ago. I think I used my CC but it has since expired.

[RP]

Sony hacked again

[Ermaximus]

It's funny. Working last night at Gamestop we had a customer come in bitching about the PSN being down. We're used to it these days, but what totally blew me away were his next few comments.

"Man, the fucking 3 (assuming PS3) is sooo much betta than the box. (Assuming XBOX360) That shit prolly got hacked by some angry box fanboys. Those fuckas just be hatin on the 3 so they hacked it so we gotta suffer. That's why I hate the box and people who use it."

How moronic can you be? To blatantly assume that this was all done out of spite by a fanboy? It makes no damned sense. I swear all logic goes out of these peoples heads when this shit happens. He went on for about 10 minutes bitching about the PS3 and how it is far more superior to the XBOX, but we (my manager and I) just kept hitting him with facts about the pros and cons of both systems. He of course labeled us as PS3 haters, but that's untrue as I own all 3 major consols, but PREFER to get enjoyment from playing my 360 more so.

What really got me was after 25 minutes of talking to this guy and his dad, he went home with a 250GB Kinect bundle 360, a used copy of MvC3, a new copy of Mortal Kombat, a used Black Ops, and the new map pack for Black Ops.

[Dark-Slicer Diago]

Man, people sure are losing their minds over all of this. I mean, I want to play myself but there are other things people can be doing.

[The Jayman]

haters gonna hate

[Krimzon7]

You know, I really miss playing DCUO...


so much that I'm about to cancel my motherfucking subscription. Whipping out UFC undisputed 2010. Fuck this MMO shit.


and yes, I'm butthurt over this

[Ermaximus]

You know, I really miss playing DCUO...


so much that I'm about to cancel my motherfucking subscription. Whipping out UFC undisputed 2010. Fuck this MMO shit.


and yes, I'm butthurt over this

I'd see about having Sony reimburse you for a month subscription for it while you're at it.

[G]

They already said they're giving people a free month along with a batman mask. Quit your crying.

[G]

DC Universe Online players get credit, mask for downtime (http://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/04/dc-universe-online-players-get-credit-mask-for-downtime/)

by Alexander Sliwinski (http://www.joystiq.com/editor/alexander-sliwinski) http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.joystiq.com/media/writer_rss.gif (http://www.joystiq.com/page/2/alexander-sliwinski/rss.xml) (20 hours ago)
33 (http://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/04/dc-universe-online-players-get-credit-mask-for-downtime/#comments)

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2011/05/dcoumakeup530.jpg (http://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/04/dc-universe-online-players-get-credit-mask-for-downtime/)
Sony Online Entertainment plans to give all DC Universe Online (http://www.joystiq.com/game/dc-universe-online) players a free month and "Batman-Inspired mask" as compensation for the current outage (http://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/02/soe-suspends-services-after-discovering-an-issue/). The company asked players on the game's Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/notes/dc-universe-online-the-official-game-page/dcuo-and-the-make-good-plan/10150586814665717) page to bear with them as "the complexities of the subscription server dictate how and when this will be available" and that the company will be releasing "more information this week."

The outage is part of the overall PlayStation Network issue (http://www.joystiq.com/tag/psn-outage-2011) that resulted in SOE announcing earlier this week that 12,700 credit card numbers (http://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/02/sony-hit-with-second-attack-loses-12-700-credit-card-nu/) were taken and 24.6 million accounts were compromised. So, yeah, a free month and a virtual hat seems like a good start to an apology.

[Krimzon7]

an apology on the heels of dwindling server populations, silly as glitches and bugs and insane queue times...

Kiss of death for an initially promising MMO.

BTW FUCK A GODDAMN MASK, unless owning it would give me 500 feat points.

Free month, meh to me. I got a job don't really care about losing 8 bucks due to a game being offline.

My question would be: did you fuckwits take this 'downtime' to address that ARC in the inner sanctum raid? Him and the Zeta Drone make clearing that bitch mission freaking insanity!


Did anyone else see Fast Five?










I'M GIVING YOU PEOPLE GOLD HERE!

[G]

As soon as it becomes F2P, I will be buying a copy.

[Ermaximus]

As soon as it becomes F2P, I will be buying a copy.

Likewise.

[Super V]

What really got me was after 25 minutes of talking to this guy and his dad, he went home with a 250GB Kinect bundle 360, a used copy of MvC3, a new copy of Mortal Kombat, a used Black Ops, and the new map pack for Black Ops.

