PS Vita Hacked!

[Xel]

 

Ever since its 2011 launch, PlayStation Vita's security has remained relatively intact. We've seen a bunch of PSP emulator exploits, and around a year ago, a native Vita exploit was released for an older firmware that required the unit tethered to a PC. Now, hacking collective Team Molecule has released a new exploit that fully unlocks the full power of the Vita hardware for homebrew developers.

Dubbed HENkaku, the exploit is preposterously simple to install. Just ensure that you are running the latest firmware 3.60, then visit a specially prepared website to activate the exploit. The injected code removes the Vita's file system from its sandbox and allows users to access it via FTP. From there, homebrew packages can be transferred across and run on the unit.

 

The exploit also works on the PlayStation TV/Vita TV micro-console, and the open access to the file system means that the ability to whitelist all titles has now returned, meaning that games which were bizarrely locked out - including Sony's own, some of which worked great - can now once again run. Other applications include the ability for developers to create homebrew apps that overclock elements of the Vita at a level that's inaccessible to game developers.

 

Right now, there isn't much to play with homebrew-wise, aside from a Vita version of Doom and a smattering of emulators, but it's expected that the release of HENkaku will see this situation change rapidly. Any such exploit opens the door to piracy, and while there are no anti-DRM measures in the package, Team Molecule accepts the possibility that pirated commercial games may well happen.

 

"It does not let you install or run Vita 'backups', warez, or any pirated content," says developer Yifan Lu. "It does not disable any DRM features. It does not let you decrypt encrypted games. Here's my stance on this: I do not care one way or the other about piracy. I do not judge people who do pirate. I will not act as the police for pirates. However, I will personally not write any tools that aid in piracy. It is my choice just as it is the pirate's choice to steal content."

Source: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2016-playstation-vita-hacked

 

Edited August 21, 2016 by Xeliot

[Dead Weight]

Maybe this will increase Vita awareness, I know the PSP homebrew scene was huge

[Wavergray]

Isn't this news like 2 months old? I could have sworn there was already a thread about this.

 

Also Sony released a 3.61 patch to all vitas to block this hack.

Edited August 21, 2016 by soultaker655

[Devil_Spooky]

I hope they keep going at it, for one reason only, I want all VITA games available on the PSTV, I want to buy one to play while at home so I'm all up for it, I couldn't care less about the rest though.

[Leo Leopold Leon III]

yup this is old news, last update disabled the hack

[Shadiochao]

I hope they keep going at it, for one reason only, I want all VITA games available on the PSTV, I want to buy one to play while at home so I'm all up for it, I couldn't care less about the rest though.

 

There was a PSTV hack a few months ago which allowed that. It was patched, but made possible again using this hack. I'm not sure if it's been blocked yet, though. Even if it has been, it's probably only a matter of time before someone finds another way, so that's something to look out for.

[TigressLion]

THe PSP was amazing for Homebrew you could DL and play all the games but even if they try that with the Vita things will be a bit different. Trophy Hunting, you can only sync your trophies if you're online, and you can't sign in on old firmware. So As long as Sony pumps out a patch everytime it gets cracked, it'll hinder trophy hunters at least.

[AWasteOfOxygen]

Not being funny, but PS TV is capable of running many blocked games, proficiently.

Most games are blocked literally because 0.5% of the total game is touchscreen related so the whole game is blocked.

Injustice for example. There's a couple star labs that require touchscreen, meanwhile you can do the story, all 280+ other labs and online with just the regular controller.

However, just because 0.5% of the total gameplay requires touchscreen, the game is blocked.

That's fucking gross and lazy. i hope they find a way to hack 3.61.

Edited August 21, 2016 by AWasteOfOxygen

[Devil_Spooky]

There was a PSTV hack a few months ago which allowed that. It was patched, but made possible again using this hack. I'm not sure if it's been blocked yet, though. Even if it has been, it's probably only a matter of time before someone finds another way, so that's something to look out for.

 

Yeah, I know about that one, that's why I hope they keep cracking them, as soon as I buy my PSTV I'll go the higher I can firmware wise, crack it and leave it at that, will trophy hunt on my VITA and use the PSTV to replay my games in a more confortable way, easier for my girl to watch as well, she likes to watch

[Satoshi Ookami]

Yea, this is old news. And pretty much reason for the newest update which did not bring anything new.

[Superstarmaste1r]

Good thing I don't hack my games at all

[zeda12123]

I don't understand why people want vita piracy.D o they not remember what happened to the psp or what.

[Suicide_Tortuga]

I came here thinking this was about proving you can now hack trophies on Vita.

[fastflowdaman]

I don't understand why people want vita piracy.D o they not remember what happened to the psp or what.

 

No, obviously you don't understand what this is about, that's a difference.

 

Come on, make an effort, read the whole thread (again, if you did already, which doesn't seem to be the case), then maybe you'll get the message. You can do it.

