Thinking Outside The Console (Box) - PSP

[Squidly1]

I'm looking to add a little more to the talk I will be doing at DefCon 15, and will add your name (or alias) to the references slide - if you can anything I have not already covered. I am interested in all game consoles, but have a focus (at the moment) on: PS2, PS3, PSP, DS, Xbox, Xbox360, GameCube and Wii.

NOTE: This is NOT a discussion on cheating online. Had a nit wit on another board think I was trying to figure a way to cheat online... Whatever... :)

The talk is titled "Thinking Outside The Console (Box)"

Here's the write up: "Having seen the ads this last holiday season, you think you might know all there is to know about the new crop of console game systems. But are these, and other console game systems, just for fun and games? Could they be used for other purposes?? Yes they can. With the advent of more powerful consoles many systems have the ability to do just about anything - after all they are still computers. Two years ago I gave a presentation at ToorCon discussing the hackability and usability of hand-held game systems. Since then, I have looked at all of the popular game consoles and researched their collective potential as platforms of covert penetration testing. Many of these machines can be easily modified to execute code not originally meant for game systems. In this topic I will discuss how game consoles can be used as another avenue in the penetration of your network..."

To see some of the things I have been tracking, publicly, you can hit my blog (listed below).

I hope to post some of the items I have concerning the PS2 and PSP after the weekend. I'm a little short on scintillating items concerning the PS3 - outside of loading Linux on it. If you have any interest in helping out with this please contact me either through this forum or directly at the email address below. To see a version of this talk, that centered on the PSP, check:

http://haksys.schleppingsquid.net/Files ... oorCon.pdf

Thanks for your help ; )

- Squidly1

[Art]

All good, but that's what this forum is all about, so isn't it old news to anyone here?
Like saying yay we can burn DVDs now when we've been able to do it for years.

Of course, we are all excited that we can do it.
It's the cheapest way to buy a powerful multimedia capable computer
that you can get to do exactly what you want it to.

I still gain satisfaction in knowing that the company makes little if any profit
on the console hardware, so if we use it in other ways, the company kind of
cops the bill.

[Squidly1]

Cool, but outside of copying DVDs what else are you guys coding or seeing that makes these machines unique - from a threat or usage analysis? Or more useful than my DS in real world-type applications?

Example: A couple of weeks ago I bought the GPS unit for one of my PSPs and have since downloaded Deniska's MapThis. Having the device and software is sweet, and their usage already goes beyond the intent for what the PSP was originally marketed for, but I want to go a step beyond this. Just not certain if the PSP is 100% capable of handling it, design wise... Now that there is a GPS and some sweet mapping software (thanks Deniska), can the PSP handle, at the same time, wireless access point discovery. That's right - I wanna try war walking with *just* the PSP. I can already do with this any stock PSP - but I want a map of where I saw these points (for outside discovery).

I'm looking into items such as these for the presentation.

As for the PSP being a war walker's tool with the GPS attached... I'm still looking into that. With the attachment there may be some hits on the PSPs effective use for direction finding (the antenna runs under where the GPS is attached). The wireless sensitivity on my PSPs is such that I normally can use my body to help deflect signals emanating from behind me and help focus the PSP on signals in front.

Have to ask Deniska how hard it might be to have his software take input from the wifi unit and just create a file that contains GPS points where the wifi found something. Then that file could be loaded up in a specialized GPS MapThis viewer (on the PSP, or PC) with the maps originally used. It could then show the points where there was a wifi presence. If this can be done - that's one heck of a new tool... : )

- Squidly1

[Art]

I have written a stocktaking application for retail operation.
There was already a machine to do it, but I made a better one that makes
me faster and more accurate than other people who might apply for my job.
The PSP needed a barcode scanner attached to the serial port to achieve this.

So a $300 PSP unit is doing a better job than the $6000 purpose biult device,
and the PSP app doesn't use anything near the PSP's processing capabilities.
Art.

[Wally]

Wow Stocktaking app :)

thats awesome, why wasn't I informed of this :P

[Art]

Since it helps put food on my table, it's not for release ;)

It's not a terribly hard thing to achieve though, as long as you know
how the existing mobile terminal communicates with the point of sale system
to update inventory levels.

[Squidly1]

Art:

That's a pretty cool app. Do you have any screen shots?

I'm assuming that it's not communicating with any exotic protocols or anything, in order for the PSP to grab the updates it needs (user prompted updates, timed or streaming)? It's logging in or grabbing from a host of open resources??

Just curious, since (while it's not hacking) it does show the continued potential for this platform.

- Squidly1

[Art]

It appends a file of stocktake data, as well as calculating retail and cost value locally.
Once the file is complete, it sends the data to the backo office PC in the same
manner just as the original program running on their mobile terminal would.

[Art]

You can see some details and short video of a related price checking
application done with barcode scanner hardware.
At least you see proof of it in the video, and doesn't require screenshots
that would show propietry company data.

Link:
http://www.freewebs.com/defxev/PCS.htm

If the embedded video doesn't work, the direct YouTube link is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_pZaAKR3g8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZO7HENwIvPs
Cheers, Art.

[Squidly1]

For those attending my talks at DefCon, who want to participate, you might want to go ahead and modify your PSP firmwares. You will need to be running at least firmware 1.50 *OR* one of Dark_Alex's custom firmwares. I highly suggest installing 3.40OE-A...

If you have a PSP with Sony's official 3.50 firmware, don't fret. There's now a downgrader for it. Last weekend Archaemic and Noobz (PSP coders) released the Illunimati exploit (a Hello World) and three days later Fanjita (another coder), with the help of some unnamed others, worked to bust out a 3.50 firmware downgrader.

I'm upping all the tools to downgrade your PSP to my site now. To see a video of the downgrader in action, hit the below YouTube link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7c2r84AXyk

For the files you need, check my link:

http://haksys.schleppingsquid.net/Files ... +Upgrader/

From there, upgrade your minty new 1.50 machine to Dark_Alex's 3.40OE-A firmware. You'll be able to play all the newer games AND run all the tools I will be showing off in my DefCon talk and WiFi Village demonstration.

- Squidly1

[Art]

Lol, everyone here knows this.

EVERYONE here has homebrew compatible firmware.
This site is the primary resource for PSP homebrew.