This guy was clearly fucked in the head.

[Ermaximus]

This guy was clearly fucked in the head.

Kinda figured that when he came in the store bitching about the PS3.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

So apparently the hackers are planning another attack against Sony this weekend. This is fucking pathetic.

[Ermaximus]

So apparently the hackers are planning another attack against Sony this weekend. This is fucking pathetic.

Lol. Do they even have a legit reason for doing this or are they doing it with the sole purpose of being douches?

[DAMN iNATOR]

Lol. Do they even have a legit reason for doing this or are they doing it with the sole purpose of being douches?

"VIDEOGAMES MUST DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" [/random hacker/VG hater dude]

[Ermaximus]

I just don't see why they keep hacking Sony is all. Do they have a legit beef with them or are they just showing their asses?

[The Jayman]

I would assume because they can or they are just bored

[Funky Fly]

Anonymous first started because Sony was basically gathering information on anyone who visited a certain hacker's website (first guy to hack the PS3 or whatever), regardless of whether they were PS3 users, hackers or even involved in anyway with Sony's lawsuit against the guy.

Sony starts experiencing difficulties across the board with online.

Sony gets hacked by a pro (pros?) and they pull the plug on the PSN. The FBI gets involved and Sony finally reveals the reason PSN is down.

That brings us to now. I doubt Anonymous is behind the gathering of personal info or credit cards. They pull docs for the lulz all the time, but usually to individual people who are being assclowns on the internet. Targeting millions of people in one go and credit card numbers to boot is not their m.o.

IMO, whoever pulled the info is acting alone or in a small group and is using Anonymous as a cover thanks to some good timing.

[Ermaximus]

I say cut their fingers off and snip their vocal cords as punishment. That'll teach them.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

Anonymous first started because Sony was basically gathering information on anyone who visited a certain hacker's website (first guy to hack the PS3 or whatever), regardless of whether they were PS3 users, hackers or even involved in anyway with Sony's lawsuit against the guy.

Sony starts experiencing difficulties across the board with online.

Sony gets hacked by a pro (pros?) and they pull the plug on the PSN. The FBI gets involved and Sony finally reveals the reason PSN is down.

That brings us to now. I doubt Anonymous is behind the gathering of personal info or credit cards. They pull docs for the lulz all the time, but usually to individual people who are being assclowns on the internet. Targeting millions of people in one go and credit card numbers to boot is not their m.o.

IMO, whoever pulled the info is acting alone or in a small group and is using Anonymous as a cover thanks to some good timing.


Pretty much, especially since the hackers have claimed they're going to reveal the info, and supposedly are trying to sell it.

However, Anon might have shot itself in the foot with the whole "if you claim to be a part of anonymous you are" thing. Especially since the anonymous file they found left as a calling card on Sony's servers. So they can say it's not them all they want, but with the timing, and their stupid little theory, they're going to catch some blame.

[Emperor Smeat]

Some good news for PSN owners and some bad news for Sony itself ... actually really bad news if its true for Sony.

The Good News:
1) Sony of Europe giving away 2 free games to PSN users once the services go back online. They will offer users 2 games from a pool of 5 PS3 games and 4 PSP games.
http://www.giantbomb.com/news/sony-europe-to-offer-select-ps3-psp-games-when-psns-back-online/3145/
2) PSN is in the final stages of testing and security fixes and should go up "in a week."

The Bad News:
Assuming the recent report is true, Sony might be in bigger trouble for negligence due to knowing their security and PSN structure was vulnerable and did nothing to protect sensitive information months before the recent PSN attack. The timing of the "open forum" is also around the same time Sony laid off a good amount of employees from their PSN security division.

Specifically, Spafford claims that Sony employees were well aware that the company's security measures were out of date and vulnerable to attack. Spafford's claims come from an open Internet forum used by security experts, including several Sony employees. According to him, several people on those forums realized that Sony's systems were using "very old versions of Apache software that were unpatched and had no firewall installed." The issue was reported "two or three months" prior to the attack that brought down the PSN service. In that time frame, no acknowledgment of the report nor any visible updates to the systems came about from Sony.
http://www.giantbomb.com/news/security-expert-testifies-that-sony-knew-its-security-was-out-of-date-for-months/3143/

There is another rumor of Sony's real reason for the long wait from the shutdown of PSN to finally informing PSN users was due to Sony knowingly trying to sweep away any of their involvement in the mess before the public knew and used lawyers to find out how much they can deny in the mess.

