Symantec: Wii and PS3 vulnerable to viruses and phishing |
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As the Mac OS started gaining popularity, it also started to become a larger target for viruses. Now it seems that next gen consoles which have evolved enough to support online gaming and browsing might also attract unwanted attention from malicious programmers.Symantec, the company behind the Norton AntiVirus Series, has recently discovered that the Nintendo Wii and the Sony PlayStation 3 are vulnerable to viruses and phishing attacks. Ollie Whitehouse, software architect for Symantec, explained to Tech.co.uk that they found the vulnerability by subjecting the Wii to a vulnerability found on Windows and Macs using Adobe Flash Player.
Their point was that if one platform is vulnerable, the same vulnerability will be found "to some extent" on other platforms, even consoles. Now that the consoles freely access the Internet, they are susceptible to web related problems such as viruses and phishing attacks.
Symantec pointed out that the Nintendo Wii has no protection from such malicious attacks. Whitehouse explains further: "In terms of how bad it could get, it's conceivable at least in the short term that phishing attacks could become commonplace via a games console browser. The Wii lends itself very well to that."
He also predicts that malicious code would appear within the next two years, and probably be a commonplace problem within five years. He also explains how Microsoft's Xbox 360 is likely to be more protected than the PS3 and the Wii because of security measures implemented in all games and software for the console.
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Comments [refresh]
and another oh crap!
Funny stuff. Everything with a browser is vulnerable to viruses and phishing.
100% true
Vulnerable yes, but other platforms have protection dumbass.
I always though microsoft was always a major target for viruses?
This mainly talking about the Wii, they didnt give much information about the PS3's "threats", but they should have.
well kinda, but the only reason, is because of Windows, mainly because its the most popular OS.
BTW i think this is complete bullcrap Symantec probably just wants to develop some kinda crappy console virus protector just to make some money.
I'm sorry, isn't the PS3 the only next-gen console that HASN'T BEEN HACKED YET? (Modchip'd) Like someone said above, everyone with a browser is susceptible to phishing.
Security measures provide against viruses and I'm pretty sure that if the PS3 can't be hacked for the lame a$$es @ ps3news, then some hacker cant do it through flash.
I am sick and tired of non-gaming related companies trying to butt their F-ing way into the gaming scheme. Symantec just wants their crapware installed on the next-gen systems so they make money.
QJ NEEDS A POLITICAL/MONEY MACHINE FILTER. THIS SHOULD NOT BE SUBJECTED TO GAMER'S EYES. IT IS WASTING EVERYONE'S TIME. (now back to your games ppl)
Should read gaming scene*. I apologize for drinking many beers and then seeing this wasted space and posting on it.
I also hate this text-advertising. (Because I'm not making money for posting these god-dam'd keywords.)
for drinking too much beer man
what protection? if it's specific virus to a ps3 or Wii, I'm pretty sure it will get around this "protection" you speak of.
What is "phishing" ??
Phising is a term used for false websites created to steal people's information. Such as a website that looks almost exactly the same as Bank of America's home page. WHen you enter in any information, the people behind the page steal your information...
As for the PS3 not being hacked... is that really true. I mean because it can run Linux, mods can be made for it. I mean seriously, if someone can access the PS3 through linux, then they can hack it.
everyone should know that symantec should not be saying anythin about virus protection, they got caught a couple of years back for putting viruses on computers to prove that there software worked. everyone knows or should know that nortan sucks bad and avg for free lavasoft and spybot are 100 x better and free. nortan charges and does nothing but hog your memory and take your money.
now if spybot or lavasoft or avg came out and said somthing then i would believe them, but symantec hell know , they are just thinking of a way to scare people and probably trying to find a way to cash in on this....
scamantec ?? suspect i think.
dont believe me google and find out how much of a ***** bag company symantec is. just cause it comes preinstalled on every pc does not mean its good , they just pay for there ***** to be pre-installed and wait for you suckers to renew a subscription to there lowsy service....
you guys agree or disagree...
and for symantec ... ***** off.
just some info on symantec from the wikipedia!!!!
