Sony foils hackers with PSP update

In what must be arecord time, Sony has responded to PSP hacker's latest efforts to subvert the handheld's security and play unsigned software and pirate games.

Just days ago, hackers released an exploit that allowed PSP owners to use a copy of the puzzle game Lumines to downgrade their PSPs to an earlier version of the firmware, which was vulnerable to further hacking and homebrew applications.

Sony has just released PSP firmware version 3.51, which closes the holes in the PSP's security, rendering the exploit useless... for those that update, that is.

You have little incentive to, though, with no added functionality introduced in the update. And none of the currently-released games will require the new update either.

You can download the update directly to your PSP via the System Update option on the XMB (within range of a wireless internet connection, of course), or download it to PC via PlayStation.com.

June 29, 2007