[G]

Some good news for PSN owners and some bad news for Sony itself ... actually really bad news if its true for Sony.

The Good News:
1) Sony of Europe giving away 2 free games to PSN users once the services go back online. They will offer users 2 games from a pool of 5 PS3 games and 4 PSP games.
http://www.giantbomb.com/news/sony-europe-to-offer-select-ps3-psp-games-when-psns-back-online/3145/


No, that's good news for Europeans. What the fuck am I getting

[mhirn3]

No, that's good news for Europeans. What the fuck am I getting

a month of shitty +

[G]

a throbbing cock in the ass

[Emperor Smeat]

No, that's good news for Europeans. What the fuck am I getting

The ability to be a member of an Identity Theft Program available only by Sony worth up to $1 million of potential coverage or basically one of the insurance programs Sony already covers in their credit card services.

http://gamrfeed.vgchartz.com/story/85983/sony-offers-1-million-identity-theft-policy-per-user-for-us-psn-users/

[G]

a throbbing cock in the ass

[G]

May 06 2011 Service Restoration Update

+ Posted by Patrick Seybold (http://blog.us.playstation.com/author/pseybold/) // Sr. Director, Corporate Communications & Social Media

As you may know, we’ve begun the process (http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/05/05/important-step-for-service-restoration/) of restoring the service through internal testing of the new system. We’re still working to confirm the security of the network infrastructure, as well as working with a variety of outside entities to confirm with them of the security of the system. Verifying the system security is vital for the process of restoration. Additional comprehensive system checks and testing are still required, and we must complete that process before bringing the systems online.
As you’ve heard us say, our utmost priorities are the security of the network and ensuring your data is safe. We won’t restore the services until we can test the system’s strength in these respects.
When we held the press conference in Japan last week (http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/04/30/press-release-some-playstation-network-and-qriocity-services-to-be-available-this-week/), based on what we knew, we expected to have the services online within a week. We were unaware of the extent of the attack on Sony Online Entertainment servers, and we are taking this opportunity to conduct further testing of the incredibly complex system. We know many of you are wanting to play games online, chat with your friends and enjoy all of the services PlayStation Network and Qriocity services have to offer, and trust me when I say we’re doing everything we can to make it happen. We will update you with more information as soon as we have it. We apologize for the delay and inconvenience of this network outage.

[D Mac]

a throbbing cock in the ass

Don't you get that already?

[RoXer]

my cock hardly throbs :-\

[OssMan]

throbbing hard or hardly throbbing

[Matt Gingarac]

Everyday this is down,the xbox is beginning to look like the right purchase

[G]

the xbox is the right purchase even if psn is up and running

[OssMan]

Didn't realize how many people rely solely on the online component of video games today. I am almost completely unaffected by this but everyone else is shitting their pants.

[mhirn3]

Eat a dick get aids and die sony.

-ps3 owner

[Ultra Mantis]

Didn't realize how many people rely solely on the online component of video games today. I am almost completely unaffected by this but everyone else is shitting their pants.

Same, the only thing I use PSN for on a regular basis is to sync / check out trophies and occasionally I message people who happen to signed in. The few of my friends who are throwing a fit about it being down don't even use it to play games and my one friend who actually plays COD and Fifa online is not bothered at all by this whole thing.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

Yeah, the only game I played online with any consistency was Uncharted 2. Might check out MK online when it comes back up, but fighter tends to leave a bad taste in my mouth when playing them online.

[Emperor Smeat]

Sony considering adding a reward for information that could lead to the identity of the hacker(s) who caused both PSN and SOE to go down but as of now is leaning on doing no reward.

Sony is also contesting the reports of their security and firmware being out-dated for PSN as a way to disprove the security experts reports of out-dated security and lessen any negligence on their part.

http://kotaku.com/#!5799737/sony-ponders-reward-offer-as-it-insists-psns-security-was-up+to+date

[OssMan]

Well my friend's identity got stolen apparently. Or at least somebody drained his bank account and spent $350 on colon cleansing products.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

Sony are saying that everything should be up by May 31st.

Not sure if things will come up earlier than that or if everything will now be up on the same day.

[Nicky Fives]

I'd love to know how much money this is costing Sony..... not just the cost of fixing the system, but just not having PSN active.....

[Matt Gingarac]

Well my friend's identity got stolen apparently. Or at least somebody drained his bank account and spent $350 on colon cleansing products.