FBI/CIA cooperation
Norton AntiVirus was criticized in the past because of Symantec's policy that allows spy software (keyloggers/backdoors) of US law enforcement and intelligence agencies, such as the FBI-developed Magic Lantern, to bypass Norton's malware detection.[6]
[edit] Response to viruses
According to an article by the Washington Post, Norton Antivirus has one of the worst average response times for providing virus definition updates based on the worst virus outbreaks of 2005, lagging behind every major competitor, including NOD32, Kaspersky, F-Secure, Sophos, Avira, Trend Micro, F-Prot, Panda, Protector Plus, AVG, avast!, ClamWin, and McAfee.[7]
For everyday viruses, according to an article by Eweek titled Why Is Symantec So Slow with Updates?, Symantec is the only vendor that provides virus definition updates on a weekly basis, as opposed to competitors such as McAfee that provides them on a daily basis or Sophos, Kaspersky or Panda that provide them several times a day.[8]
However, Symantec does provide frequent beta and "Intelligent Updater" definitions in the form of manually downloadable 8-10 MB packages (although impractical for daily use for even highly technical users) as well as daily updates for LiveUpdate Platinum customers such as large corporations and businesses.
Daily LiveUpdate definitions are, however, available for users of later versions of Norton AntiVirus (version 2006 or higher).[9]
[edit] Uninstallation
Norton AntiVirus has been criticized for refusing to uninstall cleanly. Norton has created a tool to remove its registry keys and values, along with the software available at their web site.[10]
[edit] Effects on computer performance
This software is typically regarded as making highly considerable demands on resources.[11] In common with other Norton products, Norton AntiVirus relies on Internet Explorer's web interface, instead of using the standard GUI libraries. Besides using more resources, any problems or changes to Internet Explorer will be reflected in Norton products, commonly resulting in "Script Error" messages when the user opens or uses a Norton program.
[edit] Incompatibility with other software
Norton AntiVirus 2007 advises during installation that it is incompatible with popular programs ZoneAlarm and Spy Sweeper.[12] During installation, the purchaser receives warnings that these programs are incompatible, and should be uninstalled from the system before continuing. Since the purchaser is also advised to uninstall other antivirus programs, this would leave very little security indeed for anyone connected directly to the internet during installation. With neither firewall nor antivirus in place, the interval to infection for a Windows system directly connected to the internet has been estimated to have shrunk to an average 12 seconds[citatio n needed]. Installation of Norton AntiVirus takes considerably longer than 12 seconds.
The incompatibility warnings have caused annoyance for Norton customers who purchased Norton AntiVirus 2007 with no warning or notice of the incompatibility [13] [14]. However, the warning as to ZoneAlarm firewall only (without ZoneAlarm antivirus or spyware installed) has been ignored during installation of Norton Antivirus 2007 without calamity.
Norton AntiVirus has on occasion identified other software incorrectly as "viruses" or "trojans" and deleted them; for instance, on May 17, 2007, Pegasus Mail was added to the NAV virus definitions list and removed from the systems of users. This restriction was quickly corrected in a subsequent virus definition update. [15] In July 2007, many Steam users reported that Norton AntiVirus would not allow Steam to run Counter-Srike or other games due to related files being mislabeled as trojans.[16]
[edit] Recognition of XP files as Virus Incident
In May 2007, some Windows XP system files were mistaken as backdoor virus, resulting in the breakdown of millions of PCs. Norton China may face legal proceedi
Black hat groups declare PS3 too difficult to program for. Due to poor performance they have announced 360 exclusive support.
naw the 360 has the blue screen of death like all micro gay things and the red ring
it pretty much is a virus all to itself
110% true! as if that crappy norton was any good btw..
PS3 ROCKS SONY CARE ABOUT THERE REPUTATION AND WILL LOOK AFTER THERE CUSTOMERS WITH UPDATES.
XBOX360 SUCKS
@lol - I was referring to the PC and Macs. God you are dumb.
