PlayStation Portable Game Console Virus

You know about computer viruses of course, and you have probably heard about the possibility of Trojan horses and other unwanted programs on your PDA or mobile phone. As if that weren't irritating enough, now you have to worry about viruses on your PlayStation Portable (PSP).

What? A PSP Virus?

Symantec, the anti-virus guru, has identified an evil new Trojan horse that runs on the PSP. The virus essentially kills the game machine by deleting critical files and turning it into a worthless hunk of electronic parts. This transformation into a useless "brick" has caused Symantec to dub it the "Trojan.PSPBrick." While traditional viruses are most common on PCs and are often sent in emails or transmitted via file downloads, virus propagators are expanding their horizons and looking for new frontiers for their malfeasance.

The Good News

The good news is that it is pretty easy to keep your PSP from getting infected. The program is being billed as a "mod" to hack the PSP. It promises to allow Sony PSP users to run special code and games on their devices, in essence hacking the PlayStation portable. However, it doesn't do anything of the kind and instead makes the machine as useful as a pet rock. So, unless you specifically download a mod for your PSP and install it, this virus could not affect your system. Most PSP users simply plug games in and play them the way the developers intended -- these people do not have to worry about this Trojan horse. Due to this, virus experts are considering this a fairly low level threat

More About the PlayStation Portable

The PSP hit stores in March and has been quite successful. Not only is it a game machine, but users can also play music and movies. Recently, Sony also enabled some PSP Web browsing functionality as well.

Bummer for Hackers

Of course, any hackers who do try to mod their PSP and end up with the virus instead will simply lose out on their purchase price. The PlayStation Portable isn't cheap, with a suggested retail of around $300. Of course, some cynics have suggested that the Trojan is just part of Sony's plan to deter hacks to their handheld system… Of course, the company's product warranty for the PSP stipulates that any mods to the system (running any kind of "homebrew" code) void the warranty, so they will not replace or fix the machine. At the very least, Sony probably isn't displeased about this virus that is putting their system in the news and deterring hacks all at the same time! Of course, other hackers are still working on cracking the PSP so that they can play pirated copies of games and movies on the handheld system. These hacks involve reducing the system to a stripped down version of the operating system to circumvent the security controls Sony has built into the PSP.

PSP TV

Meanwhile, Sony has announced that the PSP will soon allow users to record TV shows on digital video recording devices and then watch the video on their handheld PlayStations. The PSP has built-in WI-Fi functionality that offers extensive entertainment potential. [[[PSP (PlayStation Portable) Game System]]]

What? A PSP Virus?

Symantec, the anti-virus guru, has identified an evil new Trojan horse that runs on the PSP. The virus essentially kills the game machine by deleting critical files and turning it into a worthless hunk of electronic parts. This transformation into a useless "brick" has caused Symantec to dub it the "Trojan.PSPBrick."

While traditional viruses are most common on PCs and are often sent in emails or transmitted via file downloads, virus propagators are expanding their horizons and looking for new frontiers for their malfeasance.

The Good News

The good news is that it is pretty easy to keep your PSP from getting infected. The program is being billed as a "mod" to hack the PSP. It promises to allow Sony PSP users to run special code and games on their devices, in essence hacking the PlayStation portable. However, it doesn't do anything of the kind and instead makes the machine as useful as a pet rock.

So, unless you specifically download a mod for your PSP and install it, this virus could not affect your system. Most PSP users simply plug games in and play them the way the developers intended -- these people do not have to worry about this Trojan horse. Due to this, virus experts are considering this a fairly low level threat

More About the PlayStation Portable

The PSP hit stores in March and has been quite successful. Not only is it a game machine, but users can also play music and movies. Recently, Sony also enabled some PSP Web browsing functionality as well.

Bummer for Hackers

Of course, any hackers who do try to mod their PSP and end up with the virus instead will simply lose out on their purchase price. The PlayStation Portable isn't cheap, with a suggested retail of around $300. Of course, some cynics have suggested that the Trojan is just part of Sony's plan to deter hacks to their handheld system… Of course, the company's product warranty for the PSP stipulates that any mods to the system (running any kind of "homebrew" code) void the warranty, so they will not replace or fix the machine. At the very least, Sony probably isn't displeased about this virus that is putting their system in the news and deterring hacks all at the same time!

Of course, other hackers are still working on cracking the PSP so that they can play pirated copies of games and movies on the handheld system. These hacks involve reducing the system to a stripped down version of the operating system to circumvent the security controls Sony has built into the PSP.

PSP TV

Meanwhile, Sony has announced that the PSP will soon allow users to record TV shows on digital video recording devices and then watch the video on their handheld PlayStations. The PSP has built-in WI-Fi functionality that offers extensive entertainment potential.