That sucks if its true, hope i don't be a victim. im broke ass anyways

[Ermaximus]

Sony considering adding a reward for information that could lead to the identity of the hacker(s) who caused both PSN and SOE to go down but as of now is leaning on doing no reward.

Sony is also contesting the reports of their security and firmware being out-dated for PSN as a way to disprove the security experts reports of out-dated security and lessen any negligence on their part.

http://kotaku.com/#!5799737/sony-ponders-reward-offer-as-it-insists-psns-security-was-up+to+date

What would that be? A free copy of God of War 3, and Uncharted?

[Emperor Smeat]

Sony are saying that everything should be up by May 31st.

Not sure if things will come up earlier than that or if everything will now be up on the same day.

Sony is now denying the "May 31" as the day PSN goes back up. They must be worried PSN won't be fully up or if that day passes and nothing is done, a lot of angry users.

Sony has informed us that Bloomberg's wording, which was the foundation of this story, is inaccurate and the May 31 "deadline" does not exist. There does not appear to be any hard deadline established, only to return services as Sony determines the appropriate security measures are in place.

http://www.giantbomb.com/news/sony-disputing-report-suggesting-may-31-deadline-for-psn-restoration/3149/



Capcom is also upset since the delay and PSN downtime is costing a good amount of money they expected to have used on future projects. Although unlike others, Capcom's DRM takes some blame for not allowing games to be played offline.

On a related note, as an executive responsible for running a business, the resulting outage obviously costing us hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars in revenue that were planned for within our budget. These are funds we rely on to bring new games to market for our fans.
http://www.giantbomb.com/news/capcom-would-like-you-to-know-psns-outage-is-costing-it-money/3153/

[#BROKEN Hasney]

Fuck Capcom here. They can whine and bitch, but they put DRM in their PSN games which makes you require a PSN connection, totally making them unplayable during the downtime.

[Matt Gingarac]

Cant even get rid off my ps3 cause of what i spent on dlc. no new blog posts since 7th, something is up

[Matt Gingarac]

Just read on BBC Teletext that sony said they should have had some services restored by the end of last week, but now restoration will NOT be up until last week in may

[Matt Gingarac]

And im looking for way more than 2 free games. (Probably launch titles) need to join that lawsuit, cracka needs to get paid

[Boomer]

I'll just play Stacking for free and be happy, I guess.

[Matt Gingarac]

Direct from playstation blog. I know you all want to know exactly when the services will be restored. At this time, I can’t give you an exact date, as it will likely be at least a few more days. We’re terribly sorry for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience as we work through this process.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

And im looking for way more than 2 free games. (Probably launch titles) need to join that lawsuit, cracka needs to get paid

You do realize how utterly minuscule your payout in a class action would be, right?

[G]

Not to mention you will probably waive your right for any legal action when you accept the new ToS to log into PSN.

[ozzman6669]

I used my ps3 today and the last time i played was before the psn went down, when i tried to play today i found out that everything that was dlc in all of my game don't work anymore, is it because of the psn problem ???

[Matt Gingarac]

I used my ps3 today and the last time i played was before the psn went down, when i tried to play today i found out that everything that was dlc in all of my game don't work anymore, is it because of the psn problem ???

Well i got dlc for rock band and that still works.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

I doubt it, since everything works fine on mine, including my Playstation Plus DLC. Did you somehow deactivate your account on your Playstation?

[#BROKEN Hasney]

Or they're Capcom games. They require PSN.

[Matt Gingarac]

Well i think i'll finish deadrising 2, beef stroganoff

[ozzman6669]

I didn't desactivate my acount. I tried to play assassin's creed but when i choose to continue it tells me that i can't continue cause the dlc missions are missing. In smackdown i've lost all the official dlc but i still got the downloaded created wrestler and stories, it's weird cause the dlc wrestlers data still in the game, Wade Barret still the champ but i can't use him.In red dead redemption i can see in the menu that i've got the zombie part but it don't work, In rock band the songs are all there but they don't work. All the demos still working, it's the in-game dlc that don't work. All my games saves still there, it's only the dlc that is mising.

[G]

yeah that ps3 exclusive dlc mission in ac brotherhood i couldn't access because it can't connect.

[Matt Gingarac]

In rock band the songs are all there but they don't work.

Mine work just fine, try it while disabling the ps3 internet connection.