Todays high tech consoles should have virus protection. We will have problems in the future if we don't take care of it now. I agree that Norton sucks.
i dont want norton crap on my ps3, if they implement such garbage on my ps3 and makes my ps3 experience suffer, i'll sell my ps3 and game on PC only.
all console browsers are becoming stupid anyways so i hardly use them. i have wasted my money on DS which su-cks. the psp browser is decent but lack video capabilities and the ps3 browser is only good for youtube and the likes, no other video site (no gamespot or gametrailers) can be played by it, they disabled any kind of instant messaging on later firmwares, no meebo or ebuddy anymore.
console browsers are pointless really as you say, guess this is why they never bothered with one on the 360 that and due to the whole phishing and other exploits.
the Wii & Ps3 can be protected that is from pishing attaks with OpenDNS
it sounds like "fishing" and its when people/groups create false web pages and such to steal your login info/email/credit card numbers/etc.
This is just another thing microsoft paid for so that tey can say the xbox 360 is better. what if they get a way to put a virus in xbox live you never know
that's right
with tunnelers like xlink + XBConnect i wounldnt be surprized if there are viruses for 360
anything that uses kaspersky engine is good
Of course the PS3 is more succeptible to viruses. It's an inferior console!
I disagree. Not everyone with a console also has a compluter, and to those people the ps3's browser is better than nothing.
Pardon our lack of telepathy, *****.
true it seems like it's a virus in itself just waiting to explode. who goes onto a fake bank of america site on a ps3 anyways and gets phished? there are many articles out there saying people are actually attempting to brick their ps3s but still no luck.
susceptible, yes. inferior? no. why are millions of pcs around the world infected with viruses? theyre more powerful than any console created to date. this basically means that the ps3 has more features which leads to the fact that more exploits will be discovered possibly attracting malicious programmers. honestly though, i havent experienced any viruses on a macintosh so i wont be expecting any soon for the ps3.
I wonder if this could lead to a Wii soft hack instead of using a mod chip. Think about it. If someone can get a virus in the software, then why not make one that will allow you to run back up games with out having molest your unit by installing a chip. If I was Programer I could look into this, but I suck at it. Just a though for one of those great guys that know the code!
the ps3 has been hacked...they just have not released a work around yet. but the protection scheme has been hacked, people are already making ISO of ps3 games.
yea they have ISO's...but absolutely no way of playing them. + useless.
You can actually download GAME trailers to the PS3 HDD from GAMESPOT
You can't access PS3 os they were seperated on purpose to prevent such things.
I don't see the point of bringing up the Phising, so this all seems fishy, excuse the pun, to me. You can have phising on a cell phone, so what does Xbox not have a browser? Cause, how would they protect against it? There no way to know all the phising sites.
So either Xbox just doesn't have the features the other consoles have, because I don't see what game protection has to do with browser protection, or Sysmatic are just idiots.
Gee THANKS for pointing the hackers who didint "know" what to do the "basics" on HOW to do this (on the wii
at least. im sure they will blab on how to do this on the ps3 next) . and the ones that didint even know sure as hell know NOW. WTF? where does Norton get off yabbing about and testing out on HOW to phish a Wii and PS3! oh GOD what if some of the inside employees ARE the people giving away all the info on how to DO this!?
on another (and calmer) note, Microsoft's 360 will get more hacking attempts i'm sure
1. Hackers Will want the challange (microsoft bosts too much)
2. People spend a lot more money on their Xbox live accounts instead of getting it free. why wait for that
one in a 1000 person to use their console to check up on their $500 account when you have MILLIONS of gamers paying for xbox live at any given time to hijack their account infomation?
3. Its a MICROSOFT product
4. The wii may never be given a secont thought (but maybe not...)
5. The ps3 is Linux based, less likely to be bothered with anytime soon (its complex to program)
IM sure that the other BETTER Antivirus Companys if not Sony and Nintendo can perovide BETTER updates to stop this.
Thanks Norton for letting us know how MUCH your Microsoft's B!TCH, your supposed to be US the customers B!TCH! we ar the ones PAYING for your stupid service!!!
Good thing we xbox gamers have Xbox Live huh, we get what we pay for
And Norton would be happy to sell a crappy program to put our consoles. Norton is also happy to find the exploits and make viruses, so we will need their software. I hardly ever use my Wii online as there is nothing worthwhile to do nor do I have a PS3(with nothing worthwhile to play).