[A little fluffy cat]

Good thing I don't hack my games at all

Good thing I'm still on 3.60

[zeda12123]

No, obviously you don't understand what this is about, that's a difference.

 

Come on, make an effort, read the whole thread (again, if you did already, which doesn't seem to be the case), then maybe you'll get the message. You can do it.

I was actually talking about how this homebrew stuff inevitably leads to piracy, like the reports of the chinese homebrewers (which I'll admit may or may not be true) that supposedly managed to pirate tokyo xanadu last night.

 

Sorry for not making my point clearly. 

[x_PsYcHoTiCz]

If you hack trophies you really need to re evaluate your life, like seriously lmao .

[Parker]

No, obviously you don't understand what this is about, that's a difference.

 

Come on, make an effort, read the whole thread (again, if you did already, which doesn't seem to be the case), then maybe you'll get the message. You can do it.

 

If you have no desire to actually discuss the topic, then don't post. The sarcastic and smartass comments aren't welcome here.

 

 

Parker

[Kittens Are Awesome]

When you make proprietary charging cables and memory cards and charge what a working kidney goes for on the black market, I have no sympathy for your company if your product gets hacked.

 

Besides, homebrewers are giving more attention to the Vita than Sony has recently. May as well let the people take over.

[Super-Fly Spider-Guy]

I'd be down with this to white list all the Vita games for use on my PS TV, but otherwise I'm not benefited by this directly.

 

Hackers and homebrewers and shit are fucking champs though.

[Satoshi Ookami]

I don't understand why people want vita piracy.D o they not remember what happened to the psp or what.

Exactly, Vita has no games

 

I would presume to actually get all the games they want on it and then sell the system.

[crimsonidol38]

The only thing that I would like to see is the ability to place all my retail games  on the Vita's memory card to have them all in one place. The situation is not as bad as with the PSP (the UMD-drive was just annoying and I gladly put all my UMDs on a microSD) but still not the best. I know, if I would buy them digital I wouldn't have the problem but not every game I'm interested in is available in Europe (or Germany, thanks USK ).

Another thing that would be nice is to have multiple accounts active at the same time. I know it's possible to have content of multiple accounts on one card, but sadly without the possiblity to switch the account on demand. Seeing the introduction the umpteenths time? Hell no.

 

And I guess Xeliot did post this old news on purpose, now that Sony patched this one exploit?

Edited August 22, 2016 by Crimson Idol

[Z1MZUM]

Install the ver 1 and ver 2 whitelist by googling pstv antiblacklist on 3.60. I did and updated to 3.61 and the whitelist still works, I've had the pstv in standby for a couple of weeks and it's still working. What you don't want to do is rebuild the database on your pstv because that will probably kill it. So I'm only interested in the whitelist and not emulation or anything like that, if you follow what I did you do it at your own risk but I can say I'm happily playing Vita games on my pstv. Let's face it, blacklisting games is just stupid when you own them.

 

Edit: Just be careful and make sure you get the correct vpk file, the original whitelist won't stick. And because I'm too gutless to power down the PSTV and turn it back on I can't say that the list will stick, I'm just in standby with no internet access turned on until I actually play it. And another thing, I can now play Silent Hill book of memories that I bought in Japan, text is in english but man this game is bad.

Edited August 22, 2016 by Z1MZUM

[antithesis]

The benefit here, and it is significant, is the whitelisting of all Vita games for use on PSTV instead of the small curated list Sony says we're allowed to play.

 

A PSTV is a Vita without a screen. If I've paid for a game, why can't I play it on a TV instead of the micro-screen of a Vita? Shouldn't it be up to me, not Sony, to determine whether a game's controls translate well to PSTV?

 

All Sony needs to do is add a warning on the load-up screen of the PSTV - "Touchscreen controls are not fully-compatible with PSTV". They can still be used via the L3 / R3 buttons, obviously not quite as well, but it's good enough to do the job.

 

The whitelist hack has been around for 12-18 months. I missed it last time Sony patched the exploit, but I made sure to take advantage of it this time. Thanks to the whitelist, I'll knock out the Plats for a few games that I can barely see on the Vita, like Uncharted Golden Abyss and Killzone, then upgrade the firmware to patch the hole so I can sync the trophies again. 

 

Further to that, if I play Vita games on PSTV, I can use the Xim4 for mouse & keyboard, which are by far my preferred controls for shooters.

Edited August 22, 2016 by ant1th3s1s

[A little fluffy cat]

Another thing that would be nice is to have multiple accounts active at the same time. I know it's possible to have content off multiple accounts on one card, but sadly without the possiblity to switch the account on demand. Seeing the introduction the umpteenths time? Hell no. :

Really, is that possible? I share a PS Vita and every time resetting the console for switching accounts starts being very annoying. How put you all the content one 1card?