[Matt Gingarac]

PlayStation Network could be restored within days, according to a report.Users at NeoGAFhave said that an internal network intended for game developers can now be accessed by a number of people.Although certain features are said to be "shaky" and the ability to create new accounts is missing, for all intents and purposes the network is online.It has been suggested that online matchmaking will be the first feature to return, with a Sony source telling Eurogamerthat it will be restored within a few days.Yesterday, it was reported that the number of PlayStation 3 systems being traded in has increased as a result of the prolonged downtime.Earlier this week, Sony said that it was unsure of an exact date for the return of PlayStation Network, but has suggested that all services will be fully operational by the end of the month. from digital spy

[Matt Gingarac]

update 3.61 is out

[#BROKEN Hasney]

It allows you to change your PSN password. Still can't connect for any other reason.

[Matt Gingarac]

on US blog its says they already started restoration

[Fignuts]

I thought people said netflix still works. I can get to the movie selection, but can't get anything to actually play without being signed in to psn.

[Emperor Smeat]

on US blog its says they already started restoration

Only for developers and publishers who use PSN although some reports said the network is still unstable and crashes.

[Fignuts]

Imagine if this happened to xbox live.

I think that's what all this 2012 stuff is about.

[CSL]

Modern Warfare 2 is probably a decent example of what would happen if this ever happend to XBox Live

[LoDownM]

Was able to download the FW update, but that's it, same old maintenance message that's been there for weeks.

[The Rogerer]

Imagine if this happened to xbox live.whhhhhoooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHH


AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH H

[LoDownM]

Imagine if this happened to xbox live.

I think that's what all this 2012 stuff is about.


It would be exactly the same as it is with PSN, only people would be bitching "I pay for this this?"

[CSL]

And then they'd invade the White House with semi automatic weaopons

[Crimson]

Network has been on for 2 hours. but the PS store isnt up yet

[FourFifty]

a few days ago I overheard a dude that works at gamestop say that Sony was going to give everyone on the PSN one free day for every day it was out.

[Matt Gingarac]

Network has been on for 2 hours. but the PS store isnt up yet

ps store isnt a priority atm, it will be bk up before 31st

[Matt Gingarac]

when are they going to think about turning EU on?, most of the usa is up jeez.surely we should be first cause of time difference

[#BROKEN Hasney]

It's Sunday, we should still be in bed.

[LoDownM]

Damn, all rusty at black ops now.

[Matt Gingarac]

2hrs since all of the u.s was up, and not a peep on when EU will be up.

[Matt Gingarac]

2pm here and still no fucking psn.... useless fucking useless

[mhirn3]

Played a couple of hours of Duty last night with some buddies, was a good time. Thank god psn back up :)

[Splaya]

Yo add IswiftsplayaI if you want to play together

[mhirn3]

Aight. Not home right now but add me (mhirn3) if you wanna play later incase i forget

[Fignuts]

lol

[CSL]

Euro PSN has been back up for a while now btw

[#BROKEN Hasney]

Apparently back down again. I assumed it would be just after going up, everyone connecting at once and probably some hackers trying to see if it's really fixed.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

US PS3 owners can pick 2 from the following games:

Dead Nation
inFAMOUS
LittleBigPlanet
Super Stardust HD
Wipeout HD + Fury

US PSP can pick 2 from these:

LittleBigPlanet (PSP)
ModNation Racers
Pursuit Force
Killzone Liberation

Europe:



Two PS3 games from the following list:


LittleBigPlanet
Infamous*
Wipeout HD/Fury
Ratchet and Clank: Quest for Booty
Dead Nation*

For those with PSP accounts, you will also be eligible to download two PSP games from the following list:


LittleBigPlanet PSP
ModNation PSP
Pursuit Force
Killzone Liberation*

[Lara Emily]

Lame choices. Yeah I don't care that they are free and Sony doesn't have to give us anything those are still lame ass choices. I won't even bother getting any of them (I already have LBP and Infamous)

[G]

I wonder what the eligibility requirements will be. 2 games per account or system.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

MS gave people the god awful Undertow and inFAMOUs, LBP, Stardust, Wipeoit and Ratchet and Clank are fine games.

The PSP selection sucks, but they did the best they could with the Sony published games ofthay aborted library.

