PSP's Trojan Horse

[PkmnTrainerJ]

In this strange world of coincidences within 24 hours, Sony has released the U.S. version of its 2.01 firmware for the PSP handheld and a Trojan that attacks systems that use homebrew applications has also been identified.

Sony has updated its PSP U.S. upgrade page with the version 2.01 upgrade which the company promises will introduce a variety of new features to the console such as an Internet browser and MP4 playback. We suspect that a 2.00 firmware PSP will do pretty much everything a v.2.01 console will do except downgrade, of course. Sony recommends however, that all users upgrade their handhelds. Sony also suggests that ...depending on the software title, you may not be able to play without first updating the system software.

Strangely enough just as Sony was releasing its new firmware, a threat, familiar to PC users, was being identified on the PSP. Symantec experts announced they have identified the first Trojan, Trojan.PSPBrick, that targets PSPs. Since there are no confirmed cases of the Trojan, it currently holds the lowly Category 1 threat title (Category 5 being the worst). According to Symantec the virus is only a threat to those who attempt to bypass Sony's protection of the PSP and run non-Sony applications. So although there are no confirmed cases of infection, users are warned that if affected they will not be able to restore their console as there is no confirmed way of doing so. Strangely enough the virus does not spread or in any way offer its creator any joy other than possibly scaring users into upgrading their PSP with the, newly available, v.2.01 firmware release.

There is, of course, no mention of official support from Sony as downloading any unofficial firmware or software to the console voids the warranty on the PSP.