Yes that may be true but the amount of people who will have access to the internet with only a console hooked up will be quite small.
Yes console browsers are better than nothing but if your forking out for the internet every month most people will actually want to get the most out of it with a pc so aswell as viewing websites/videos they can *ahem* legally download other things.
If hackers cant even remotely get closer to even effecting the ps3's hardware, how the hell do you thing virus creaters will come up with something?
I think most people that are victims of phishing are pretty stupid. All you have to do is look at the web adress and see if it's a legit site. I get fake paypal e-mails all the time. Damn nigerians.
To all you people who say "Norton sucks". It doesn't! I have Norton and it has saved me from a ton of viruses and computer attacks!
who said the mac had no viruses?
windows has more viruses because its industry and consumer standard. Everyone has one and loads of people enter their credit card infos on windows thus making it a better target.
okay creighton, extracting iso's from a disc is easy getting that iso to work is the hard part. Just proves you dont pirate enough +]
Actually, a lot of the PS3 OS is not based on Linux, but rather on FreeBSD (Sony prefers their license terms, they don't like the GPL either).
So, as for vulnerability to viruses, one can say that the PS3 will be about as resistant as a typical FreeBSD distro.
Rest assured, it's pretty hard to break.
I totally believe that this is nothing but a ploy from Symantec to get there 90 day trial crap into the XMB...lol.... in fact I have always wondered if they weren't creating the viruses covertly to keep them in business. Symantec catches viruses that Mcafee won't and Mcafee catches viruses that norton won't !!! same with other antivirus soft. we're talking about a huge industry here that generates a lot of cash. isn't it amazing how only a very small few virus creators ever get caught? i can only think of 5 in the past 10 years... and all of them the government was hard after them.. what about all the other creators? .... hhmmm something to go "HHHHHHMMMMM"
But thats just like windows and macs.. macs dont have alot of virus and the like becuase its not used as much. same goes for ps3... not may have them
well you obv are not a advance computer user. you said so urself when you said it saved you from a TON of virus'. you don't know what your doing hence thats why you like Norton. Norton sucks trust me.
if hombrew is not possible, how do they think viruses can be run?
Stop looking at p0rn, and you will be ok. And anyways, do you know what it didn't stop?
Hi Marc,
Michelle and I have discussed this internally and have decided to shelve this project. The cost for the project is too high and our needs don't justify the costs at this time.
We will revisit this at a later time.
Many thanks for your time and understanding,
Regards,
James
OpenDNS gives protection against phishing
that is if microsoft doesnt detect a drive chip then live gets terminated on xbox by microsoft
The code for the virus has to be for the PS3 it self, so its kinda hard for the PS3 wii or 360 to get virus's or phishing. This article is a load of S.H.I.T.
What a Letdown to see Norton even saying this. sure all consoles are venurable to some extent (even YOU XBOX360). so is every other device that uses a os that goes online. God why must us gamesrs be subjected to this *****. Symantec is a horrible program to use, after watching it try to block my Bitcomet, Firefox and even Other software i sure as hell know is safe for the 100000000th time even after i clicked "ALLOW" and
select "ALWAYS USE THIS OPTION" it still finds some way to bother me that this is a malicious threat. It was
like i was being spammed by a program ive alredy fu*king bought! SO Nortorn can drop dead and BURN. the only way they make a profit is that their substandard software is already pre-installed on 80% (if not more) of the PCs being sold Before removeing that vile filth off my PC i had at LEAST 8 "CANNOT BE REMOVED" viruses that never gave me any warning even when i updated every chance i get per year. And Norton has yet to make a removal tool for these (11 moths and WAITING)
I dont see this being an issue for the PS3 or the WII since firmware updates cover up this issue far too fast
for hackers (who will have to reprogram it) to profit from it, windows OS is almost always the same so what can infect XP can most likely infect Vista with little change
Phishing is totally different than a virus. Anything with a browser is susceptible to phishing.
the reason why it blocks firebird/thunderfox is because they use know ports that are targeted alot by viruses so even the isps block it
norton sucks it really really sucks, norton sucks it really really sucks Kaspersky
norton sucks it really really sucks, norton sucks it really really sucks AVG
I meant to spell known not know