[Lara Emily]

If I hadn't bought Infamous ages ago I'd be psyched. But I bought it, and I got LBP for christmas one year/ I don't give a shit about some top down zombie shooter, a futuristic racing game and a modern take on Asteroids

I'm not actually pissed at Sony, cause I didn't miss PSN at all so I don't feel owed anything it's just too bad that there isn't a single free game I care about

[Ultra Mantis]

It's not like they were ever going to give away new games or potential earners after theyve just lost a fuckton of money. I've already got LBP and infamous, but I'll gladly download some free games I wouldnt have otherwise bothered with and will probably even enjoy playing.

[Funky Fly]

Just remembered that I have a PSP. I guess I get LBP and ModNation Racers. :-\

[CSL]

I've been quite the fan of this whole schtick, hardly ever play online/haven't missed it and get free inFAMOUS for my troubles. Go go gadget Sony

[What Would Kevin Do?]

Slick, I'm finally going to get Infamous. Probably get Dead Nation as a default.

[Fignuts]

Would be more excited about finally getting little big planet, if LBP 2 wasn't outr a nd way more awesome.

[ClockShot]

inFamous is solid. Anybody who hasn't played that should get it before the sequel hit shelves in a few weeks.

I would like Ratchet & Clank. :(

[Fignuts]

I would get R & C, but I have this thing where I can'y just play any game in a series. Have to start from the beginning, unless said beginning has no relevance to the new game, or if the previous ones are so shit, that they wouldn't even be enjoyable.

Not the case with R & C, from what I've heard.

[Funky Fly]

Yeah, my PSP came with a R & C game, but I have no idea what the general story is since there are 234782364786 R & C games and even a solo Clank game.

[Fignuts]

So when will these units(fakerazorTM) be available?

[Ermaximus]

So because I own a PSP, I can download Killzone and LBP for free because their network is shit? I'll take that I guess.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

So when will these units(fakerazorTM) be available?

After May 31st

[Emperor Smeat]

It looks like PSN password change website or the server holding the password requests was hacked after people were having trouble getting emails to reset/confirm the password changes.

As of now Sony shut down the password reset system so those who didn't do it when it first arrived won't be able to access PSN now. Sony also is claiming it was done as "maintenance" and not because of hacking for their official statement.

Japan won't allow Sony to reupload PSN until they can prove the system is secure so this is going to hurt that region even more now.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-05-18-sonys-psn-password-page-hacked


Update: Sony has said the password reset server and webpage/email has been fixed and should be working again.

[OssMan]

lol

hopefully this is the death of online gaming

[Seth82]

I don't use PSN that often

but I do use my Netflix alot so I am glad it's up

[Matt Gingarac]

its working, my bro done his account last night

[Cooler Tom Schuler]

Thanks for the heads-up.

[Funky Fly]

lol

hopefully this is the death of online gaming

Why do you not like online gaming?

[OssMan]

I like it to a very small extent. It's cool to be able to play people around the world in games like FIFA, or play a shooting game like Call of Duty, but only in moderation, and it is starting to go way too far. Games are being released with pretty much the sole purpose of having downloadable content that people have to pay for in addition to the actual game. After seeing people flipping their lids after the online service went down for three weeks, it showed me that people are "addicted" more to these types of games than they just enjoy playing them. Back when single player games reigned supreme, play video games wasn't just logging on and playing the same maps a bunch of times, and then repeating the process every single time you've played a game. It really isn't hard to see that as online play has become more prominent, overall game quality has decreased.

[OssMan]

Also I just got two $5.99 charges from PSN on my bank statement and I haven't bought anything on there in like two months.

[Crimson]

It's the evolution of gaming. Sad in the way how some people play 24/7..glad it's not me.

[LoDownM]

Evolution of gaming or not, it still is ruining gaming in a way, just look at PSN going down and all the bitching "I ONLY PLAY MULTIPLAYER FUCK SINGLE PLAYER."

I don't hate online gaming, but I hate the fact that it is pretty much killing local multiplayer. Sure, there are some games that still include it, but a game like Crysis 2, which could've been fun with bots and a few friends, had none what so ever. That's really my only problem with it, sure it's fun killing random people I don't know sitting alone in my living room for an hour, but it's 10 times better playing games and talking to shit to 7 of your friends in a lan setting for hours.

I really hope that F.E.A.R 3 has local multiplayer, 2 of the modes sound like they're going to be a blast to play with a couple of my friends.

[Tommy Gunn]

Online gaming can be hit or miss for me. For games like Bad Company and Uncharted 2, sometimes I get put in matches with people who are kind of on my level and everyone gets a decent amount of kills and has fun, but when you have a bunch of dudes spawn-killing everyone and spamming grenade launchers everywhere it can get tedious. Hunting someone down and killing them off is a lot more fun than memorizing the spawn points and being a douche bag.

[CSL]

Store, welcome back content and schtick online now

[G]

So it looks like it is 2 games per account, not system.

[ClockShot]

It's back down now. Keep getting an error message each time I go in. Wanted to download L.A. Noire super pass. I managed to redeem my freebie cases and grab the Infamous 2 demo last night.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

So it looks like it is 2 games per account, not system.

Good to know. I can get all three games I don't already have then...

It's back down now. Keep getting an error message each time I go in. Wanted to download L.A. Noire super pass. I managed to redeem my freebie cases and grab the Infamous 2 demo last night.

I'm assuming it's because there's a HUGE amount of traffic because people are trying to get their freebies. Sony should have emailed this stuff out in groups.

[G]

I had to click on everything like 14 times for it to finally go through.

[CSL]

Yeah, it's been pretty much unusable. I activated the Playstation Plus gimmick and have left it alone since, wait for it to 'die down' a bit.

[G]

I think I am going to wait until the last day to activate Plus so I can maximize the usable time.

[CSL]

dunno, only looks good for Burnout Paradise and Streets of Rage 2 for 30 days and a couple of free dynamic themes and avatars. Just downloaded the 2 games, don't really need to touch the store again for the Plus stuff unless I'm missing something.

[CSL]

also, I have a US account setup from when I imported the 1st Rock Band ages ago. Odds of me being able to use PlayStation Plus on that account for 30 days once my 'proper' account has run out?

[CSL]

to answer my own question, pretty sure it'll be yes. Currently downloading inFAMOUS, LBP, Dead Nation and Wipeout across my UK and US accounts.

[G]

yeah you can do that

[G]

i should probably just start it on one of my accounts then since i will do it again in 30 days

[Emperor Smeat]

Some websites and even Sony itself is warning that if your try to click on the free game offer links in PSN and it disconnects or get taken out of the download, you will lose the ability to download free games. The free game ticket tied to the account will become invalid.

Sony currently only has the instructions on how to avoid the problem but will not reimburse accounts for invalid tickets.

Redeeming your two free titles for each platform on the PlayStation Network requires that you first redeem either Free Pass 1 or Free Pass 2 for the respective platform. After redeeming the pass, you are routed back to your titles list with which you can select what title you were interested in. Clicking on any of these redeem buttons during a very high traffic time (mostly today and tomorrow, presumably) will result in an error code. This is fine, but requires you attempt to download your title again. If you receive no error and click the redemption button again for either of your free passes however, you will not be routed to the download page, and this download will then disappear forever.

The five titles available for download in the Free Pass 1 category are in an entirely separate download category from the Free Pass 2 area, which are further separated from the original downloads for these titles. This also means that you could, in theory, pick up the same title twice for free – wasting away a redemption.
http://www.reviewsonq.com/2011/06/be-patient-with-your-playstation-welcome-back-benefits/

[CSL]

Not sure if it's what they're talking about specifically but I thought I'd lost the ability to download a game since I clicked one of the redeem buttons and then backed out and when I went back, I only had the option to download my 2nd choice. All you have to do though is go to account management > transaction management > services list > PSN Promotions > Playstation3 Free Games and you're slots are there. Same goes for any Brits having trouble with the Welcome Back pack links not working in the store

[G]

After a gazillion errors and countless times going back and forth between the free passes and games, I must've been lucky to not lose any downloads.

[G]

So...the Plus stuff that is free.

Avatars and themes...do we keep them when Plus expires?

Add ons for disc based games, like the current free Killzone 3 DLC...keep or no?

These aren't mentioned in the Warning screen before downloading.

[ClockShot]

Somewhere between between selecting a game and downloading, one of my free game selections "disapeared". No matter, I was able to get Wipeout with my second one.

I wait a few days to grab my free playstation plus.

[CSL]

go to account management > transaction management > services list > PSN Promotions > Playstation3 Free Games and you're slots are there.

Try that

[mhirn3]

So...the Plus stuff that is free.

Avatars and themes...do we keep them when Plus expires?

Add ons for disc based games, like the current free Killzone 3 DLC...keep or no?

These aren't mentioned in the Warning screen before downloading.



The avs and themes you do, not sure about the other stuff. I know some games you download go back if you don't keep up with plus.